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Hoover Institution

Coordinates:37°25′38″N122°09′59″W/ 37.4271°N 122.1664°W/37.4271; -122.1664
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The Hoover Institution
AbbreviationHoover
FormationJune 1919;105 years ago(1919-06)
FounderHerbert Hoover
TypePublic policythink tank
Legal status501(c)(3)public charity
PurposePublic policy research in economics, history, and national security.
Professional title
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace
Location
Coordinates37°26′N122°10′W/ 37.43°N 122.17°W/37.43; -122.17
Director
Condoleezza Rice
Parent organization
Stanford University
SubsidiariesHoover Institution Press
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Uncommon Knowledge
Battlegrounds
Defining Ideas
Hoover Digest
Revenue(2023)
$104.6 million[1]
Expenses(2023)$93.2 million[1]
Endowment$782 million
Award(s)National Humanities Medal
Websitewww.hoover.orgEdit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
Hoover War Collection

TheHoover Institution(officiallyThe Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an Americanpublic policythink tankwhich promotespersonal and economic liberty,free enterprise,andlimited government.[2][3][4]While the institution is formally a unit ofStanford University,it maintains an independent board of overseers and relies on its own income and donations.[5][6][7]It is widely described asconservative,and sometimeslibertarian,although its directors have contested the idea that it ispartisan.[3][2][5][8][9]

The institution began in 1919 as a library founded by Stanford alumnusHerbert Hooverprior to his presidency in order to house his archives gathered during theGreat War.[10]The well-knownHoover Towerwas built to house the archives, then known as the Hoover War Collection (now theHoover Institution Library and Archives), and contained material related toWorld War I,World War II,and other global events. The collection was renamed and transformed into a research institution ( "think tank" ) during the mid-20th century. Its mission, as described by Herbert Hoover in 1959, is "to recall the voice of experience against the making of war, and by the study of these records and their publication, to recall man's endeavors to make and preserve peace, and to sustain for America the safeguards of the American way of life."[11]

It has staffed numerous jobs in Washington for Republican presidents fromRichard NixontoDonald Trump.[12]It has provided work for people who previously had important government jobs. Notable Hoover fellows and alumni includeNobel PrizelaureatesHenry Kissinger,Milton Friedman,andGary Becker;economistThomas Sowell;scholarsNiall FergusonandRichard Epstein;formerSpeaker of the House of RepresentativesNewt Gingrich;and former Secretary of DefenseJames N. Mattis.In 2020, former Secretary of StateCondoleezza Ricebecame the institution's director. It divides itsfellowsinto separate research teams to work on various subjects, includingEconomic Policy,History,Education,andLaw.[13]It publishes research by its ownuniversity press,the Hoover Institution Press.[14]

In 2021, Hoover was ranked as the 10th most influential think tank in the world byAcademic Influence.[15]It was ranked 22nd on the "Top Think Tanks in United States" and 1st on the "Top Think Tanks to Look Out For" lists of theThink Tanks and Civil Societies Programthat same year.[16]

History

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Founding

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Herbert Hoover,the 31stU.S. president,and founder of the Hoover Institution

In June 1919,Herbert Hoover,then a wealthy engineer who was one ofStanford University's first graduates, sent a telegram offering Stanford presidentRay Lyman Wilbur$50,000 in order to assist the collection of primary materials related toWorld War I,a project that became known as the Hoover War Collection. Assisted primarily by gifts from private donors, the Hoover War Collection flourished during its early years. In 1922, the collection became known as the Hoover War Library, now known as theHoover Institution Library and Archives,and includes a variety of rare and unpublished material, including the files of theOkhranaand a plurality of government documents produced during the war.[17][18]It was housed originally in theStanford Library,separate from the general stacks. In his memoirs, Hoover wrote:

