John M. Olin Foundation

:"Not to be confused with the F. W. Olin Foundation or Spencer T. Olin Foundation, founded by Olin's father and brother, respectively."

John M. Olin Foundation was a grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most non-profit foundations, the John M. Olin Foundation was charged to spend all of its assets within a generation of Olin's death, for fear of mission drift over time. It made its last grant in the summer of 2005 and officially disbanded on November 29 of that year after having disbursed over $370 million in funding, primarily to conservative think tanks, media outlets, and law programs at influential universities. The Foundation is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics movement.

History and purpose

The fund was largely inactive until 1969, when John M. Olin was disturbed by a building takeover at his alma mater, Cornell University. At the age of 80, he decided that he must pour his time and resources into preserving the free market system.

The Foundation is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics movement, a discipline that applies incentive-based thinking and cost-benefit analysis to the field of legal theory. Olin believed that law schools have a disproportionately large impact on society given their size and to this end decided to focus the majority of his funding there.

According to the official website, "the general purpose of the John M. Olin Foundation is to provide support for projects that reflect or are intended to strengthen the economic, political and cultural institutions upon which the American heritage of constitutional government and private enterprise is based. The Foundation also seeks to promote a general understanding of these institutions by encouraging the thoughtful study of the connections between economic and political freedoms, and the cultural heritage that sustains them." [http://www.jmof.org/history_purposes.html]

William E. Simon served as president of the Foundation from 1977 until his death in 2000. He frequently discussed the foundation's commitment to supporting the "counterintelligentsia." The Olin Foundation was formerly managed by Michael S. Joyce, who left to head the similar Bradley Foundation. James Piereson was the last executive director and secretary.

Gun controversy

The John M. Olin Foundation funded the John M. Olin Fellowship at University of Chicago. While serving in the position professor John Lott produced a study that argued that relaxing concealed weapons laws can reduce crime. The study was disputed by gun control supporters for its funding from the John M. Olin Fellowship and its relationship with the Olin Corporation.

2005 Board of Directors

* Eugene F. Williams Jr., Chairman
* George J. Gillespie III, President and Treasurer
* James Piereson, Secretary
* Peter M. Flanigan
* Richard M. Furlaud
* Charles F. Knight

Partial list of grant recipients

Conservative think tanks

* American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
* Center for Equal Opportunity
* Center for Individual Rights
* Eagle Forum
* Free Congress Foundation
* Heritage Foundation
* Hoover Institution at Stanford University
* Hudson Institute
* Manhattan Institute for Public Policy Research
* National Association of Scholars
* Palmer R. Chitester Fund
* Philanthropy Roundtable
* Project for the New American Century (PNAC) Fact|date=July 2007

Universities

* University of Chicago Law School
* Harvard Law School ($10 million, which is the largest in the law school's 186 year History)
* Stanford Law School ($8.3 Million [http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/january19/sls-0112.html] )
* University of Virginia School of Law
* Yale Law School
* Washington University in St. Louis (John M. Olin Business School)
* Georgetown University Law Center
* Kenyon College (John M. Olin Library)
* Cornell University (John M. Olin Library)
* Tufts University (The Olin Language Center)
* Bard College (The Olin Language Center)The John M. Olin Foundation has also given large amounts of money to conservative groups at prestigious colleges and universities, including the Federalist Society.

Professorships

There are several dozen John M. Olin Professors at universities and law schools around the world, including:
* John M. Olin Professor at Fordham University (currently Ernest van den Haag)
* John M. Olin Professor at George Mason University (currently Walter E. Williams)
* John M. Olin Professor at Yale Law School (currently George L. Priest)

Publications

* Collegiate Network
* "Commentary"
* "The National Interest"
* "The New Criterion"

Authors and researchers

* William J. Bennett
* Allan Bloom received $25,000 to write "The Closing of the American Mind", a critique of postmodern university culture. He also started the Center for Inquiry into the Theory and Practice of Democracy in Chicago with Olin funding.
* Robert Bork
* David Brock got $5000 to write "The Real Anita Hill", a book critical of Anita Hill who was slowing the confirmation of Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court. Brock later regretted the book and apologized in "Blinded by the Right".
* Linda Chavez
* Dinesh D'Souza
* Samuel P. Huntington received a grant to write the book "Clash of Civilizations".
* Irving Kristol
* Robert S. Leiken
* John Lott
* Henry Manne
* Harvey Mansfield
* Charles Murray received a grant for his 1984 book "Losing Ground".
* Michael Novak
* George Stigler

External links

* [http://www.jmof.org/ Official web site]
* [http://www.ncrp.org/goalsreachedNYT.asp "Goals Reached, A Donor Closes Shop", "New York Times", May 29, 2005]
* [http://olincenter.uchicago.edu/ John M. Olin Center for Inquiry into the Theory and Practice of Democracy]
* [http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/olin/ John M. Olin Institute For Strategic Studies]
* [http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/gifr/gifr.html John J. Miller's book, "A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America" (Encounter Books, 2005)] ISBN ISBN 1-59403-117-7
* [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzU5OTU2ZWVlOGRhMzA1NmMyNjM3MzAzMDNiNWEyNzA= National Review Online: "Foundation's End," by John J. Miller]
* [http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/debraengland/2005/11/15/175550.html "Muscular Philanthropy: Tough love and the John M. Olin Foundation", "Townhall.com", November 15, 2005]