{{short description|American think tank}} {{Redirect|Wilson center|the center of the Wilson confidence interval|Binomial proportion confidence interval#Wilson score interval}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox organization | image = Ronald Reagan Building - Washington, DC.jpg | caption = Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., where the Wilson Center is headquartered | map = | extinction = | type = Nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) | tax_id = 52-1067541 | status = United States Presidential Memorial | purpose = | headquarters = Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center | leader_title = President emerita and distinguished fellow | leader_name = Jane Harman | leader_title2 = President and CEO | leader_name2 = Natasha Jacome | key_people = Joe Asher (Chairman, Board of Trustees) | main_organ = | parent_organization = | affiliations = Smithsonian Institution | budget = | remarks = | name = Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | image_border = | image_size = | map_size = | map_caption = | abbreviation = Wilson Center | established = {{start date and age|1968}} | logo = Woodrow Wilson Center logo.svg | location = One Woodrow Wilson Plaza<br />1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW<br />Washington, D.C. 20004-3027, U.S.<ref name=usagov>{{Cite web |title=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |url=https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/woodrow-wilson-international-center-for-scholars |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=USA.gov |language=en}}</ref> | region_served = | num_members = | num_staff = | num_volunteers = | website = {{Official URL}} }} {{Woodrow Wilson series}} The '''Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars''' ('''WWICS''') commonly known as the '''Wilson Center''' is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of the United States Congress in 1968,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars {{!}} Jeffrey S. Lehman |url=https://www.lehman-intl.com/jeffreylehman/the_woodrow_wilson_internat.html |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.lehman-intl.com}}</ref> it serves as both the official presidential memorial to Woodrow Wilson and operates as a part of the Smithsonian Institution.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About the Wilson Center |date=October 29, 2018 |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/about |access-date=2023-05-22 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |language=en}}</ref>
The Wilson Center describes itself as a nonpartisan think tank and provides a forum for scholars and policymakers to address critical international and domestic challenges.<ref name=":1" /> The Wilson Center has been recognized as a leading global think tank. In 2020, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ranked it as the 10th most influential think tank worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/48577|title=2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report|first=James G.|last=McGann|date=January 28, 2021|issue=18|via=repository.upenn.edu}}</ref> It conducts research on international relations, security, economics, and governance, producing reports and hosting discussions that shape policy debates. As of 2025, the Center is chaired by Joe Asher, appointed in 2023, and led by Natasha Jacome, who became President and Chief Executive Officer in 2025, succeeding Mark Andrew Green.<ref>{{Cite web |title=White House Press Release - President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/white-house-press-release-president-biden-announces-key-appointments-boards-and-19 |access-date=2025-12-10 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=Trump administration shutters DC foreign policy think tank Wilson Center |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-shutters-dc-foreign-policy-think-tank-wilson-center-2025-04-04/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250404123136/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-shutters-dc-foreign-policy-think-tank-wilson-center-2025-04-04/ |archive-date=2025-04-04 |access-date=2025-12-10 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}</ref>
On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of several federally chartered entities, including the Wilson Center.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-15 |title=Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/continuing-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Katz |first=Eric |date=2025-03-26 |title=Another agency nearly eliminates staff as Trump continues down warpath against small federal offices |url=https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/03/another-agency-nearly-eliminates-staff-and-trump-continues-down-war-path-against-small-federal-offices/404076/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=Government Executive |language=en}}</ref> The order directed the reduction of functions and personnel across affected institutions to the minimum required by law.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gangitano |first=Alex |date=March 15, 2025 |title=Trump signs order to dismantle seven federal agencies focused on media, libraries, homelessness |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5196704-trump-executive-order-federal-agencies-eliminate/ |access-date=March 15, 2025 |work=The Hill}}</ref> According to Reuters, citing ''The Times'', about 130 employees at the Center were blocked from email access and placed on leave shortly after Elon Musk's government efficiency task force (DOGE) began focusing on the institution. President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Andrew Green resigned on April 1, 2025, and later that year Natasha Jacome was appointed as Green's successor.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kavi |first1=Aishvarya |last2=Wong |first2=Edward |date=2025-04-03 |title=Musk's Task Force Begins Shutting Down Foreign Policy Research Center |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/us/politics/doge-wilson-center.html |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bravender |first=Robin |date=2025-09-05 |title=Think tank reorients after Trump squeeze |url=https://www.eenews.net/articles/think-tank-reorients-after-trump-squeeze/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=E&E News by POLITICO |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Kennan Institute, the largest and oldest part of the Wilson Center, declared itself an independent non-profit in November 2025, with the transfer of its remaining endowment and collection of books and papers out of the control of the Wilson Center.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kavi |first1=Aishvarya |title=Dismantled by DOGE, a Foreign Policy Center Finds New Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/us/politics/kennan-institute-doge-trump.html |access-date=26 November 2025 |work=NY Times |publisher=NYTCO |date=10 Nov 2025}}</ref>
==Organization== The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was established within the Smithsonian Institution, but it has its own board of trustees, composed both of government officials and of private citizens appointed by the president of the United States. It publishes a digital magazine, the ''Wilson Quarterly''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodrow Wilson Center Established |url=https://www.si.edu/object/woodrow-wilson-center-established%3Asiris_sic_896 |access-date=2023-11-18 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=When Goods Cross Borders |url=https://www.wilsonquarterly.com/quarterly/when-goods-cross-borders |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=Wilson Quarterly}}</ref>