I did a vast amount of reading, mostly on previous wars, revolutions, and peace-makings of Europe and especially the political and economic aftermaths. At one time I set up some research at London, Paris, and Berlin into previous famines in Europe to see if there had developed any ideas on handling relief and pestilence.... I was shortly convinced that gigantic famine would follow the present war. The steady degeneration of agriculture was obvious.... I read in one ofAndrew D. White'swritings that most of the fugitive literature of comment during theFrench Revolutionwas lost to history because no one set any value on it at the time, and that without such material it became very difficult or impossible to reconstruct the real scene. Therein lay the origins of the Library on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.[19]

20th century

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FormerUnited States Secretary of DefenseAsh Carterspeaks about defense innovation at the institution inWashington, D.C.in September 2016

By 1926, the Hoover War Library was the largest library in the world devoted toWorld War I,including 1.4 million items and too large to house in the Stanford University Library, so the university allocated $600,000 for the construction of theHoover Tower,which was designed to be its permanent home independent of the Stanford Library system. The 285-foot tall tower was completed in 1941 on date of the university'sgolden jubilee.[20][21]The tower has since been a well-recognized part of the Stanford campus.[22]

In 1956, former President Hoover, in conjunction with the Institution and Library, began a major fundraising campaign that transitioned the organization to its current form as a research institution as well as archive.

In 1957, the Hoover Institution and Library was renamed the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, its current name.[23]In 1959, Stanford's Board of Trustees officially established the Hoover Institution as "an independent institution within the frame of Stanford University".[18]

In 1960, W. Glenn Campbell was appointed director and substantial budget increases soon resulted in corresponding increases in acquisitions and related research projects. In particular, the Chinese and Russian collections grew considerably. Despite student unrest during the 1960s, the institution continued to develop closer relations with Stanford University.[24]

In 1975,Ronald Reagan,who wasGovernor of Californiaat that time, was designated as Hoover's first honorary fellow. He donated his gubernatorial papers to the Hoover library.[25]During that time the Hoover Institution had a general budget of $3.5 million a year. In 1976, one third of Stanford University's book holdings were housed at the Hoover library. At that time, it was the largest private archive collection in the United States.[22]

For hispresidential campaign in 1980,Reagan engaged at least thirteen Hoover scholars to assist the campaign in multiple capacities.[26]After Reagan won the election, more than thirty current or former Hoover Institution fellows worked for the Reagan administration in 1981.[22]

In 1989, Campbell retired as director of Hoover and replaced by John Raisian, a change that was considered the end of an era.[27]Raisan served as director until 2015, and was succeeded byThomas W. Gilligan.[28]

21st century

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FormerSecretaries of StateCondoleezza RiceandRex Tillersonduring a Hoover forum in January 2018

In 2001, Hoover Senior fellowCondoleezza Ricejoined theGeorge W. Bush administration,serving as National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005 and as Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009. In 2006,President George W. Bushawarded theNational Humanities Medalto the Hoover Institution.[29]

In August 2017, the David and Joan Traitel Building was inaugurated. The ground floor is a conference facility with a 400-seatauditoriumand the top floor houses the Hoover Institution's headquarters.[30]

At any given time, as of 2017, the Hoover Institution has as many as 200 resident scholars known as fellows. They are an interdisciplinary group studying political science, education, economics, foreign policy, energy, history, law, national security, health and politics. Some have joint appointments as lecturers on the Stanford faculty.[31]

TheTrump administrationmaintained relations with the institution during his presidency, and several Hoover employees became senior advisors or were hired for jobs in his administration, including Secretary of DefenseJames N. Mattis,who was the Davies Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Hoover from 2013 to 2016, where he studied leadership, national security, strategy, innovation, and the effective use of military force.[32]

In March 2019, Mattis returned to his post at Hoover.[33]Distinguished Visiting FellowKevin Hassettbecame the first chairman of Trump'sCouncil of Economic Advisors(CEA). The CEA chief principal economist, Josh Rauh, took leave from his Hoover Institution fellowship. After the third CEA chairmanTyler Goodspeedresigned in 2021, he went to Hoover.[34]

