Jennifer Thompson

Director of Educational Programs

Jennifer Thompson

Jennifer K. Thompson joined the Institute for Humane Studies in October, 2011 as Director of Educational Programs. She works with the program staff of Learn Liberty, summer seminars, on-campus education, Advanced Topics in Liberty, and the Institute’s talent development efforts.

Prior to working at IHS, Jennifer was Vice President of Co-Sponsored Programs at Liberty Fund, Inc. Jennifer was the founding Director of Liberty Fund’s Co-Sponsored Programs, and, in this capacity, she played a significant role in the development of every aspect of the program, including colloquium content and format, information systems and processes, hiring and training, budget negotiation, and institutional relationships. Under her direction, the program grew from an initial annual schedule of 20 conferences with 4 institutions to more than 85 conferences with 14 institutions, including IHS and the Acton Institute, the Ashbrook Center, the Bill of Rights Institute, the Cato Institute, the Charles Koch Institute, the Federalist Society, the Fund for American Studies, the Property and Environment Research Center, Students for Liberty, and the Universidad Francisco Marroquin.

Jennifer also served as Fellow at Liberty Fund, and she has previously taught at Northwestern University (Center for Talent Development) and Vanderbilt University. She holds a PhD and MA in philosophy from Vanderbilt and a BA (philosophy) and BS (economics) from the University of Tulsa. She is a graduate of the Education for Ministry program at Sewanee, The University of the South.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys teaching her two young daughters, Isabel and Anna, about the importance of property rights, individual choice, and the corrupting influence of power. Her favorite parenting book is Lord of the Flies. She and her husband, blues musician Danny Hargrove, live in Indianapolis.