John M. Olin Foundation
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the F. W. Olin FoundationF. W. Olin FoundationThe Franklin W. Olin Foundation was founded in 1938 by Franklin W. Olin.By the mid-1970s, the era of Horn, Wynn and Clark was ending, and the torch was passed to a new generation of board members. The transition in leadership began in 1974 with the election to the board of Carlton T. Helming, an...
or Spencer T. Olin Foundation, founded by Olin's father and brother, respectively.
John M. Olin Foundation was a grant-making foundation
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
established in 1953 by John M. Olin
John M. Olin
John Merrill Olin was an American businessman. He was the son of Franklin W. Olin.-Early life:Born in Alton, Illinois, Olin graduated from Cornell University with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry and as a brother of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity...
, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most non-profit foundations, the John M. Olin Foundation was charged to spend all of its assets within a generation of Olin's death, for fear of mission drift over time. It made its last grant in the summer of 2005 and officially disbanded on November 29 of that year after having disbursed over $370 million in funding, primarily to conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
think tanks, media outlets, and law programs at influential universities. The Foundation is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
movement and the Federalist Society
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist and/or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution...
. “All in all, the Federalist Society has been one of the best investments the foundation ever made,” wrote the Foundation to its trustees in 2003.
History and purpose
The fund was largely inactive until 1969, when John M. Olin was disturbed by a building takeover at his alma mater, Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. At the age of 80, he decided that he must pour his time and resources into preserving the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
system.
The Foundation is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
movement, a discipline that applies incentive-based thinking and cost-benefit analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...
to the field of legal theory
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. Olin believed that law schools
Law school in the United States
In the United States, a law school is an institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.Law schools in the U.S...
have a disproportionately large impact on society given their size and to this end decided to focus the majority of his funding there.
According to the official website, "the general purpose of the John M. Olin Foundation is to provide support for projects that reflect or are intended to strengthen the economic, political and cultural institutions upon which the American heritage of constitutional government and private enterprise is based. The Foundation also seeks to promote a general understanding of these institutions by encouraging the thoughtful study of the connections between economic and political freedoms, and the cultural heritage that sustains them."
William E. Simon
William E. Simon
William Edward Simon was a businessman, a Secretary of Treasury of the U.S. for three years, and a philanthropist. He became the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury on May 8, 1974, during the Nixon administration. He was reappointed by President Ford and served until 1977. Outside of government, he was...
served as president of the Foundation from 1977 until his death in 2000. He frequently discussed the foundation's commitment to supporting the "counter-intelligentsia." The Olin Foundation was formerly managed by Michael S. Joyce, who left to head the similar Bradley Foundation
Bradley Foundation
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a conservative foundation with about half a billion US dollars in assets. According to the Bradley Foundation 1998 Annual Report, it gives away more than $30 million per year...
. James Piereson was the last executive director and secretary.
The foundation supports conservative thinkers such as Heather Mac Donald
Heather Mac Donald
Heather Lynn Mac Donald is an American political commentator and thinker notable for her advocacy of secular conservatism. She has advocated her positions on numerous subjects including crime prevention, immigration reform, academia, the art world, and politics. She is a prolific essayist...
of the Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
; Mac Donald is the John M. Olin Fellow at this New York City-based institution.
Gun controversy
The John M. Olin Foundation funded the John M. Olin Fellowship at University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. While serving in the position professor John Lott
John Lott
John Richard Lott Jr. is an American academic and political commentator. He has previously held research positions at academic institutions including the University of Chicago, Yale University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland, College Park,...
produced a study that argued that relaxing concealed weapons laws can reduce crime. Critics argued that the study results were purchased by arms maker the Olin Corporation, via its management's advisory relationship to the John M. Olin Fellowship.
2005 Board of Directors
- Eugene F. Williams Jr., Chairman
- George J. Gillespie III, President and Treasurer
- James Piereson, Secretary
- Peter M. Flanigan
- Richard M. Furlaud
- Charles F. KnightCharles F. KnightCharles F. Knight is chairman emeritus of Emerson Electric Co., a manufacturer of electrical, electromechanical and electronic products and systems. He served as chairman of Emerson Electric from 1974 to 2004 and as chief executive officer from 1973 to 2000. He also served as president from 1986 to...