In February 2020, the Hoover board of trustees brought in senior Trump economic officials for off-the-record forecasts. According toThe New York Times,"The president’s aides appeared to be giving wealthy party donors an early warning of a potentially impactful contagion at a time when Mr. Trump was publicly insisting that the threat was nonexistent." The board members spread the bad news and the stock market had a selloff.[35]

In 2020,Condoleezza RicesucceededThomas W. Gilliganas director.[28]

In November 2020,Scott Atlas,a Hoover fellow, was known for opposing public health measures as a major Trump advisor during theCOVID-19 pandemic,and was condemned by aStanford Universityfaculty vote in November 2020.[36]

In January 2021, during Stanford University faculty senate discussions on closer collaboration between the university and the Institution in 2021, Rice "addressed campus criticism that the Hoover Institution is a partisan think tank that primarily supports conservative administrations and policy positions" by sharing "statistics that show Hoover fellows contribute financially to both political parties on an equal basis", according to the university's newsletter.[5]

Campus

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The Institution has libraries which include materials from bothWorld War IandWorld War II,including the collection of documents of PresidentHerbert Hoover,which he began to collect at theParis Peace Conferenceof 1919.[37]Thousands ofPersianbooks, official documents, letters, multimedia pieces and other materials onIran's history, politics and culture can also be found at the Stanford University library and the Hoover Institution library.[38]

View of the Hoover Institution's headquarters, including theHoover Tower,among theStanford Universitycampus

Publications

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The Hoover Institution's in-house publisher, Hoover Institution Press, produces publications on public policy topics, including the quarterly periodicalsHoover Digest,Education Next,China Leadership Monitor,andDefining Ideas.The Hoover Institution Press previously published the bimonthly periodicalPolicy Review,which it acquired fromThe Heritage Foundationin 2001.[39]Policy Reviewceased publication with its February–March 2013 issue.

The Hoover Institution Press also publishes books and essays by Hoover Institution fellows and other Hoover-affiliated scholars.

Funding

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The Hoover Institution receives nearly half of its funding from private gifts, primarily from individual contributions, and the other half from its endowment.[40]

Funders of the organization include the Taube Family Foundation, theKoret Foundation,theHoward Charitable Foundation,theSarah Scaife Foundation,theWalton Foundation,theLynde and Harry Bradley Foundation,and theWilliam E. Simon Foundation.[41]

Details

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Funding sources and expenditures, FY 2022[42]

Members

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In May 2018, the Hoover Institution's website listed 198 fellows. Fellowship appointments do not require the approval of Stanford tenure committees.[43]

Below is a list of directors and some of the more prominent fellows, former and current.

Directors

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Honorary Fellows

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Distinguished Fellows

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Senior Fellows

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Research Fellows

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Distinguished Visiting Fellows

