American Enterprise Institute

Advocacy Group

American Enterprise Institute

Background

According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s Sourcewatch, The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is “an influential right-wing think tank that advocates for lower taxes, fewer protections for consumers and the environment, and cuts to the social safety net.” AEI identifies its guiding principles as including democracy, free enterprise, and a “pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.”

Advocacy

Advocacy for Civil Discourse and Viewpoint Diversity in Higher Education

AEI’s Academic Programs page states that it “connects colleges and universities with the ideas and networks of AEI” and that its student programs seek to provide the rising generation with skills in “civil and substantive discourse,” strengthen commitment to classical liberal ideas and institutions, and foster a “competition of ideas.”

In 2025, AEI established the Center for the Future of the American University. The Center is co-directed by Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey (see profiles below) and makes “viewpoint diversity” a central part of its higher-education work. In January 2026, the Storeys endorsed what they called a “thick” version of viewpoint diversity: including academic fields and approaches that reflect “a politically conservative disposition.” They argued that universities should expose students to intellectually serious representatives of both progressive and conservative views and that conservative students in particular need access to sympathetic scholarly mentors.

In May 2026, AEI hosted a five-day “Conservative Intellectual Tradition for University Faculty” workshop at its Washington headquarters. AEI covered participants’ travel and lodging and provided each participating faculty member a $1,500 honorarium. The event was co-directed by AEI’s Benjamin Storey (see below), and sessions featured AEI’s Yuval Levin (see below) and Eitan Hersh (see entry for Tufts University), among others.

The Center for the Future of the American University also operates an AEI–Johns Hopkins Fellowship Exchange Program, an AEI–Johns Hopkins Civic Thought Project, and a Graduate Student Intellectual Diversity Initiative, intended to support “ideologically heterodox” students interested in academic careers. Some critics of the AEI-Johns Hopkins initiatives have argued that these “viewpoint diversity” initiatives are designed to increase conservative representation, potentially substituting ideological balance for disciplinary judgments about scholarly merit and undermining academic freedom; others have questioned whether these partnerships reflect genuine intellectual pluralism or an effort to appease the Trump administration, particularly given their emphasis on conservative faculty recruitment.

Notable People

Jenna Silber Storey

Senior fellow; Ravenel Curry Chair in Civic Thought; co-director of the Center for the Future of the American University at AEI

The donor named in Storey’s title, Ravenel Curry III, is a trustee at the conservative Manhattan Institute who has documented ties to the Koch Network. In addition to her role at AEI, Storey is a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and serves on the executive committee of the Alliance for Civics in the Academy (hosted by the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford). She has also taught for the politically conservative and Zionist Tikvah Fund.

On August 3, 2026, Storey shared that she had played a role in the Trump administration’s letter to higher ed leaders, released that same day, under the title: “A National Call to Action to University Presidents and Governing Boards.” The letter calls on schools to address seven areas, including “free speech and campus protest” and “intellectual pluralism.” It invokes the importance of a “thriving marketplace of ideas,” “open-minded campus discourse,” and protection against “unruly and violent protestors” who disrupt campus operations. According to Storey, she helped facilitate dialogue between the Trump administration and higher education leaders at the Association of American Universities (AAU), which then informed the substance of the letter. Separately, the AAUP and AFT called the letter “Compact 2.0” because it echoed many of the priorities advanced in Trump’s fall 2025 “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which was largely rejected by colleges and universities.

See also: Stanford University.

Benjamin Storey

Senior fellow; Ravenel Curry Chair in Civic Thought; co-director of the Center for the Future of the American University

Storey has been a visiting fellow at Princeton’s conservative James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and has taught for the politically conservative and Zionist Tikvah Fund, along with Yale’s William F. Buckley Jr. Program.

Yuval Levin

Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy and director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at AEI

Levin is the founding editor of the conservative quarterly National Affairs and a contributing editor to National Review (the conservative publication founded by William F. Buckley Jr.). He previously served on President George W. Bush’s White House domestic policy staff. In a September 2024 article in Commentary, Levin cited the “explosions of anti-Semitism” on campuses after October 7, 2023, along with “woke radicalism in teaching and administration” among the causes for declining public trust in universities. He then points to the “civic thought” centers as a promising way to counteract those and other harmful forces in higher ed.

Samuel Abrams

Nonresident senior fellow at AEI

In May 2026, Abrams and ACTA fellow Steven McGuire argued that a University of Michigan professor’s pro-Palestinian commencement remarks were an “abuse of his position” and a “violation” of institutional neutrality.

Notable Funders

Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation

~$17.96 million, including $4 million for Yuval Levin (Curry Chair in Public Policy) and for Benjamin and Jenna Storey (Curry Chairs in Civic Thought) (2020–2024)

Co-founded by Beth and Ravenel Curry III, whom Greenpeace listed in a 2014 report entitled “The Kingpins of Carbon and Their War on Democracy.” Ravenel is a trustee of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute and also of the Manhattan Institute. The Curry Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups, including American Enterprise Institute, Atlas Network, and Manhattan Institute. The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. Refer to UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on the Curry Foundation’s giving.

