John W. Kluge Center

The Kluge Center was founded in 2000 with a gift to the Library of Congress by philanthropist John W. Kluge. The gift was announced on October 5, 2000, in a joint press conference by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), then Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, Rep. Bill Thomas (R-California), then Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, and James H. Billington, then the Librarian of Congress.[4] The Center opened in summer 2002, welcoming its first scholars in July and August.[5]

The Kluge Center charter states that the Kluge Center will "bring a small number of the world's best thinkers into residence at the Library of Congress. The Center will assemble the finest minds characterized by broad historical or philosophical vision and capable of providing dispassionate wisdom and intelligent mediation of the knowledge in the Library's collections and of the information streaming into the Library via the Internet. They will have the opportunity through residence in the Jefferson Building both to distill wisdom from the rich resources of the Library and to stimulate, through informal conversations and meetings, Members of Congress, their support staffs and the broader public policy community. The Center's Scholars and Fellows will help bridge the divide between knowledge and power."[6]

The charter establishes five positions for people of great scholarly accomplishment, Kluge Chairs, in the areas of American Law and Governance, Countries and Cultures of the North, Countries and Cultures of the South, Technology and Society and Modern Culture. The charter also stipulates that the Kluge Center will be home to a Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations, Harissios Papamarkou Chair in Education, and Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in American History and Ethics. The charter adds that invitations to additional distinguished visiting scholars may be made to pursue special projects.[7]

The charter commits the Center to accommodating younger scholars as Fellows, particularly scholars at the post-doctoral level. The selection of the Fellows is by competition.[8]

The charter also states that the Kluge Center will be responsible for awarding the Kluge Prize.[9]

Historian Romila Thapar at the Kluge Center inaugural

In June 2014, the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress held a seminar focusing on astrobiology. Panel members (l to r) theologian Robin Lovin, philosopher Derek Malone-France, and astrobiologist Steven J. Dick

The Kluge Center has hosted several notable scholars from the academic and political worlds, including:[10]

• John Hope Franklin, Historian, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Vaclav Havel, Politician & playwright, Chair in Modern Culture
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Politician & sociologist, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Jean Bethke Elshtain, Ethicist, Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History
• Marie Arana, Author, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Manuel Castells, Sociologist, Chair in Technology and Society
• Wendy Hall, Computer scientist, Chair in Technology and Society
• Steven J. Dick, Astronomer, NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology
• David Grinspoon, Planetary Scientist, NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology
• Major Owens, U.S. Congressman, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Mark Noll, Historian, Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History
• William Julius Wilson, Sociologist, Chair in American Law and Governance
• Raja Mohan, Foreign Policy analyst, Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations
• Romila Thapar, Historian, Chair in Countries & Cultures of the South
• Jeffrey C. Alexander, Sociologist, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Robert V. Remini, Historian, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Wm. Roger Louis, Historian, Chair in Countries & Cultures of the North
• Abdolkarim Soroush, Philosopher, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Theologian, Distinguished Visiting Scholar
• Morton Kondracke, Journalist, Kemp Chair in Political Economy
• Aaron Friedberg, Foreign Policy analyst, Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations
• Neil Smelser, Sociologist, Chair in Countries and Cultures of the North
• Maya Jasanoff, Historian, Kluge Fellow

The Kluge Center participates in several partnerships that bring scholars to the Library of Congress for periods of residential research. These include partnerships with:[11]

• NASA - on the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology
• Arts and Humanities Research Council - to bring scholars based in the United Kingdom to the Library of Congress for up to six months
• American Council of Learned Societies - for Recently Tenured Scholars to conduct research at the Library of Congress
• American Historical Association - on the J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship in American History
• Bavarian American Academy - for students and graduates at Bavarian universities
• Black Mountain Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas

In June 2015, the Kluge Center celebrated its 15th anniversary with an event titled #ScholarFest. The event brought back to Washington some of the Center's best scholars for two days of "lightning conversations" on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post described the event as "speed dating for the intelligentsia."[12]

This article incorporates text from the Library of Congress website which is a product of the US Government and in the public domain.

• John W. Kluge Center