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Visiting Fellows

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Media Fellows

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National Fellows

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Senior Research Fellows

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Annual Report 2023"(PDF).Hoover Institution.RetrievedFebruary 14,2024.
  2. ^abHanson, Victor Davis(July 30, 2019)."100 Years of the Hoover Institution".National Review.RetrievedAugust 13,2020.
  3. ^ab"Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace".Encyclopaedica Britannica.RetrievedApril 16,2015.
  4. ^McBride, Stewart (May 28, 1975)."Hoover Institution: Leaning to the right".Christian Science Monitor.RetrievedApril 16,2015.
  5. ^abcUniversity, Stanford (January 29, 2021)."Stanford's relationship to the Hoover Institution highlights Faculty Senate discussion".Stanford Report.RetrievedJune 19,2022.
  6. ^"Board of Overseers".Hoover Institution.RetrievedJune 21,2022.
  7. ^Ali, Ayaan Hirsi."The False Appeal Of Socialism".Hoover Institution.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2023.RetrievedOctober 5,2023.
  8. ^Chesley, Kate (January 29, 2021)."Stanford's relationship to the Hoover Institution highlights Faculty Senate discussion".Stanford Report.
  9. ^Gilligan, Thomas W. (March 23, 2015)."Business Dean Seizes Rare Opportunity to Lead Hoover Institution, and Other News About People".The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  10. ^"Exhibits A through Z".Stanford Magazine.March 2006.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  11. ^"Mission/History".Hoover Institution.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  12. ^Val Burris. "The interlock structure of the policy-planning network and the right turn in U.S. state policy" InPolitics and Public Policy(March 2015) pp. 3-42.
  13. ^"Research".Hoover Institution.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  14. ^"Hoover Institution Press".Hoover Institution.RetrievedMay 21,2023.
  15. ^"Top Influential Think Tanks".RetrievedOctober 9,2020.
  16. ^McGann, James (January 28, 2021)."2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report".TTCSP Global Go to Think Tank Index Reports(18).
  17. ^Duignan, Peter (2001). "The Library of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. Part 1: Origin and Growth".Library History.17:3–20.doi:10.1179/lib.2001.17.1.3.S2CID144635878.
  18. ^ab"Hoover Timeline".Hoover Institution.RetrievedJune 19,2022.
  19. ^Hoover, Herbert (1951).The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure, 1874–1920(PDF).New York: Macmillan. pp. 184–85.
  20. ^"Hoover Institution Library and Archives: Historical Background".Hoover Institution.
  21. ^"Make A Gift".myScience.January 11, 2019.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  22. ^abcBonafont, Roxy (May 11, 2019)."100 Years of Hoover: A History of Stanford's Decades-Long Debate over the Hoover Institution".Stanford Political Journal.RetrievedJuly 15,2019.
  23. ^"Hoover Institution – Hoover Institution Timeline".hoover.org.
  24. ^Duignan, Peter (2001). "The Library of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. Part 2: The Campbell Years".Library History.17(2): 107–118.doi:10.1179/lib.2001.17.2.107.S2CID144451652.
  25. ^abcdMcBride, Stewart (March 27, 1980)."Hoover Institution; Leaning to the right".The Christian Science Monitor.RetrievedJuly 17,2019.
  26. ^Fitzgerald, Patrick (February 1, 2008)."At Stanford, Hoover Debate Still Rages".CBS News.RetrievedJuly 17,2019.
  27. ^"The Man Behind the Institution".Stanford Magazine.April 2002.RetrievedJuly 18,2019.
  28. ^ab"Condoleezza Rice to lead Stanford's Hoover Institution".Stanford News.January 28, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 2,2020.
  29. ^"President Bush Awards the 2006 National Humanities Medals".The National Endowment for the Humanities.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  30. ^Martinovich, Milenko (October 19, 2017)."Hoover opens new David and Joan Traitel Building".Stanford News.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  31. ^Martinovich, Milenko (October 20, 2017)."Through research and education, Hoover scholars tackle some of the most urgent issues of our time".Stanford News.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  32. ^See"James N. Mattis"U.S. Department of Defense(2023).
  33. ^See "Former Secretary Of Defense, General Jim Mattis, US Marine Corps (Ret.), Returns To The Hoover Institution At Stanford University"online press release March 19, 2019.