Conservative think tanks
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Center for Equal OpportunityCenter for Equal OpportunityThe Center For Equal Opportunity is a conservative think tank, which focuses on three specific areas of concern: affirmative action, immigration and bilingual education....
- Center for Individual RightsCenter for Individual RightsThe Center for Individual Rights is a non-profit public interest law firm in the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm is "dedicated to the defense of individual liberties against the increasingly aggressive and unchecked authority of federal and state governments." The Center is...
- Center of the American ExperimentCenter of the American ExperimentThe Center of the American Experiment is a conservative free market think tank in Minnesota, USA.-Overview:The Center of the American Experiment was founded in 1990. Its founder and President is Michael Pearlstein, a former Reagan appointee. Annette Meeks used to serve as its CEO. It has received...
- Eagle ForumEagle ForumEagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has been primarily focused on social issues; it describes...
- Free Congress FoundationFree Congress FoundationThe Free Congress Foundation , is a conservative think tank founded by Paul Weyrich. It was based near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C...
- Heritage FoundationHeritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
- Hoover InstitutionHoover InstitutionThe Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
at Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San... - Hudson InstituteHudson InstituteThe Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
- Manhattan Institute for Public Policy Research
- National Association of ScholarsNational Association of ScholarsThe National Association of Scholars is a non-profit organization in the United States that opposes multiculturalism and affirmative action and seeks to counter what it considers a "liberal bias" in academia...
- Palmer R. Chitester FundPalmer R. Chitester FundThe Palmer R. Chitester Fund is a defunct libertarian-leaning Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation based in Erie, Pennsylvania.The Fund had three main initiatives:...
- Philanthropy RoundtablePhilanthropy RoundtableThe Philanthropy Roundtable is a private, non-partisan, 501 organization. Its stated mission is "to foster excellence in philanthropy, to protect philanthropic freedom, to assist donors in achieving their philanthropic intent, and to help donors advance liberty, opportunity, and personal...
- Project for the New American CenturyProject for the New American CenturyThe Project for the New American Century was an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. that lasted from 1997 to 2006. It was co-founded as a non-profit educational organization by neoconservatives William Kristol and Robert Kagan...
(PNAC)
Universities
- University of Chicago Law SchoolUniversity of Chicago Law SchoolThe University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
- Stanford Law SchoolStanford Law SchoolStanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
($8.3 Million ) - University of Virginia School of LawUniversity of Virginia School of LawThe University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
- Yale Law SchoolYale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
- Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
($10 million) - Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs - Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
(John M. Olin Business School) - Georgetown University Law CenterGeorgetown University Law CenterGeorgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
- Kenyon CollegeKenyon CollegeKenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
(John M. Olin Library) - Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(John M. Olin Library) - Tufts UniversityTufts UniversityTufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
(The Olin Language Center) - Bard CollegeBard CollegeBard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
(The Olin Language Center)
The John M. Olin Foundation has also given large amounts of money to conservative groups at prestigious colleges and universities, including the Federalist Society
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist and/or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution...
.
Professorships
There are several dozen John M. Olin Professors at universities and law schools around the world, including:- John M. Olin Professor at Fordham UniversityFordham UniversityFordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
(currently Ernest van den HaagErnest van den HaagErnest van den Haag was a Dutch-American sociologist, social critic, and John M. Olin Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University...
) - John M. Olin Professor at George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
(currently Walter E. WilliamsWalter E. WilliamsWalter E. Williams, is an American economist, commentator, and academic. He is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author known for his libertarian views.- Early life and education :Williams family during childhood...
) - John M. Olin Professor at Yale Law SchoolYale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
(currently George L. PriestGeorge L. PriestGeorge L. Priest is the John M. Olin Professor of Law and Economics and Director of the John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy at Yale Law School. One of the nation's foremost antitrust scholars, he is also the author of a wide number of articles and monographs on the subjects of...
)
Publications
- Collegiate NetworkCollegiate NetworkThe Collegiate Network is a non-profit, non-partisan tax-exempt 501 organization that provides financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers of almost 100 independent, conservative and libertarian publications at leading colleges and universities around the country. The project...
- CommentaryCommentary (magazine)Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
- The National InterestThe National InterestThe National Interest is a prominent conservative American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest. It was founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and until 2001 was edited by Anglo-Australian Owen Harries...
