A Prospectus for Principled Public Leadership
The Crisis of Public Leadership
A Prospectus for
Principled
Public
Leadership
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The worst place to study the Constitution these days is in a law school. So says Charles Kesler, a scholar of the American founding. In fact, to the extent that constitutional law is studied today, its focus tends to be on "constitutional analysis" - a method that studies the meaning of the Constitution by examination of what sitting Supreme Court justices have said about the Constitution. Is it any wonder then why the judiciary - and especially the Supreme Court - has enlarged its role in the American political order at the expense of vibrant public moral discourse and debate? Nor should one be surprised that legislators have too readily relinquished power to the courts by demurring and then deferring on the pressing social questions of today. Who are the custodians of American constitutionalism and its principles of liberty under law?
"John Jay upheld the vital link between law and religion as a distinguishing feature of the world's most successful democracy. That link has been severed—with dire consequences for the moral health of American politics and culture. The John Jay Institute is well poised to repair the damage. Jay once called education "the soul of the Republic." I can think of no organization better equipped to help the republic recover its soul in the present hour of crisis."
Where then do the law
student and the government
student turn to study the
original texts of American
Constitutionalism and
jurisprudence? The sad reality
is that the great books of our
ordered liberty--works like
the Federalist
by John Jay, by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and
James Madison are not
carefully studied.
Neither
is there much, if any,
attention paid to other
fundamental works of
our political and legal
heritage like William
Blackstone's Commentaries,
Richard Hooker's Laws,
or Thomas Aquinas's On Kingship. This crisis of civic-legal education
is having a downstream and deleterious effect
on American jurisprudence, government, and
public leadership.
Measures or Men?
Though the crisis is deep and has been long in development there is a way forward, but the solution is neither simple nor immediate. Many who are concerned about the rise of the "judicial usurpation of democracy," "judicial tyranny," and a "robed imperial judiciary" have proposed various measures to rein-in judges "legislating from the bench." These measures include reforms of the electoral process, term limits, impeachment proceedings, constitutional amendments, etc. While there is little doubt that these reform measures have merit and perhaps ought to be implemented, they do not address the root problem—the leaders themselves. Judges on the bench, legislators in Congress and our statehouses, and other public leaders, present the most pressing concern for the moral, social, and cultural direction of the nation. No measures, however foolproof, are a suffi cient substitute for principled public leadership.
"John Jay was both a committed Christian and a national leader. He would, I believe, be very pleased to see a new John Jay Institute formed, to raise up a new generation of leaders, grounded in the Christian faith and our American legal and political system."
Strategy, Mission, and Vision
The John Jay Institute for Faith, Society
and Law is committed to raising up a
new generation of public leaders who are
grounded and established in the political
and legal principles of our Judaic and
Christian civilization's heritage. As a paraacademic
center, the Institute is founded
on the premise that theology is the elevated
science of law. Furthermore it fully embraces
the old adage that "Books make the man."
Therefore the strategy to address the crisis
of public leadership is better education
in the Christian moral and intellectual
tradition to augment (and more probably
repair) a college undergraduate experience.
The Institute's strategy is accomplished
through a preparatory curriculum of
theological, political, and legal studies that is
especially suited for rising law, government,
and divinity students. In this manner law
students, graduate students of politics and
government, as well as divinity students are
much better prepared for their respective
graduate and professional schools upon
entry. Furthermore they are made more ready
for the rigors and demands of public life
afterward. The mission of the Institute is to
prepare Christians for principled leadership
in public life. In pursing this task it envisages
leaders of American public life to be men
and women characterized by the virtues
of wisdom and justice, truth and mercy,
prudence and courage.
John Jay: A Legacy to Preserve and Perpetuate
John Jay (1745-1829) was arguably the most religious and politically conservative of the principal founders of America. His eminence in public life included service in various governmental capacities as a member and president of the Continental Congress, Chief Justice of New York State, diplomatic envoy, Peace Commissioner, Foreign Secretary of the United States, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Governor of New York. Jay was also active in domestic and civil society as a dutiful son, faithful husband, and loving father. He was a vestryman in his local parish church, lay leader in the re-formation of a Protestant denomination, president of the American Bible Society, and a founder and patron of the New York Manumission Society for the emancipation of African slaves. Jay's prominence as a statesman, churchman, citizen and social reformer is a legacy to preserve and perpetuate. His dedication to the ideals of love and mercy, truth and justice guided his public labors in serving his country. To honor his life and principled leadership, the Institute bears his name in dedication to raising up and calling forth leaders like him for the future.