  34. ^See "Hoover Institution Board of Overseers Holds Meetings in Washington, DC, Featuring Senior Trump Administration Officials"News from the Hoover InstitutionFebruary 24, 2020online
  35. ^Kelly, Kate; Mazzetti, Mark (October 14, 2020)."As Virus Spread Early On, Reports of Trump Administration Briefings Fueled Sell-Off".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedOctober 15,2020.
  36. ^"Stanford faculty votes to condemn Scott Atlas, White House coronavirus adviser and Hoover Institution fellow".The Mercury News.November 20, 2020.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  37. ^Niekerken, Bill van (April 4, 2017)."Stanford's secrets: Decades of surprises stashed in Hoover Tower".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  38. ^"Spotlight On Iran".Radio Farda.May 11, 2017.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  39. ^"Policy Review Web Archive".Hoover Institution.
  40. ^"Hoover Institution 2010 Report".Hoover Institution.p. 39.RetrievedJune 25,2011.
  41. ^Adeniji, Ade (April 21, 2015)."How the Hoover Institution Vacuums Up Big Conservative Bucks".Inside Philanthropy.
  42. ^"Financial Review 2022"(PDF).Hoover Institution.RetrievedFebruary 5,2023.
  43. ^Wooster, Martin Morse (2017).How Great Philanthropists Failed and You Can Succeed at Protecting Your Legacy.USA: Capital Research Center. p. 201.ISBN978-1892934048.
  44. ^"Yacht club to host celebration of Virginia Rothwell".Stanford Report.September 1, 2004.RetrievedMarch 25,2008.
  45. ^Trei, Lisa (November 28, 2001)."Glenn Campbell, former Hoover director, dead at 77".Stanford Report.RetrievedMarch 25,2008.
  46. ^"Margaret Thatcher".Hoover Institution.2010.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.
  47. ^"Distinguished Fellow".Hoover InstitutionStanford University.2010.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.
  48. ^"Senior Fellows".Hoover InstitutionStanford University.2011.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.
  49. ^"David Brady".Hoover Institution.
  50. ^"My Move to the Hoover Institution".Reason.2023.RetrievedSeptember 21,2023.
  51. ^"Research Fellows".Hoover Institution.
  52. ^"Former U.S. Central Command Chief General John Abizaid Appointed Hoover Distinguished Visiting Fellow".Hoover Institution.
  53. ^"Distinguished Visiting Fellows".Hoover InstitutionStanford University.2014.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.
  54. ^"William and Barbara Edwards Media Fellows".Hoover InstitutionStanford University.2010.RetrievedNovember 9,2010.
  55. ^ab"William and Barbara Edwards Media Fellows by year".hoover.org.
  56. ^"William and Barbara Edwards Media Fellows by year".Hoover Institutio.
  57. ^"VITA Mark Bils"(PDF).University of Rochester.RetrievedMay 31,2018.
  58. ^"Stephen Kotkin".Hoover Institution.RetrievedSeptember 29,2016.
  59. ^"John H. Bunzel".Hoover Institution.RetrievedNovember 25,2019.
  60. ^"Robert Hessen".Hoover Institution.RetrievedSeptember 29,2016.
  61. ^"James Bond Stockdale".Hoover Institution.RetrievedJune 8,2020.
  62. ^"Edward Teller".Hoover Institution.RetrievedMarch 7,2018.
  63. ^"Charles Wolf Jr".Hoover Institution.RetrievedSeptember 29,2016.

Further reading

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  • Duignan, Peter. "The Library of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace Part I. Origin and Growth."Library History17.1 (2001): 3-20.
  • Dwyer, Joseph D., ed.Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe: A Survey of Holdings at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace(Hoover Press, 1980)online.
  • Kiester, Sally Valente. "New Influence for Stanford's Hoover Institution."Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning13.7 (1981): 46-50.online,on role in Reagan administration
  • Palm, Charles G., and Dale Reed.Guide to the Hoover Institution Archives(Hoover Press, 1980)online.
  • Paul, Gary Norman. "The Development of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace Library, 1919–1944". PhD dissertation U. of California, Berkeley.Dissertation Abstracts International1974 35(3): 1682–1683a, 274 pp.
  • Reed, Dale, and Michael Jakobson. "Trotsky Papers at the Hoover Institution: One Chapter of an Archival Mystery Story."American Historical Review92.2 (1987): 363-375.online
  • Scott, Erik R.Defining Moments: The First One Hundred Years of the Hoover Institution(2019)online book review
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37°25′38″N122°09′59″W/ 37.4271°N 122.1664°W/37.4271; -122.1664