 | This articlemay need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia'squality standards.You can help. Thetalk page may contain suggestions.(January 2024) |
 | |
| Formation | 1949; 76 years ago (1949) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Walter Paepcke |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| 84-0399006 | |
| Headquarters | 2300 N Street, NW, Suite 700 |
| Location |
|
President & CEO | Daniel R. Porterfield |
| Revenue | $232,109,335[1] (2023) |
| Expenses | $225,738,675[1] (2023) |
| Website | www |
TheAspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as theAspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.[2] It is headquartered inWashington, D.C., but also has a campus inAspen, Colorado, its original home.[3]
Its stated mission is to "drive change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges of our time".[4] The Aspen Institute’s work focuses on many sectors including business, education, communications, energy and environment, health, security and international affairs.[5]
The institute was largely the creation ofWalter Paepcke, aChicago businessman who had become inspired by theGreat Books program ofMortimer Adler at theUniversity of Chicago.[6] In 1945, Paepcke visitedBauhaus artist and architectHerbert Bayer, AIA, who had designed and built a Bauhaus-inspired minimalist home outside the decaying former mining town of Aspen, in theRoaring Fork Valley. Paepcke and Bayer envisioned a place where artists, leaders, thinkers, and musicians could gather. Shortly thereafter, while passing through Aspen on a hunting expedition, oil industry maverickRobert O. Anderson (soon to be founder and CEO ofAtlantic Richfield) met with Bayer and shared in Paepcke's and Bayer's vision. In 1949, Paepcke organized a 20-day international celebration for the 200th birthday ofGermanpoet andphilosopherJohann Wolfgang von Goethe. The celebration attracted over 2,000 attendees, includingAlbert Schweitzer,José Ortega y Gasset,Thornton Wilder, andArthur Rubinstein.[7]
In 1950, the Paepckes, Adler, andRobert Hutchins, then the Chancellor of theUniversity of Chicago, founded the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies;[8] and later theAspen Music Festival and eventually (with Bayer and Anderson) the International Design Conference at Aspen (IDCA).[9] Paepcke sought a forum "where the human spirit can flourish", especially amid the whirlwind and chaos ofmodernization. He hoped that the institute could help business leaders recapture what he called "eternal verities": the values that guided them intellectually, ethically, and spiritually as they led their companies. Inspired by philosopherMortimer Adler's Great Books seminar at theUniversity of Chicago, which was later adopted by Encyclopædia Britannica'sGreat Books of the Western World, Paepcke worked with Anderson to create the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar.[10] In 1951, the institute sponsored a nationalphotography conference. During the 1960s and 1970s, the institute added organizations, programs, and conferences, including theAspen Center for Physics, theAspen Strategy Group, Communications and Society Program and other programs that concentrated on education, communications, justice, Asian thought, science, technology, the environment, andinternational affairs.
In 1979, through a donation byCorning Glass industrialist and philanthropistArthur A. Houghton Jr., the institute acquired a 1,000-acre (4 km2) campus on the eastern shore of theChesapeake Bay inMaryland, known today as theWye River Conference Centers.[11]
The Wye River campus has hosted several historic meetings, including the1998 Wye Accord for Peace in the Middle East. In 2022, the Institute gifted and sold a combined 563 acres of the campus to theUniversity of Maryland for continued use for research and education purposes,[12] donating the rest to theHole in the Wall Gang Camp to be renovated for free programming for children with serious illnesses and their families.
In 1983, former United States SenatorDick Clark founded the Aspen Institute's Congressional program, which sought to educate members of Congress on foreign affairs issues.[13]
In 2005, the Aspen Institute held the firstAspen Ideas Festival, featuring leading minds from around the world sharing and speaking onglobal issues. The institute hosts the festival annually, co-hosting withThe Atlantic until 2020.[14] It has trained philanthropists such asCarrie Morgridge.[15] It has since added additional events such as the Aspen Ideas Health and Aspen Ideas Climate.[16] In 2023, the Aspen Ideas Climate event included Vice PresidentKamala Harris and famed singerGloria Estefan.[17]
Since 2013,[18] the Aspen Institute together with U.S. magazineThe Atlantic until 2019 andBloomberg Philanthropies since, has participated in organizing the annual CityLab event, a summit dedicated to developing strategies for the challenges ofurbanization in today's cities.[19][20]
Walter Isaacson was the president and CEO of Aspen Institute from 2003 to June 2018. Isaacson announced in March 2017 that he would step down as president and CEO at the end of the year.[21] On November 30, 2017,Daniel Porterfield was announced as his successor. Porterfield succeeded Isaacson on June 1, 2018.[22]
In 2019, the Institute announced the Aspen Partnership for an Inclusive Economy, receiving a $26 million gift fromMastercard to mobilize the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address income and information inequality and create inclusive growth.[23]
In 2022, the Institute unveiled the Resnick Center forHerbert Bayer Studies, commemorating the artist’s legacy as one of the Institute’s co-founders and as a longtime Aspen resident.[24]
In 2023,Simon Godwin was named Aspen Institute's Harman/Eisner artist in residence. Godwin is theartistic director for theShakespeare Theatre Company and served a one-year residency at the institute.[25] In June 2023, CAA's Bruno del Granado was named to be head of the Board of the Aspen Institute's Latinos Society Program.[26]
In August 2024, theBezos Family Foundation gifted the Institute a $175 million endowment to create the Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute, the purpose of which is to ensure that which will expand opportunities for youth and young adult civic engagement, civil dialogue, and leadership development.[27]
The Aspen Institute is a nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Trustees, currently chaired by Margot Pritzker, comprising leaders from various sectors, including business, government, academia, and philanthropy.[28][29]
