Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions
Encyclopedia
The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara, California
was an important think tank
from 1959 to 1977, declining in influence thereafter. The Center held discussions in a variety of areas that it hoped would influence public deliberation. It attained some controversy with its conference of student radical leaders in 1967, and with a suggested new United States Constitution proposed by Fellow Rexford G. Tugwell
.
The Center was an offshoot of the Fund for the Republic, which had been established with a $15 million grant from the Ford Foundation
. In its later years, its greatest source of support was Chester Carlson
, the inventor of the Xerox process. For a time, Associate Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
was Chairman of the Center's Board of Directors.
It was founded in 1959 by Robert M. Hutchins.
Fellows of the Center included: Stringfellow Barr
, from 1959 to 1969; education philosopher Frederick Mayer
("A History of Educational Thought"); Linus Pauling
, from 1963 to 1967; Bishop James A. Pike
, from 1966 to 1969; Robert Kurt Woetzel
; and Harvey Wheeler
.
In 1969 Hutchins reorganized the Center. Many associates departed. New appointees included, among others, Alexander Comfort
, later to attain fame as the author of The Joy of Sex
; Bertrand de Jouvenel
; and Stanford biologist Paul R. Ehrlich
, author of The Population Bomb
.
Harry Ashmore
was its president from 1969 to 1974.
After Hutchins' death in 1977, the Center found it difficult to raise funds. It became affiliated with the University of California at Santa Barbara, which sold its real estate. The Center absorbed the Fund for the Republic, a civil rights and civil liberties foundation, in 1979.
The Center closed in 1987.
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
was an important think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
from 1959 to 1977, declining in influence thereafter. The Center held discussions in a variety of areas that it hoped would influence public deliberation. It attained some controversy with its conference of student radical leaders in 1967, and with a suggested new United States Constitution proposed by Fellow Rexford G. Tugwell
Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
.
The Center was an offshoot of the Fund for the Republic, which had been established with a $15 million grant from the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
. In its later years, its greatest source of support was Chester Carlson
Chester Carlson
Chester Floyd Carlson was an American physicist, inventor, and patent attorney born in Seattle, Washington....
, the inventor of the Xerox process. For a time, Associate Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...
was Chairman of the Center's Board of Directors.
It was founded in 1959 by Robert M. Hutchins.
Fellows of the Center included: Stringfellow Barr
Stringfellow Barr
Stringfellow Barr was an historian, author, and former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, where he, together with Scott Buchanan, instituted the Great Books curriculum.Barr was the editor of Virginia Quarterly Review from 1931-1937...
, from 1959 to 1969; education philosopher Frederick Mayer
Frederick Mayer
Frederick Mayer was an educational scientist and philosopher of the University of Redlands, California and one of the leading creativity experts. One of his most important aims was a global humanism. Until the very last days of his life he was active as an author...
("A History of Educational Thought"); Linus Pauling
Linus Pauling
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
, from 1963 to 1967; Bishop James A. Pike
James Pike
James Albert Pike was an American Episcopal bishop, prolific writer, and one of the first mainline religious figures to appear regularly on television....
, from 1966 to 1969; Robert Kurt Woetzel
Robert Kurt Woetzel
Robert Kurt Woetzel , professor of international law, was for many years a leading proponent for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.-Early life and education:...
; and Harvey Wheeler
Harvey Wheeler
John Harvey Wheeler was an American author, political scientist, and scholar. He was best known as co-author with Eugene Burdick of Fail-Safe, 1962, an early cold war novel that depicted what could easily go wrong in an age on the verge of nuclear war. The novel was made into a movie, directed...
.
In 1969 Hutchins reorganized the Center. Many associates departed. New appointees included, among others, Alexander Comfort
Alex Comfort
Alexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution...
, later to attain fame as the author of The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...
; Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins, usually known only as Bertrand de Jouvenel was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist.-Life:...
; and Stanford biologist Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera , but...
, author of The Population Bomb
The Population Bomb
The Population Bomb was a best-selling book written by Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife, Anne Ehrlich , in 1968. It warned of the mass starvation of humans in the 1970s and 1980s due to overpopulation, as well as other major societal upheavals, and advocated immediate action to limit population growth...
.
Harry Ashmore
Harry Ashmore
Harry Scott Ashmore was an American journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his editorials in 1957 on the school integration conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas....
was its president from 1969 to 1974.
After Hutchins' death in 1977, the Center found it difficult to raise funds. It became affiliated with the University of California at Santa Barbara, which sold its real estate. The Center absorbed the Fund for the Republic, a civil rights and civil liberties foundation, in 1979.
The Center closed in 1987.