The history of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is traced. Three eras are described: 1905 to 1930, a period of initial creativity and influence; 1930 to 1966, a period of gradual decline, leading eventually to loss of independence and virtual extinction; and 1966 to 1979, a period of revitalization. Originally, CFAT was primarily an organization concerned with the the administration of a pension program, but by 1930 it provided an informal and highly useful consultative service. Various initiatives were undertaken to deal with a deficit on free pension commitments, and although the years from about 1930 to 1966 were ones of retrenchment and gradual decline in the CFAT's affairs, there were significant achievements, including the Pennsylvania Study, which gave impetus to objective testing to measure educational attainment; the development of the Graduate Record Examinations; and a cooperative effort with other organizations that formed the Educational Testing Service. The relationship of the CFAT and the Carnegie Corporation of New York also is traced, along with the output of the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, which was sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation, through the foundation. The influence of the commission on the development of public policy toward higher education and its influence on policy and practice on specific campuses are considered. The success of the commission revealed the CFAT, its sponsor, had an important role in the new era of American higher education and that it should continue to exist. Organizational and financial steps that were taken to facilitate the foundation's work are described. (SW)