The Aspen Institute pursues its mission through more than 50 programs spanning policy, public engagement, leadership, and youth and young adult initiatives.The Aspen Institute operates multiple policy programs focused on nonpartisan analysis and dialogue across key societal issues. They work across a range of issues including business, education, communications, energy and environment, health, security, and international affairs.[30][31]
Leadership development is a core part of the Aspen Institute’s mission,[32] equipping leaders across sectors, generations, and geographies with values-based leadership skills to drive positive change in their communities and industries.[33]
The Aspen Executive Seminar, one of the Institute’s longest-running leadership programs, brings together senior executives and public leaders to engage in deep discussions on values, ethics, and leadership.[34] Another key program is the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN),[35] a worldwide community of nearly 4,000 leaders from 62+ countries, spanning business, government and the nonprofit sector, all committed to addressing complex societal challenges. The AGLN comprises 14 regional and sector-specific fellowships, which support leaders in their respective fields through curated seminars, mentorship, and cross-sector collaboration.[36]
In addition to its U.S.-based activities, the Aspen Institute has a growing global presence. Since 1974 the Aspen Institute has inspired 13 independently-governed and self-funding international partner organizations in 16 countries: Central Europe (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.[37]
The Aspen Institute's community program includes lecturers from the Hurst Lecture Series; the McCloskey Speaker Series; and the Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit series.[38]
The 2024 Summer lineup included distinguished professors from theUniversity of California, Berkeley;Harvard Medical School;Cleveland Clinic; and theUniversity of Michigan.[39]
As of 2023 the Aspen Institute had net assets of $408,226,171.[40]
Source:[40]
| Funding details as of 2023:[1] | Revenue and support as of 2023: $232,109,335
| Expenses as of 2023: $225,738,675
|
The Institute is largely funded by foundations such as theCarnegie Corporation, theRockefeller Brothers Fund, theGates Foundation, theLumina Foundation, and theFord Foundation, by seminar fees, and by individual donations.[41] Its board of trustees includes leaders from politics, government, business and academia who also contribute to its support. A report by theCenter for International Policy'sForeign Influence Transparency Initiative of the top 50 think tanks[42] found that from 2014 to 2018 the Aspen Institute received more than US$8 million in funding from outside the United States, the fifth-highest amount among think tanks. This funding originated primarily in Western democracies but also included "sizeable donations from undemocratic regimes in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."[43]
In April 2020, the company received approximately $8 million in federally backed small business loans as part of thePaycheck Protection Program. The company received scrutiny over this loan, which meant to protect small and private businesses.The Washington Post noted their large endowment and membership of billionaires made this problematic.Dele Olojede, a fellow at the institute, called it "contrary to the stated purpose of this institute", that "one of America’s most elite institutions thinks it is okay to take the money", going on to say "Those who purport to be values-based and public-spirited leaders cannot at the same time put self interest first, when there is so much human suffering and death".[44] The day after Olojede and theWashington Post highlighted the funding, Aspen Institute announced they would return it, stating "Upon listening to our communities and further reflection, we have made the decision to return the loan".[45]
The Aspen Institute offers a range offellowships that support leaders from diverse backgrounds and work on issues such as economic policy,education,finance,public health, environmental sustainability, andjournalism. These fellowships provide opportunities for professionals to develop leadership skills and explore solutions to complex challenges through structured discussions and collaborative learning. These include:
TheHenry Crown Fellowship, established in 1997, educates accomplished entrepreneurs from the private sector to become leaders in community and global development projects. The Aspen Global Leadership Network inducts an annual class of 20-22 candidates between the ages of 30-46 for a two-year training program. Instruction takes place at the Aspen Institute's campus inAspen, Colorado, and various sites abroad.[46]
The New Voices Fellowship is a year long program for applicants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Every year, nominations are accepted from August through October. Fellows are selected in December and announced publicly in early January.[47][48]
The New Voices Fellowship is a non-residential program. During the fellowship year, fellows meet three times for one week sessions. There are no age limitations for fellows. All expenses for participation in the fellowship are covered by the program. At times the program will also cover the cost of "media-related activities and conferences."[49][48]
Community Colleges which succeed in attaining exceptional results for all students during their time in college and as post-graduates are awarded the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.[50][51]
Recipients to date include:[52]
TheFinancial Times called the Faculty Pioneers and Dissertation Proposal Awards the "Oscars of the business school world". These honor business school instructors with an outstanding track record of leadership and risk-taking in ensuring that theMBA curriculum incorporates social, environmental and ethical issues.[55]
Recipients in the Category "Lifetime Achievement" include:
This annual award was created to honor an outstanding leader whose achievements reflect the high standards of honor, integrity, industry, and philanthropy that characterized the life and career of industrialist and philanthropistHenry Crown. Notable recipients include:
The full list of laureates appears on the Award's web page.[57]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)"We believe that our application, which was made in the first week of the PPP, was consistent with the goals of the program. Upon listening to our communities and further reflection, we have made the decision to return the loan," said spokeswoman Amy DeMaria in a statement. "The Aspen Institute is committed to doing our part to help the country and the world both recover from and rebuild after this global pandemic. We stand with all who are trying to make a difference in very difficult times."