Six Decades of Human(e) Progress
At IHS, we build bridges across coalitions working to renew the liberal project—creating a 21st century that's freer, more tolerant, and more prosperous than any in human history.
This work takes on new urgency in a world of rising illiberalism and authoritarianism. Thanks to the generosity of over a thousand individual donors and foundations, IHS continues to find new ways to support the thinkers and leaders who are carrying liberal principles forward.
Our Work
IHS works where ideas take root. We place smart bets on the people and research projects that are redrawing the boundaries of human potential in classrooms, in policy, and in public life.
Supporting Scholars and Students
We identify and support the next generation of professors excited to teach the liberal principles that underlie human flourishing. We connect graduate students to the people, resources, and tools they need to succeed in their academic careers. And when they become professors, we provide grants and teaching resources that help them explore those ideas with their own students.
Connecting Research and Practice
Through research incubators and cross-sector convenings, we connect scholarly insight and leading-edge research to the policy practitioners who can put them to work in courtrooms, legislatures, and public debate.
Shaping Public Discourse
We bring liberal ideas into broader conversations about constitutional democracy, progress and innovation, and social trust. Our Liberalism.org magazine features public scholarship advancing liberal solutions to our most complex challenges.
The Four Corners of Liberalism
Every person is equal in dignity. From this follows four commitments: political, economic, cultural, and intellectual freedom. Held in balance, they form a system that allows people to live peacefully, pursue new ideas, and create the conditions for human flourishing.
Protection of individual rights through limited government and equal treatment under the law.
Freedom to innovate and exchange, fueling shared prosperity.
Recognition for one another as dignified equals, fostering respect and pluralism.
Open, evidence-based inquiry pursued with intellectual humility and courage.
HISTORY
IHS Through the Years
Founding
After facing academic pressure for assigning Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, Dr. F. A. ‘Baldy’ Harper founded IHS in Menlo Park, California, in 1961 to advance the pursuit of human freedom.
Early Network Building
Amid the Cold War, IHS advanced new ideas for peace, personal freedom, and market exchange, hosting landmark conferences and providing a platform for Hayek to develop alternatives to Soviet communism.
Investing in the Next Generation
IHS launches a new strategy to mentor and support rising scholars, laying the foundation for its long-term talent development model. IHS relocates to George Mason University to deepen its academic connections.
Expanding Public Influence
IHS expands beyond academia to bring liberal ideas to wider audiences, launching its first YouTube channel in 2011 and Liberalism.org in 2026. Today, its network exceeds 7,000 members and reaches 425,000 undergraduates annually.
PEOPLE
Our Team
Emily Chamlee-Wright
President & Chief Executive Officer
Courtney Derr
Executive Director
Gary Leff
Chief Financial Officer
Sharifa Ahmed
Director of Human Resources
Michael Tolhurst
Managing Director of Solution Coalitions, Academic Relations, and Business Intelligence
Aaron Powell
Senior Director of Liberal Projects
Sam Johnson
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Joshua Eakle
Managing Director of Development & Communications
Jim Ronyak
Managing Director of Information Technology
Our Board
Prof. Virgil Storr
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Prof. Christopher J. Coyne
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Mr. Ryan Stowers
Charles Koch Foundation, Arlington, VA
Prof. Tyler Cowen
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Mr. Brian Hooks
Stand Together, Arlington, VA
Prof. Todd J. Zywicki
George Mason University, Arlington, VA
Our Fellows
Latest Announcements
CivicsMind: An AI Civics Tutor That Answers from Its Sources and Cites Them
The Institute for Humane Studies has launched CivicsMind, a free AI civics platform at CivicsMind.ai. It answers questions about the Constitution and the workings of American government from a fixed library of sources—founding documents first—and it cites them.
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IHS Funds Research on Three Questions a Free Society Can't Take for Granted
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What Conservative Americans Are Actually Saying About Democracy
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Classical Liberal Mind: Conversations with 29 Architects of the Free Society
The Institute for Humane Studies has launched Classical Liberal Mind, a free AI platform that lets students, educators, and curious readers carry on conversations with 29 of the thinkers whose work built the modern liberal tradition.
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Flourishing House: A Day-Long Conversation on Dynamism
The common thread across the day was what it takes to keep a society capable of moving—capable of producing the buildings, the medicines, the technologies that don't yet exist.
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