- The New CriterionThe New CriterionThe New Criterion is a New York-based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. It has sections for criticism of poetry, theater, art, music, the media, and books...
Authors and researchers
- William J. Bennett
- Allan BloomAllan BloomAllan David Bloom was an American philosopher, classicist, and academic. He studied under David Grene, Leo Strauss, Richard McKeon and Alexandre Kojève. He subsequently taught at Cornell University, the University of Toronto, Yale University, École Normale Supérieure of Paris, and the University...
received $25,000 to write The Closing of the American MindThe Closing of the American MindThe Closing of the American Mind, by Allan Bloom , describes "how higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today's students." He focuses especially upon the "openness" of relativism as leading paradoxically to the great "closing" referenced in the book's title...
, a critique of postmodern university culture. He also started the Center for Inquiry into the Theory and Practice of Democracy in Chicago with Olin funding. - Robert BorkRobert BorkRobert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
- David BrockDavid BrockDavid Brock is an American journalist and author, the founder of the media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, and a Democratic political operative...
got $5000 to write The Real Anita HillThe Real Anita HillThe Real Anita Hill is a controversial 1993 book written by David Brock that claims to reveal the "true motives" of Anita Hill, who had accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his 1991 confirmation hearings....
, a book critical of Anita HillAnita HillAnita Faye Hill is an American attorney and academic—presently a professor of social policy, law and women's studies at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management. She became a national figure in 1991 when she alleged that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had...
who was slowing the confirmation of Clarence ThomasClarence ThomasClarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
for the U.S. Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Brock later regretted the book and apologized in Blinded by the RightBlinded by the RightBlinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative is a 2002 book written by former conservative journalist David Brock detailing his departure from the conservative movement. It is also the story of his coming out as a gay man. In the book, he states that he visited gay bars with Matt...
. - Linda ChavezLinda ChavezLinda Chavez is an American author, commentator, and radio talk show host. She is also a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, has a syndicated column that appears in newspapers nationwide each week, and sits on the Board of Directors of two Fortune 1000 companies:...
- Dinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'Souza is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City. D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker....
- Samuel P. HuntingtonSamuel P. HuntingtonSamuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
received a grant to write the book Clash of CivilizationsClash of CivilizationsThe Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....
. - Irving KristolIrving KristolIrving Kristol was an American columnist, journalist, and writer who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism"...
- Robert S. LeikenRobert S. LeikenRobert S. Leiken is an American intellectual, political scientist, and historian. He is the Director of the Immigration and National Security Program and the Mexico Program at the Center for the National Interest.-Early life:...
- John LottJohn LottJohn Richard Lott Jr. is an American academic and political commentator. He has previously held research positions at academic institutions including the University of Chicago, Yale University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland, College Park,...
- Henry ManneHenry ManneHenry Manne is an American writer and academic, considered a founder of the Law and economics discipline. He is Professor Emeritus of the George Mason University....
- Harvey MansfieldHarvey MansfieldHarvey Claflin Mansfield, Jr. is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships and has been a Fellow at the National Humanities Center; he also received the National Humanities Medal in 2004 and...
- Charles MurrayCharles Murray (author)Charles Alan Murray is an American libertarian political scientist, author, columnist, and pundit working as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC...
received a grant for his 1984 book Losing Ground. - Michael NovakMichael NovakMichael Novak is an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than twenty-five books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known for his book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism...
- George StiglerGeorge StiglerGeorge Joseph Stigler was a U.S. economist. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1982, and was a key leader of the Chicago School of Economics, along with his close friend Milton Friedman....
Further reading
- John J. MillerJohn J. MillerJohn J. Miller is the national political reporter for National Review and contributor to its Web component, National Review Online...
, A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America (2005) ISBN 1-59403-117-7
External links
- "Goals Reached, A Donor Closes Shop", New York Times, May 29, 2005
- John M. Olin Center for Inquiry into the Theory and Practice of Democracy
- John M. Olin Institute For Strategic Studies
- National Review Online: "Foundation's End," by John J. Miller
- "Muscular Philanthropy: Tough love and the John M. Olin Foundation", Townhall.com, November 15, 2005
Critical
- Profile by Media TransparencyMedia transparencyMedia transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means.As used in the humanities,the topic of media transparency implies openness and accountability...
- Profile by Right Web