Princeton University

Higher Education Institution

James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions (JMP)

Founded in 2000, the JMP has been described by The Nation as “a vehicle for conservative interests” and as “the blueprint for the right's strategy to extend and consolidate power within the university system.”. The program has been supported by conservative and corporate donors since its inception, with founding support from the Olin Foundation. The JMP board includes major conservative and right-wing donors, including Susan (“Suzy”) Lebovitz-Edeman, Paul E. Singer, and Harlan Crow (see below). Its stated goal is to offer “civic education of the highest possible quality.” Many scholars within the conservative civics movement have been trained at the JMP, including Paul O. Carrese, Lee Strang, and Jed W. Atkins.

Notable People

Robert George

Director of the JMP

George is a longtime critic of abortion and LGBTQ rights. He has been described as an “architect of the pro-life movement.” He has advocated for campuses to adopt institutional neutrality policies, specifically to require them “to be neutral on questions like Israel and Palestine,” and “abortion, or policies on marriage or gender issues.” He has testified that “campus illiberalism” as the “greatest threat” to the academy. In response to pro-Palestine protests, George has said “I'm grieved by what we're seeing on our college campuses. I'm particularly grieved by the revival of anti-Semitism.”

Susan (“Suzy”) Edelman

member of the JMP advisory board

Suzy Edelman is the Co-Chair at Edelman Family Foundation. Founded and led by billionaire hedge fund founder Joseph Edelman and his wife, Susan H. Lebovitz-Edelman. The foundation makes significant grants to conservative and Zionist groups such as Tikvah Fund, Manhattan Institute, American Jewish Committee (which has been a prominent supporter of anti-BDS laws), and FAIR (an anti-CRT group which SPLC describes as “a key voice amplifying anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience”). In September 2024, Joseph Edelman publicly resigned from his position as a trustee on the Brown University governing board in protest of the university's decision to hold a vote on divesting its endowment from companies linked to Israel. Edelman argued that considering a divestment vote was “morally reprehensible” and a concession to movements seeking the “destruction of the state of Israel.” For reference, see the Edelman Family Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.

See also: Heterodox Academy; Jack Miller Center.

Paul E. Singer

member of the JMP advisory board

Singer is a billionaire hedge fund founder with documented ties to the Koch Network. He served as board chair of Manhattan Institute from 2008 to 2025 and currently serves as Chair Emeritus. In a May 2023 speech at the Institute, Singer denounced “the rancid stew of…wokeness that seeks to tear down all that we hold dear.” In a May 2024 speech, he called pro-Palestine campus protesters “mobsters” motivated by “anti-Jewish hate.” He contrasted the protesters with people who fight for “the virtues of merit and civil debate.” Singer’s foundations have awarded millions to Zionist groups such as Birthright Israel, Boundless Israel (an organization that describes itself as “unapologetically Zionist” and promotes anti-BDS material on its website), and American Israel Education Foundation (an affiliate of AIPAC). In addition, the Singer Family Charitable Foundation is a major funder of the campus dialogue organization, BridgeUSA. For reference, see the Singer Family Charitable Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022, along with the Paul E. Singer Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

See also: Manhattan Institute.

Harlan Crow

member of the JMP advisory board

Crow is a conservative billionaire and major Republican donor. He is a trustee at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute. In April 2023, Crow was found to have provided millions of dollars in undisclosed luxury trips and gifts to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas while Crow himself had business before the court. Until 2026, Crow was a member of the conservative Hoover Institution’s Board of Overseers.

See also: Stanford University.

Lee J. Strang

Former JMP fellow (2018-19)

Strang is a member of the Jack Miller Center’s academic council and was a 2018-19 fellow at Princeton’s conservative James Madison Program. He is an anti-abortion scholar who testified in favor of Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” in 2011 and 2019, and authored a 2021 amicus brief in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision. In 2023, he helped Ohio legislators argue for an increased voting threshold to pass ballot initiatives, as part of an effort to preempt ballot initiatives that protect access to abortion (after the Dobbs ruling). Since 2012 Strang has taught constitutional interpretation summer lectures for the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Blackstone Fellowship program. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a conservative Christian law firm that pursues anti-abortion and anti-LGTBQ litigation. (ADF was an advisory board member to the far-right “Project 2025.”) Strang is also board president of Northwest Ohio Classical Academy, a controversial charter school that is explicitly tied to Hillsdale College; Hillsdale produced the revisionist, Trump-linked 1776 curriculum, which historians say distorts American history in order to advance a particular ideology.

See also: Jack Miller Center; Ohio State University.

Notable Funders

Charles Koch Foundation/Stand Together Trust

$750,000 (2020-2021)

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.

Thomas W. Smith Foundation

$470,000 (2020-2023)

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.

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

$360,000 (2022-2024)

According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch, the Bradley Impact Fund is a donor-advised fund “aligned with” the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation that makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing organizations. The 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.

Sarah Scaife Foundation

$200,000 (2023)

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.

The William H. Donner Foundation

$27,000 (2022)

The Donner Foundation has made significant grants to conservative and right-wing groups including The Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Institute, and Cato Institute. For reference, see the Donner Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

See also: BridgeUSA.