Hoover Institution

Overview

The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy research center and library and archive located on the campus of Stanford University, with a secondary office in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1919 by Stanford alumnus and future U.S. President Herbert Hoover, it began as an archive documenting World War I and has grown into one of the largest think tanks in the United States.

Key functions and role

Hoover supports roughly 200 fellows working across economics, history, political science, education, energy and national security, publishing research through the Hoover Institution Press. Its Library & Archives hold nearly 7,000 archival collections in more than 150 languages, including a substantial collection of Soviet-era documents, and draw more than 10,000 visitors annually. Hoover operates as an independent institution within Stanford, with fellowship appointments that do not require approval from Stanford tenure committees.

History

Herbert Hoover began the collection in 1919 with a $50,000 gift to fund the gathering of primary source materials related to World War I, initially known as the Hoover War Collection. In 1959, as a Stanford trustee, Hoover issued a formal statement defining the institution's mission around supporting the U.S. Constitution, representative government and limited government intervention in the economy, a statement that continues to guide its mission and has periodically been a source of tension with Stanford's broader faculty. Longtime director W. Glenn Campbell led the institution from 1960 to 1989, followed by John Raisian from 1989 to 2015 and Thomas W. Gilligan from 2015 to 2020.

Political positions

Hoover is widely described as a conservative think tank, though its leadership has disputed characterizations of the institution as partisan. Its 1959 mission statement explicitly commits the institution to positions including support for private enterprise and limited government action, and it has historically hosted fellows associated with Republican administrations, including Secretaries of State George Shultz and Condoleezza Rice.

Leadership

Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, has served as the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution since September 2020, becoming its eighth director and the first woman to hold the position. Eric Wakin serves as Deputy Director and oversees the Library & Archives.

Location and contact info

Address
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, USA
Phone
650-723-1754
Website
https://www.hoover.org