Director, Stavros Niarchos Foundation; SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University

Position description

Johns Hopkins University seeks the next Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute, an effort to address the deterioration of civic engagement in democracies worldwide and restore open and inclusive discourse that is the cornerstone of healthy democracies.

Established in 2017 with a seminal $150 million grant from SNF and housed in the University’s Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Institute serves as a leading academic and public forum bringing together experts from a range of fields—including political science, sociology, history, public health, and international studies—to examine democratic erosion and design and test mechanisms for improving dialogue, social engagement, and democratic governance.

With ideological gaps wider today than at any point in recent history, the Institute’s second director will have an extraordinary opportunity to continue building this center for analysis, experimentation, and dialogue when such efforts are urgently needed. Building upon the work of inaugural director Hahrie Han, the director will guide the Institute’s efforts to examine divisive trends from multiple perspectives, develop innovative and impactful reforms, engage students in research, training and discourse, and ensure that lessons learned are shared to elevate open discussion and debate on critical issues of our time.

The ideal candidate will be an academic thought leader of the highest caliber—someone whose scholarship is influential in their field and who actively engages in broader discourse. They will stand at the intersection of intellectual scholarship and practice. Equally important, they will be an inspiring teacher and mentor, engaging undergraduate and graduate students in the life of the Institute and cultivating the next generation of civic leaders.

The director will position the Institute as an influential presence in the public arena, actively shaping discourse on democratic challenges through media engagement, policy advisory work, and partnerships with practitioners and civic leaders. The Institute’s impact depends on its ability to serve as a trusted, nonpartisan resource for policymakers, journalists, and civic organizations navigating complex democratic questions. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in translating scholarship into actionable insights for broad public audiences and will bring the commitment and skill to ensure that the Institute’s work meaningfully influences civic debates and democratic practice beyond academic circles.

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