The center functions as a public–private partnership with approximately one-third of its operating funds providing annually through a federal appropriation of the U.S. government<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosett |first=Claudia |date=2010-06-18 |title=Turkey's Hollow Prize |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-columnists-claudia-rosett.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328181957/https://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-columnists-claudia-rosett.html |archive-date=2017-03-28 |access-date=2026-05-05 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> and the remainder derived from foundations, grants, contracts, corporations, individuals, endowment income, and subscriptions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How is the Wilson Center funded? {{!}} Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/how-the-wilson-center-funded |access-date=2026-05-05 |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Reprieve for the Wilson Center? |url=https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/reprieve-for-the-wilson-center-september-1997/ |access-date=2026-05-05 |website= |language=en-US}}</ref>
The center is housed in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a federal office complex in Washington, D.C., where it occupies a wing under a long-term rent-free lease arrangement.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Plan for Federal Funding Hiatus |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/wilson_center_plan_for_possible_lapse_in_federal_appropriation_revised_august_2015.pdf |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |access-date=February 4, 2019 |date=August 2015 |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121152656/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/wilson_center_plan_for_possible_lapse_in_federal_appropriation_revised_august_2015.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=990 Forms/Budgets |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/990-formsbudgets |access-date=2023-08-06 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |language=en}}</ref> In March 2017, President Trump proposed a federal budget that would have eliminated the center's public funding, echoing a recommendation called by the Heritage Foundation earlier that year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Kelly |last2=Watson |first2=Dan |date=2017-03-16 |title=These are the 19 agencies Trump would stop funding entirely |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-budget-eliminated-funding-20170316-story.html |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Restuccia |first=Andrew |date=2017-03-16 |title=Trump budget would wipe out dozens of programs |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-budget-programs-facing-elimination-236119 |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Politico |language=en}}</ref> The Heritage Foundation again called for eliminating federal appropriations to the center in its "Budget Blueprint for FY2023", estimating savings of between $16 million and $21 million per year. In November 2022, the Russian government labeled the center an "undesirable organization" under Russian law, prohibiting its activities in the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/84851/|title=Woodrow Wilson Int'l Center for Scholars designated undesirable in Russia - Prosecutor General's Office|work=Interfax|date=November 11, 2022}}</ref>
==Administration== The board of trustees, currently chaired by Bill Haslam, is appointed to six-year terms by the U.S. president.<ref name="Leadership">{{cite web|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/leadership |title=Leadership|date=February 7, 2023}}</ref>
The board of directors include Haslam, vice chair Drew Maloney, private citizen members Nick Adams, Thelma Duggin, Brian Hook, David Jacobson, Timothy Pataki, Alan N. Rechtschaffen, Louis Susman. Public members include Antony Blinken, Lonnie Bunch, Miguel Cardona, David Ferriero, Carla Hayden, Shelly Lowe, Xavier Becerra.<ref name="Leadership" />
On January 28, 2021, Mark Andrew Green was announced as the Wilson Center's new president, director, and CEO, and he began his term on March 15, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wilson Center Names Ambassador Mark Green as Next President, Director and CEO |date=January 28, 2021 |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-names-ambassador-mark-green-next-president-director-and-ceo |access-date=January 29, 2021 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |language=en}}</ref>
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Brian Hook was fired.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Timotija |first=Filip |date=2025-01-21 |title=Trump fires 4 Biden appointees, including his own former Iran envoy |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5097601-trump-fires-appointees/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123015257/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5097601-trump-fires-appointees/ |archive-date=2025-01-23 |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The Hill}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Trump |first=Donald |date=2025-01-20 |title=Jose Andres from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President's Export Council—YOU'RE FIRED! |url=https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113864692804149616 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250121075134/https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113864692804149616 |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |access-date=23 Jan 2025}}</ref>
==Programs== Most of the center's staff form specialized programs and projects covering broad areas of study.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.welcome |title=Programs @ The Woodrow Wilson Center |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |access-date=February 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629070020/https://wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.welcome |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Key programs include the Cold War International History Project, Environmental Change and Security Program, History and Public Policy Program, Kennan Institute, the Kissinger Institute, and the North Korea International Documentation Project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Programs |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/programs |access-date=2023-06-08 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * ''A National Strategic Narrative'', a report published by the center in 2011 * Presidential memorials in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons-inline}} *{{official website}}
{{Smithsonian Institution}} {{Woodrow Wilson}} {{Authority control}} {{coord|38.8936|-77.0305|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-DC}}
Category:1968 establishments in Washington, D.C. Category:Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States Category:Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Category:Smithsonian Institution Category:Think tanks based in Washington, D.C. Category:Think tanks established in 1968 Category:Woodrow Wilson Category:Organizations listed in Russia as undesirable