Leaders are Made not Born
With the mission of forming future leaders,
the Institute's primary program is an academic
fellowship for college graduates with a vocational
interest in public affairs. 
The fellowship entails
a semester of study in residence at the Institute
followed by a semester-long internship placement
in a public policy related position in Washington,
D.C., a state capital, or various other national
and international political centers. Committed
to the integration of knowledge and piety, the
fellowship offers a community learning experience
that is ordered by a Christian worldview. The
curriculum design is an interdisciplinary one that
explores theology, philosophy, ethics, politics,
history, sociology, economics, and religious, as well
as civic art and architecture through seminars,
tutorials, lectures, and field studies. As an
intentional community of scholars, the fellowship
endeavors to accomplish its objectives for the
intellectual and spiritual formation of the fellows
through common living, study, prayer, worship,
and refl ection. Specific emphasis is placed on
the examination of vocational calling and its
relationship to public life. Through rigorous study
of classic texts, common worship, and spiritual
direction the fellowship seeks to form principled
men and women for positions of
public leadership.
"There is a desperate need for the sort of historicallygrounded Christian refl ection on public affairs envisaged by the John Jay Institute"
An Invitation to Involvement
The Institute is seeking partners to help recruit and educate a new generation of principled leaders for public life--men and women of Christian conviction and virtues. Those persons interested in this strategic effort are invited to learn more, especially how they can become a part of the John Jay Institute's effort to prepare principled public leaders. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan, research and education organization, the Institute is sustained and advanced by the charitable gifts of people who envisage the future leaders of America to be men and women of virtue, wisdom, and justice. Donations to the Institute are tax deductible. Further questions about the vision, mission, and work are encouraged.
"To see things as they are, to estimate them aright, and to act accordingly, is to be wise.
Board of GovernorsChairman of the BoardClaude O. Pressnell Jr., Ed.D.
President & CEO, Tennessee Independent Colleges
and Universities Association
Nashville, Tennessee
GovernorsCharles W. Bradley
President, Senderra Funding, LLC
Charlotte, North Carolina
Alan R. Crippen II
President, John Jay Institute for Faith, Society and Law
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Calvin Edwards
Founder and CEO, Calvin Edwards & Company
Atlanta, Georgia
Stephen J. Maye
Managing Partner, Drake Capital, LLC
Matthews, North Carolina
William J. Moore
President & CEO, PacMoore Products, Inc.
and PacMoore Process Technologies, LLC
Hammond, Indiana
Donald B. Smith, M.D.
Founder and President, Orthopedics and
Sports Medicine Associates of Western Pennsylvania
Franklin, Pennsylvania
Rev. Dr. Luder G. Whitlock
Author and Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum; Washington, D.C.
Orlando, Florida
Todd J. Williams, Ph.D.
President, Philadelphia Biblical University
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
|
Advisory CouncilThe Honorable William L. Armstrong
Former U.S. Senator for the State of Colorado
President, Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, Colorado
Frank J. Beckwith, M.J.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Church - State Studies and
Associate Director, J.M. Dawson Institute
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
J. Budziszewski, Ph.D.
Professor of Government and Philosophy
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Allan C. Carlson, Ph.D.
President, The Howard Center for Family, Religion, & Society
Rockford, Illinois
Kenneth L. Connor, Esq.
Wilkes & McHugh, P.A.
Leesburg, Virginia
Rev. Allen C. Guelzo, Ph.D.
Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gillis Harp, Ph.D.
Professor of History
Grove City College
Grove City, Pennsylvania
Paul Marshall, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute
Washington, D.C.
Wilfred M. McClay, Ph.D.
SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities and Professor of History
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mark Mitchell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Patrick Henry College
Purceville, Virginia
Walter Stahr, J.D.
