The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation is divided into three principal divisions:
With its centerpiece and spiritual home the 1904 Westmorly Court rooms of “Frank” Roosevelt and his roommate Lathrop “Jake” Brown, the Foundation maintains Franklin Delano Roosevelt Suite and Historical Collections a living museum to the 32nd president of the United States at Adams House. After a complete renovation that required six years and $300,000, the restored rooms, containing almost 2000 period objects shed new light on the early life of one of America’s most important presidents, while forming one of the most detailed and illustrative collections of Gilded Age university life anywhere in the world.
The FDR Global Citizenship Program exposes Harvard undergraduates to the globalized structures that underpin 21st-century business, politics, communications and science; with strong emphases on health, ideology and the environment. Student programming includes conferences and seminars throughout the academic year that allow undergraduates to engage directly with noted experts from government, science, development, medicine and diplomacy. The program also sponsors the FDR Global Fellowship, which annually sends 2-4 talented undergraduates – who could not otherwise afford to spend a summer in academic pursuits – abroad for extensive training and research in the humanities and natural sciences.
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Center for Global Engagement honors Roosevelt the Internationalist. From forward-thinking defensive programs such as Lend-Lease, to the conception and establishment of the United Nations, Roosevelt was instrumental in shaping the post-war world’s economic and political future. The Center honors FDR’s legacy by working with practitioners of international relations, global innovation, and public diplomacy on research and programs aimed at understanding and adjusting to the challenges of the 21st century.