Launched in 2014 as an expansion of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation at Harvard, this initiative is guided by one of the core tenets of Franklin Roosevelt’s philosophy: “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
The FDR Foundation’s Defense of Democracy initiative conducts research and executes consultative projects for real-world clients (usually governments), and hosts many scholarly and student-practitioner events each year.
Given its location within Adams House, one of the 12 undergraduate residences at Harvard, this initiative also supports Harvard’s billion dollar investment in the House Renewal program by reinvigorating the College’s original intention of providing exceptional educational opportunities outside the traditional bounds of the classroom. At our unique series of Fireside Chats held in the FDR Suite throughout the academic year, we host intimate small-group sessions where students can actively engage with government officials, military officers, scholars, journalists, and politicians on topics as varied as “AI and National Security Policy,” “Public Responsibility of Social Media Platforms,” “NATO Expansion,” “Anti-science and Public Decision Making,” and “Countering Information Warfare.”