Jump to content

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Coordinates: 38°53′37″N 77°01′50″W / 38.8936°N 77.0305°W / 38.8936; -77.0305
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Wilson center" redirects here. For the center of the Wilson confidence interval, see Binomial proportion confidence interval § Wilson score interval.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
AbbreviationWilson Center
Established1968; 57 years ago (1968)
TypeNonprofit organization (501(c)(3))
52-1067541
Legal statusUnited States Presidential Memorial
HeadquartersRonald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Location
President emerita and distinguished fellow
Jane Harman
Key people
Mark Andrew Green (president and CEO) and Joe Asher (board chairman)
AffiliationsSmithsonian Institution
Websitewww.wilsoncenter.org Edit this at Wikidata
This article is part of
a series about
Woodrow Wilson
Personal
28th President of the United States
Tenure
Presidential campaigns
Legacy
Woodrow Wilson's signature
Seal of the President of the United States

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both a presidential memorial to Woodrow Wilson and a part of the Smithsonian Institution.[2] The Wilson Center describes itself as nonpartisan and provides a forum for scholars and policymakers to address critical international and domestic challenges.[2]

The Wilson Center has been recognized as a leading global think tank. In 2020, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ranked it as the 10th most influential think tank worldwide.[3] It conducts research on international relations, security, economics, and governance, producing reports and hosting discussions that shape policy debates.

On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of several federal entities, including the Wilson Center.[4] The order directed the reduction of functions and personnel across affected institutions to the minimum required by law.[5]

Organization

[edit]

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was established within the Smithsonian Institution, but it has its own board of trustees, composed both of government officials and of people from private life appointed by the president of the United States. It publishes a digital magazine, the Wilson Quarterly.[6][7]

The center is a public–private partnership with approximately one-third of the center's operating funds coming annually from an appropriation of the U.S. government. The center is housed in a wing of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a federal office building where the center has a 30-year rent-free lease. The remainder of the center's funding comes from foundations, grants, contracts, corporations, individuals, endowment income, and subscriptions.[8][9]

The center has faced challenges in recent years. In March 2017, President Trump proposed a budget that called for eliminating federal funding for the center, reflecting a recommendation issued by the Heritage Foundation earlier that year.[10][11] In November 2022, the Russian government labeled the center an "undesirable organization" under Russian law, barring its activities in the country.[12] The Heritage Foundation again called for eliminating federal appropriations to the center in its "Budget Blueprint for FY2023", estimating savings of between $16 million and $21 million per year.

Administration

[edit]

The board of trustees, currently chaired by Bill Haslam, is appointed to six-year terms by the U.S. president.[13]

The board of directors include Haslam, vice chair Drew Maloney, private citizen members Nick Adams, Thelma Duggin, Brian Hook, David Jacobson, Timothy Pataki, Alan N. Rechtschaffen, Louis Susman. Public members include Antony Blinken, Lonnie Bunch, Miguel Cardona, David Ferriero, Carla Hayden, Shelly Lowe, Xavier Becerra.[14]

On January 28, 2021, Mark Andrew Green was announced as the Wilson Center's new president, director, and CEO, and he began his term on March 15, 2021.[15]

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Brian Hook was fired.[16][17]

Programs

[edit]

Most of the center's staff form specialized programs and projects covering broad areas of study.[18] Key programs include the Cold War International History Project, Environmental Change and Security Program, History and Public Policy Program, Kennan Institute, the Kissinger Institute, and the North Korea International Documentation Project.[19]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars". USA.gov. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "About the Wilson Center". Wilson Center. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ McGann, James G. (January 28, 2021). "2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report" – via repository.upenn.edu.
  4. ^ "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy". The White House. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Gangitano, Alex (March 15, 2025). "Trump signs order to dismantle seven federal agencies focused on media, libraries, homelessness". The Hill. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Institution, Smithsonian. "Woodrow Wilson Center Established". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "When Goods Cross Borders". Wilson Quarterly. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  8. ^ "Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Plan for Federal Funding Hiatus" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson Center. August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "990 Forms/Budgets". Wilson Center. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Parker, Kelly; Watson, Dan (March 16, 2017). "These are the 19 agencies Trump would stop funding entirely". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  11. ^ Restuccia, Andrew (March 16, 2017). "Trump budget would wipe out dozens of programs". POLITICO. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  12. ^ "Woodrow Wilson Int'l Center for Scholars designated undesirable in Russia - Prosecutor General's Office". Interfax. November 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Leadership". February 7, 2023.
  14. ^ "Leadership | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  15. ^ "Wilson Center Names Ambassador Mark Green as Next President, Director and CEO". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Timotija, Filip (January 21, 2025). "Trump fires 4 Biden appointees, including his own former Iran envoy". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  17. ^ Trump, Donald (January 20, 2025). "Jose Andres from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President's Export Council—YOU'RE FIRED!". Archived from the original on January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  18. ^ "Programs @ The Woodrow Wilson Center". Wilsoncenter.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  19. ^ "Programs | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
[edit]

Media related to Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at Wikimedia Commons

38°53′37″N 77°01′50″W / 38.8936°N 77.0305°W / 38.8936; -77.0305

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woodrow_Wilson_International_Center_for_Scholars&oldid=1280882944"