Science philanthropy in the United States plays an outsized — and under-appreciated — role in the country’s discovery and innovation ecosystem. Please join us for an in-person-only event in which Robert W. Conn, a fellow in residence at the Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation, will discuss the role of philanthropy in science and its influence on American leadership.

Annual and legacy philanthropy provides more than 40% of the level of federal funding for basic and applied research to university and non-profit research institutions, the main performers of this research. This is a surprisingly large amount to many.

Conn will discuss how philanthropy has influenced the development of both higher education and our research and discovery ecosystem and will discuss its role as an element of science policymaking. He will also discuss how, when it comes to competition with others such as China, philanthropy may be America’s distinctive advantage.

This public lecture series is organized by the Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS). For more information on center activities, please visit ccgt.ucsd.edu.

Our event is co-sponsored by the Global Forum program at International House. For more information on Global Forums along with other I-House programs & events please visit linktr.ee/ihouseucsd.