Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (Redirected from Belfer Center)

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Named afterRobert A. Belfer
Formation1973
TypeThink tank
Headquarters79 John F. Kennedy Street
Location
Director
Meghan O'Sullivan
Parent organization
Harvard Kennedy School
Websitebelfercenter.org

The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

From 2017 until his death in October 2022, the center was led by director Ash Carter, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and co-director Eric Rosenbach, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense. Its current executive director is Natalie Colbert. The current Director is Meghan O'Sullivan.

History

Belfer was founded in 1973 by biochemist Paul M. Doty as the Program for Science and International Affairs within Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences to provide analysis on arms control and nuclear threat reduction. Following a grant from the Ford Foundation, the program was re-established as the Center for Science and International Affairs, becoming the first permanent research center at the newly formed School of Government.

In 1997, following further endowment, the center was renamed as the Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in honor of Robert A. Belfer, founder of Belco Oil & Gas Corporation.

In 2012, the Stanton Foundation provided funds for a paid Wikipedian in residence at the Belfer Center. This became controversial due to links between the Belfer Center and the Stanton Foundation (the directors of each are a married couple) and public concerns about conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia. The center is organized into subgroups with specific areas of focus.

A 2021 investigative report by student group Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard found that many of the center's climate initiatives were funded in part by fossil fuel companies, and that the center had allegedly taken several steps to cover up that fact.

Board members

Center board members include:

Advisory board

The center has an international advisory board. Members include:

Past members


This page was last updated at 2024-03-19 20:13 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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