Earhart Foundation has been a major supporter of The Institute of World Politics since 1992. The Institute’s success would have been impossible without the Foundation’s generosity, and IWP has been honored to work with Earhart to further educational excellence in the fields of international relations and national security. Among many generous grants to IWP, Earhart’s support has enabled Professors Kenneth DeGraffenreid (Senior Professor of Intelligence) and David Klocek (Vice-Dean) to serve on the staff at IWP.
Harry Boyd Earhart organized Earhart Foundation in 1929, and its resources have come from gifts derived from his vigorous business career. He founded White Star Refining Company, now a part of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Recognizing the critical impact of ideas and education on the health of a civilization, Mr. Earhart dedicated his foundation’s efforts to promoting better understanding of the principles of limited government, individual responsibility and ordered liberty.
Although he did not receive formal education beyond the eighth grade, Mr. Earhart maintained a lively interest in the world of ideas throughout his life. He was a voracious reader and spent considerable time with the great works of history, religion, philosophy, political science and economics at the heart of the Western tradition. He believed strongly in the principles of the American Founding and in the Constitution as the cornerstone of the American Republic.
Today Earhart Foundation continues the work of its founder by providing support for a variety of research and related efforts in the fields of economics, history, philosophy, religion, international relations, national security affairs and political science among others.
IWP first became known to Earhart Foundation through the work of Dr. John Lenczowski, its Founder and President. Following her predecessors as President of Earhart Foundation, Messrs. Richard Ware and David Kennedy, Dr. Ingrid Gregg explains that the Institute’s “dedicated and comprehensive focus on national security issues and international affairs continues to make it attractive as a grantee.” As a school of statecraft and international affairs in the best sense, IWP seeks to provide a foundation for thinking about these issues within the context of the study of history, philosophy, economics, culture and the American Founding.
Dr. Gregg observed that one of IWP’s strengths lies in the fact that, “IWP is willing to invest in students who are prepared to do the hard work necessary to succeed in the fields of national security and intelligence affairs,” and that IWP takes a “nuanced, long-term view of preparing the next generation of scholars who enter this field in a serious way.”
IWP is tremendously grateful to Earhart Foundation for its generous gifts over the years, and looks forward to continuing its work with the Foundation to further our missions in years to come.