Human Ecology Fund Explained

The Human Ecology Fund was the front organization for CIA-funded research into interrogation, coercion, and brainwashing. Founded in 1954 as the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology, it was renamed in 1961. It funneled grant money to behavioral scientists and psychiatrists to benefit CIA programs such as MKULTRA. It was also connected to research in the area of anthropology. The organization closed in 1965.

Neurologist Harold Wolff of Cornell University Medical College was president of the organization, with cardiologist Lawrence Hinkle as its vice president. Cornell subsequently became a hub for Human Ecology's operations.^[1] Other board members included Adolf Berle, JD of Columbia University, Dr. Joseph Hinsey of NY Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Carl Rogers of University of Wisconsin, and Dr. John Whitehorn of Johns Hopkins.^[2]

Grant monies were disbursed to various academic institutions, including Cornell and Columbia University. Some research was apparently unrelated to CIA areas of interest, likely to establish the fund's apparent legitimacy. The academic researchers involved were generally unaware or deceived about the funding source.^{[3] [4]} The Geschicker Fund was a similar front for CIA research on biochemical and medical research at Georgetown, Stanford and MIT.^[5] During MKULTRA's existence 44 U.S. and Canadian universities received CIA funding, with the full list still classified.^{[6] [7]}

See also

• Human rights violations by the CIA
• Unethical human experimentation in the United States
• Pike Committee (U.S. House investigation into CIA activities)
• Church Commission (U.S. Senate investigation into CIA)
• Rockefeller Commission (Presidential investigation of CIA activities)

Notes and References

1. Price . H . David . 2007 . Buying a Piece of Anthrology Part 1: Human Ecology and Unwitting Anthropological Research for the CIA . Anthropology Today . 23 . 3 . 8–13 . 10.1111/j.1467-8322.2007.00510.x . "When Cornell University had hired an anthropologist before learning that the CIA security office would not give her clearance,[Harold] Wolff simply lied to her about where the money came from".
2. Web site: 1957 . 1957 Annual Report of Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200825225229/http://w3.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/other/blinken/pdf/B_SF_14.pdf . 25 August 2020 . 23 September 2024 . Blinken OSA Archivum.
3. Web site: Schachtner . Jim . 17 April 1980 . Documents disclose CIA research . 23 September 2024.
4. Web site: Thomas . Jo . 3 August 1977 . Extent of University Work for CIA Hard To Pin Down . 23 September 2024 . CIA Reading Room.
5. Web site: Goshko . John . 3 August 1977 . Geschickter Research Fund Tightly Controlled By The Founder . 23 September 2024 . CIA Reading Room.
6. Web site: Horrack . Nicholas . 4 August 1977 . 80 Institutions Used In CIA Mind Control Studies . 23 September 2024 . CIA Reading Room.
7. Book: Intelligence, United States Congress Senate Select Committee on . Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification: Joint Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session, August 3, 1977 . 1977 . U.S. Government Printing Office . en.