Author, John Jay: Founding Father
Vienna, Virginia
The Honorable Kenneth W. Starr
Former Solicitor General of the United States
Dean and Professor of Law
Pepperdine University School of Law
Malibu, California
The Rev. Dr. Richard Turnbull
Principal
Wycliffe Hall – Oxford University
Oxford, England
|
Student Testimonials
Alan Crippen's singular contribution is to provide young public-spirited Christians a bracing and encompassing understanding of the deep philosophical and political heritage of their faith. He inspires young men and women to try. His efforts with the John Jay Institute in the years ahead will be a great contribution to the tradition of a thoughtful Christian voice in American democracy.
I had the great fortune to study under Alan Crippen prior to my entrance into the University of Virginia School of Law's Joint-Degree Program in Legal History. The time I spent under his tutelage had an ongoing, transformational impact on both my education at Virginia and my vocational calling after graduation. I can think of no greater formative opportunity for Christian men and women who aspire to vocations in law, divinity, or public policy."
As the years have passed I am more thankful than ever for the blessing of have studied under Alan Crippen. The ideas and vision he taught me represent the timeless essence of the western and American social tradition captured in the thought and lives not only of the Institute's namesake, John Jay, but of many of the other American founders as well. For the student who is serious about integrating his knowledge of political philosophy, religion, history, and culture into a coherent prescription for effective public influence in today's world, I cannot recommend the John Jay Institute highly enough."
Participating in a residential academic fellowship of Mr. Crippen's design and making was, by far, the most positively powerful intellectual Christian experience in my life to date. His insights and our many conversations taught me how being a follower of Christ should change how I look at everything, even civic architecture and the design of public space. This opportunity was an influential source of my personal inspiration for pursuing further studies in urban/regional planning and design."
It's been nearly a decade since I participated in a residential academic fellowship under the direction of Alan Crippen. In retrospect, it was a seminal event in my academic, professional, and spiritual life. It provided for me and my classmates the kind of intellectual excitement and community that many of us were looking for at college but had diffi culty finding there. The sustained refl ection and fellowship helped me to clarify my calling to public life, and provided the basis for enduring friendships."
After spurring hundreds of undergraduates (myself among them) to consider carefully how to live out their salvation in this world, Alan Crippen is turning his attention to the law. The student body of my alma mater (Yale Law School), and the legal profession as a whole, would benefi t greatly from Christians who understood law's function in our society and its Judeo-Christian history. Thankfully, the John Jay Institute is answering that call by equipping smart Christians to advocate wisely."
Salutations for the John Jay Institute
The John Jay Institute is further evidence of an intellectual renaissance in constitutional studies. America's first Chief Justice is well-honored by an organization committed to perpetuating virtue, public spirit, and intelligence in the future leaders of the republic. My expectations for its alumni are high."
I have no doubt that the John Jay Institute will help many of our most gifted young people more fully to understand and appreciate 'the blessings of liberty' bequeathed to us by America's founding fathers."
Secularist ideology is so entrenched in the policymaking and opinion-forming strata that it comes close to being the Established Religion of American public life. Thoughtful Christian young people who are interested in public affairs have few models of what it might mean to approach public affairs with a distinctively Christian point of view. I celebrate the formation of the John Jay Institute."
I heartily endorse the John Jay Institute for guiding students in apprehending the eternal verities as they apply to the earthly business of politics. It is my expectation that Institute alumni will well bear the name of John Jay for their qualities of statesmanship."
Alan Crippen has had long experience educating young scholars in the political principles and spiritual values of our Founding Fathers, helping them to translate those principles and values into effective action in the public square. Because young people are immersed in a popular culture that is, in many ways, opposed to such ideals, the importance of this work cannot be overstated. ...The John Jay Institute will, I am certain, continue to form young minds and souls..."
I am delighted to see The John Jay Institute for Faith, Society and Law take form. Far too little attention has been paid to the statesmanship, values, and example of this American Founding Father.
Founder John Jay was a serious Christian. It is good and right that the John Jay Institute seek to revive the alliance between reason and revelation that prevailed in earlier American history, by teaching young Christians that it is a worthy thing to be politically active on behalf of the Founders' ideals."
The John Jay Institute is the sort of place in which Christians will be brought into contact with the great minds and ideas of the past that provide intellectual sustenance for their task. They will also have the benefi t of practical guidance imparted to them by good teachers and experienced mentors from a variety of fi elds and government service."