Sarah Scaife Foundation

~$7.22 million (2020–2024)

Established by the late billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch, Scaife is “one of the largest foundations focused on supporting right-wing causes.” The foundation is a major donor to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, as well as climate change denial groups like Global Warming Policy Foundation and the nativist/anti-immigrant group Federation for American Immigration Reform. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Scaife’s giving.

Searle Freedom Trust

$3.15 million (2022–2024)

Established by Daniel Searle from the Searle pharmaceutical fortune. A 2015 Forbes report estimated the Searle family’s combined wealth at $1.5 billion. Searle makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups such as Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Institute and America First Policy Institute (a think tank founded by former Trump officials). It also supports the climate change denial organization CO2 Coalition. For reference, see Searle’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation/Bradley Impact Fund

~$1.42 million (2021-2024)

The Bradley Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing organizations. The closely related Bradley Impact Fund is a major donor to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom, as well as climate change denial groups like the Heartland Institute. Current and former Bradley Foundation board members, including Victor Davis Hanson and Art Pope, have documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Bradley’s giving.

Thomas W. Smith Foundation

~$1.18 million (2020-2024)

Founded by Thomas W. Smith, a Trustee of the Manhattan Institute with documented ties to the Koch Network. The Smith Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups, including Manhattan Institute, State Policy Network, and Atlas Network. It also supports the climate change denial organization CO2 Coalition. James Piereson, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is listed as a compensated “Trustee/Director” on the Smith Foundation’s 2025 tax filing. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Smith’s giving.

Asness Family Foundation

$960,000 (2022)

Established by billionaire hedge fund co-founder Clifford (“Cliff”) Asness. Asness is a trustee of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute and has documented ties to the Koch Network. The Asness Foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups, including American Enterprise Institute, Institute for Humane Studies, and Manhattan Institute. Clifford Asness has made multiple public comments criticizing the Palestine solidarity movement and progressive campus activists. For example, he wrote an article in the July/August 2024 issue of Commentary in which he referred to “the ‘free Palestine’ mob” and linked the pro-Palestine campus protests to “hatred toward Jews.” Separately, Asness described the September 2023 Palestine Writes festival—a literature and cultural event—as “antisemitic Burning Man.” In a December 2023 Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled “Liz Magill Is Out at Penn. It’s a Start,” he described withholding donations from Penn for not taking a hard enough stance against “hard-core student activists” who are “talking about wiping Israel off the map.” In that same op-ed, he noted that he has “long supported [FIRE] and Heterodox Academy” in the interest of “fostering open debate on campus.” For reference, see the Asness Family Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

See also: Heterodox Academy.

Adolph Coors Foundation

$875,000 (2020-2024)

Established by Adolph Coors, Jr., the son of the founder of the Coors Brewing Company. A 2015 Forbes report estimated the Coors family’s combined wealth at $4 billion. The Coors Foundation’s chairman, Peter H. Coors, is a trustee of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute. The foundation makes significant grants to the State Policy Network, which the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch describes as “a web of right-wing ‘think tanks.’” The foundation also makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, as well as Turning Point USA. The Coors family is included on DeSmog’s list of “6 Billionaire Fortunes Bankrolling Project 2025.” See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Coors’ giving.

Charles Koch Foundation/Stand Together Trust

$500,000 (2020)

Established by billionaire oil fortune heir, Charles Koch, the foundation has been a major funder of right-wing infrastructure for several decades. Koch invests millions into the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, including climate change denial organizations such as CO2 Coalition. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Koch’s giving.

Achelis & Bodman Foundation

$400,000 (2020-2025)

Achelis & Bodman Makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Institute, and PragerU (which SPLC describes as a “far-right propaganda” group). The foundation also gives to climate change denial organizations such as CO2 Coalition. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Achelis & Bodman’s giving.

F. M. Kirby Foundation

~$295,000 (2020–2024)

Kirby makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups such as the Manhattan Institute and the Federalist Society, along with the anti-union advocacy group National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Refer to UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Kirby’s giving.

John Templeton Foundation

~$210,000 (2022)

Established by billionaire investor John Templeton. The foundation was led from 2015 to 2025 by his granddaughter, Heather Templeton Dill. It is now headed by the former CEO of Christianity Today, which describes itself as a “globally minded evangelical magazine.” Templeton makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing advocacy organizations such as State Policy Network and Mercatus Center, and Atlas Network (all three of which are described by Greenpeace as “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Groups”). The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Templeton’s giving.

John William Pope Foundation

$125,000 (2022-2024)

Chaired by Art Pope, whom Greenpeace describes as “a major funder of groups that deny climate change.” The foundation makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing advocacy groups like the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and the Federalist Society. The Pope Foundation is included on IPS’s top ten funders of climate disinformation groups from 2020 to 2022. The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Pope’s giving.