Geschickter Fund

A 1970s Senate investigation of CIA activities found that the CIA had provided funds to Geschickter's private research foundation, which were in turn used for a research building at the Georgetown Medical Center.[4] It appears that the funds were used for human and animal experiments related to defenses against interrogation and brainwashing, although Georgetown University denied any knowledge of such experiments.[7] In 1977 Geschickter testified before the Senate committee that over a period of thirteen years up to 1967 his foundation had funded over $1 million of research at Georgetown and $2 million of research at other universities. The Georgetown research related to drugs that produced amnesia. The Gorman Annex was funded by money provided to his foundation by the CIA. Since this appeared to be private money, the Federal government provided matching funding.[8][9]

Geschickter died in 1987.[10] The "Geschickter tumor", a bone tumor found on the femur or humerus that is often malignant, is named after him.[11]

The Washington Post

August 3, 1977

Fund Tightly Controlled by Founder

by John M. Goshko

A Washington foundation that allegedly channeled Central Intelligence Agency funds into research on mind-control drugs is

a little-known organization whose affairs were tightly controlled by its founder, Dr. Charles F. Geshickter. Geschickter, 76,

an emeritus professor of pathology at Georgetown University medical school, is a nationally prominent figure in the fields

of medical research and education.

But, his collegues at Georgetown, where he taught from 1946 until his retirement in 1971, apparently knew little about the

private foundation that he ran on the side - the Geschicker Fund for Medical Research.

Although Geschickter's biography in the 1976-77 edition of Who's Who takes up 25 lines, it makes no mention of the

foundation. The doctor, who lives in Lorton, Va., could not be reached yesterday for comment on allegations about his

foundation published yesterday by The New York Times. The Times article said the Geschickter Fund had been used by the

CIA as a conduct for distributing funds to medical researchers involved in a secret, 25-year, $25 million effort to learn how

to control the human mind.

Matthew McNulty, vice president of Georgetown University in charge of medical affairs, said yesterday that university

officials also had been unable to contact Geschickter and ask him about the allegations. However, McNulty and other

medical profession sources, who asked not to be identified, were able to provide some sketchy information about the fund

and its activities.

They said the fund was founded by Geschickter in 1939, when he was on the faculty of Johns Hopkins medical school, and

apparently is still in existence. Although they were unclear about the source of the foundation's funds, they said it was

generally assumed among Geschickter's collegues that they came partly from his personal means and partly from gifts

provided by his patients and other persons interested in the medical sciencs.

"It was no secret that he had a private foundation," McNulty said. "But it was not something that he pushed or promoted in

any noticeable way." The foundation, McNulty added "was not a part of Georgetown University, never has been and, in the

future, will not be connected to the university."

McNulty said that university officials have been searching the records of the Georgetown medical school and hospital and,

so far, have found no sign that the university or members of its faculty ever applied for a received "any grants, contracts or

awards" from the Geschickter fund for research of the type described in The Times article.

However, he added, the fund periodically had made gifts of cash and stocks to Georgetown for general use in medical

research and education. McNulty said these gifts were "modest in size" with the exception of a $370,000 donation toward

construction of a $3 million building at Georgetown Hospital.

In mentioning this contribution, The Time article said it might have been linked to the CIA's desire to establish a forensic

medicine department at a university. However, McNulty said, the building in question had no connection with forencsic

medicine and was put up to house the hospital's ambulatory patient care services and the clinical offices of the dental

school.

Others who knew Geshickter during his time at Georgetown described him in such terms as "quiet," "reserved" and

"keeping pretty much to himself." One said, "He did his teaching and had his office at the medical school but he didn't

mingle very much and was hard to know."

Source: http://www.tmdarchives.org/dbdoc.htm?

category=govp&dtype=media&dname=govtyp&order=Fund+Tightly+Controlled+by+Founder&link=fund