Jonathan F. Fanton (born 1943) is the immediate past president of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

. He previously served as the president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation from 1999 to 2009 and as the president of

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...

from 1982 to 1999. He has served as board chair for several organizations, including

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, the Security Council Report, and the

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Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. He also serves on the boards of

Scholars At Risk Scholars at Risk (SAR) is a U.S.-based international network of academic institutions organized to support and defend the principles of academic freedom and to defend the human rights of scholars around the world. Network membership includes over ...

, the World Refugee and Migration Council, the International Integrity Initiative, the Jerome Greene Foundation, American University Afghanistan, American Exchange Project and the

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. He serves as a member of the advisory board of the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and Roosevelt House at Hunter College. He is a life trustee of Human Rights Watch and The Asian Cultural Council. He was elected a fellow of the

and the American Philosophical Society.

Early life and career

Born in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

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, Fanton grew up in Trumbull and

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. In 1961, he graduated from Choate School. At

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, he earned a baccalaureate degree in 1965, and a Ph.D. in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

in 1978. As an undergraduate, Fanton directed the Ulysses S. Grant Program, a summer enrichment program for talented students from the inner city. He went on to serve at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

as associate provost and as an assistant to President

Kingman Brewster Kingman Brewster Jr. (June 17, 1919 – November 8, 1988) was an American educator, academic and diplomat. He served as the 17th President of Yale University and as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Early life Brewster was born in ...

. He subsequently served as vice president for planning at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Academic and nonprofit leadership

In 1982, Fanton was inaugurated president of

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, a leadership position that he held for 17 years. One of his signature accomplishments as president was the reconnection of

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

to its European roots through assistance provided to dissident scholars in

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and

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, many of whom were leaders of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

organizations in their home countries. After becoming president of the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

in 1999, he worked to strengthen the organization’s commitment to a variety of issues, including international justice, human rights, peace and security, biodiversity conservation, and community and economic development. From 2009 to 2014, Fanton was interim director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the president of the

, one of the oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 2015.

Scholarship

Fanton is the author of ''Foundations and Civil Society, Volumes I and II'' (MacArthur Foundation, 2008) and ''The University and Civil Society, Volumes I and II'' (New School for Social Research, 1995, 2002). He is also co-editor of ''John Brown: Great Lives Observed'' (Prentice-Hall, 1973) and ''The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age'' (McGraw-Hill, 1991).

References

External links

Jonathan Fanton

American Academy of Arts and Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanton, Jonathan Yale University alumni Living people 1943 births People from Trumbull, Connecticut People from Weston, Connecticut Members of the American Philosophical Society