Arthur C. Brooks

Arthur C. Brooks--who is the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute--has been chosen by the AEI Board of Trustees to be the Institute's next president. He will succeed Christopher DeMuth on January 1, 2009. DeMuth, who has been AEI's president since 1986, announced last October his decision to step down from the position; he will remain at AEI as a senior fellow.

In announcing the selection, Bruce Kovner, chairman of the AEI Board of Trustees, said, "AEI's trustees are delighted and very gratified that Arthur Brooks has accepted our appointment. The search for a successor to Chris DeMuth has been thorough, intense, and wide-ranging. . . . The trustees were both unanimous and highly enthusiastic in deciding that Arthur Brooks--by dint of his intellect, accomplishments, character, and devotion to AEI's work and purposes--is the best possible person to lead AEI in the critical years ahead."

James Q. Wilson, chairman of the AEI Council of Academic Advisers, had this to say: "I have known and worked with Arthur Brooks since the late 1990s when he was a doctoral candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He is one of America's outstanding young policy scholars, combining empirical sophistication and philosophical depth to a rare degree. He is also a man of character, conviction, and practical judgment whose research interests span the full range of AEI's programs."

DeMuth added, "From the beginning, our succession ambitions have depended on finding a new leader of exceptional abilities. These ambitions have been richly rewarded in the person of Arthur Brooks--everyone associated with AEI can look forward to a period of renewal and growth in the range, excellence, and influence of our work."

In accepting the appointment, Brooks said, "I am thrilled and honored to be asked to serve as the president of AEI. For the last two decades under Chris DeMuth's visionary and selfless leadership, the Institute has had an extraordinary impact on public policy, from reforming a broken welfare system and improving our public education to dramatically strengthening our national defense. With research ranging between prophetic ideas and technical policy details, AEI has always acted as a steward of American ideals of private liberty, individual opportunity, and free enterprise. Time and again, AEI's mix of great people and strong values has produced the right ideas at the right time for America and the world. To serve as the Institute's president in the coming era is a truly wonderful and humbling opportunity, and I am fully committed to building on the Institute's amazing record of success."

Brooks has been on the Syracuse faculty since 2001, teaching courses in policy analysis, microeconomics, public and nonprofit management, and social entrepreneurship. He was appointed an AEI visiting scholar in 2007. Prior to his academic career, he spent twelve years as a professional musician, playing the French horn with a variety of ensembles and orchestras.

Brooks's research and writing have investigated the connections between culture, politics, and economic life in America. In the past ten years, he has published five dozen academic articles, scores of magazine and newspaper essays, and seven books on subjects ranging from the economics of the arts to philanthropy to military operations research. His most recent books are Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It (Basic Books, 2008), Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Guide to Social Value Creation (Prentice-Hall, 2008), and Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books, 2006).

Arthur C. Brooks's curriculum vitae and a selection of his articles may be found at www.aei.org/brooks/.