New York—November 29, 2007—The World Policy Institute (WPI) and The New School jointly announced the establishment of WPI as a fully autonomous organization working in partnership with The New School. Since 1991, WPI, a major center of policy analysis and research in international affairs, has been part of The New School, a university committed to addressing the demands of globalization in an increasingly interdependent world. The new relationship comes after more than fifteen years of fruitful collaboration, particularly through public programs that have shed fresh light on global political and economic changes.
WPI and The New School will continue to co-sponsor public programs featuring world leaders, scholars, and journalists. But WPI is now in a position to raise and devote its own resources to funding staff, fellows, research projects, and the World Policy Journal, a prominent quarterly magazine of international affairs research and opinion.
“This is a win-win situation,” said Bob Kerrey, president of The New School and a frequent participant in WPI programs. “WPI is capable of moving in new directions, thanks to its fiscal health, and The New School will only benefit from future collaborations with WPI, since both institutions share the same ideals and values.”
The World Policy Institute, a non-partisan source of informed policy leadership for more than four decades, develops and champions innovative policies that require a progressive and global point of view. In an increasingly interdependent world, WPI focuses on complex challenges that demand cooperative policy solutions to achieve: an inclusive and sustainable global market economy, engaged global civic participation and effective governance, and collaborative approaches to national and global security.
WPI’s Fellows program, regular public and private events, collaborative policy development, media activities, and flagship World Policy Journal provide a forum for solution-focused policy analysis and public debate. Its programs seek to introduce fresh ideas and new voices from around the world on critical shared global issues including migration, climate change, technology, economic development, human rights, and counter-terrorism.
“The World Policy Institute’s practical and independent global viewpoint is crucial for addressing today’s challenges, which need strategies that transcend the traditional foreign-versus-domestic divide,” said Michele Wucker, who was recently named executive director at WPI after seven years as a senior fellow. “We are thrilled to continue working with The New School on educating globally-engaged citizens.”
Founded in New York City in 1961 as the Fund for Education Concerning World Peace through World Law, the World Policy Institute has its origins in the post-World War II movement of moderate internationalists. Its founders –the banker Harry B. Hollins and the banker and public servant C. Douglas Dillon, inspired by the World Federalist thinker Grenville Clark — sought to develop international policies to prevent future carnage and devastation. In 1963, the Institute’s name was shortened to World Law Fund. In 1972, it merged with Earl D. Osborn’s Institute for International Order, founded in 1948. The combined organization became the Institute for World Order. In 1982, the World Policy Institute adopted its current name to reflect a shift from a primarily educational focus to incorporating a strong policy element, and founded World Policy Journal. In 1991, it joined The New School, beginning what is intended to remain a lasting partnership. For more information, please visit www.worldpolicy.org.