James Madison Society

The James Madison Society is an international community of scholars whose research contributes significantly to civic education in institutions of higher learning. Members of the Society share the belief of James Madison that only a well-instructed people can be permanently free. They also share a commitment to instill within rising generations an appreciation of the common good and the moral foundations of democratic governance. The Society provides a forum through which scholars who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in constitutional law, political thought, and related fields can engage in intensive discussions about their research and teaching.

Board of Consulting Scholars

Hadley P. Arkes
  • Edward Ney Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus, Amherst College
  • Director, James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights & the American Founding
  • 2002-03 James Madison Program Visiting Fellow
John M. Finnis
  • Biolchini Family Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
  • Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy Emeritus, University of Oxford
Mary Ann Glendon
  • Learned Hand Professor of Law Emerita, Harvard University
Leon R. Kass
  • Addie Clark Harding Professor Emeritus in the Committee on Social Thought and the College, The University of Chicago
  • Dean of the Faculty, Shalem College, Jerusalem, Israel
  • Madden-Jewett Chair Emeritus, American Enterprise Institute
Harvey C. Mansfield
  • William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government, Harvard University
  • Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Paul R. McHugh
  • University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry
  • Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Johns Hopkins University
Gilbert C. Meilaender
  • Senior Research Professor, Valparaiso University
David Novak
  • J. Richard & Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University of Toronto
  • 2005-06 James Madison Program Visiting Fellow
Daniel N. Robinson ~ d. 2018
  • Fellow, Faculty of Philosophy, Adjunct Fellow, Linacre College, University of Oxford
  • Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University
James Q. Wilson ~ d. 2012
  • Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy, Pepperdine University
  • Former President, American Political Science Association
  • Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom

Members of the James Madison Society

Bradley C. S. Watson
  • Associate Professor of Government, Van Andel Graduate School of Government, Hillsdale College
  • 2005-06 James Madison Program Visiting Fellow
Micah J. Watson
  • Paul B. Henry Chair in Political Science and Executive Director of the Paul Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics, Calvin University
  • 2010-11 James Madison Program William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life
Amy Wax
  • Robert Mundheim Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Derek A. Webb
  • Dean's Visiting Scholar, Georgetown University Law Center
  • 2008-09 James Madison Program Postdoctoral Research Associate
Kevin J. Weddle *03
  • Professor of Military Theory and Strategy, United States Army War College; Colonel (Retired), US Army
  • Spring 2019 James Madison Program Garwood Teaching Fellow
Bret Weinstein
  • 2019-2021 Visiting Fellow
Thomas G. West
  • Professor of Politics, Hillsdale College
  • Senior Fellow, Claremont Institute
Cornel R. West *80
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological Seminary
  • Class of 1943 University Professor Emeritus in the Center for African American Studies, Princeton University
  • Senior Scholar in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions
Peter R. Wicks
  • Director, Program in Ethics, Finance, and Economics, Elm Institute, New Haven, CT
  • 2010-11 James Madison Program Postdoctoral Research Associate
W. Bradford Wilcox
  • Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia
Paul T. Wilford
  • Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, Boston College
  • 2019–2020 Visiting Fellow
Daniel K. Williams
  • Professor of History, University of West Georgia
  • 2011-12 James Madison Program William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life
John D. Wilsey
  • Associate Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  • 2017-18 James Madison Program William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life
Catherine E. Wilson
  • Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Public Administration, Villanova University
  • 2009-10 James Madison Program William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life
James Q. Wilson ~ d. 2012
  • Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy, Pepperdine University
  • Former President, American Political Science Association
  • Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom
Jacob Wolf
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Government, History, and Criminal Justice, Regent University
  • 2020-21 James Madison Program John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Christopher Wolfe
  • Distinguished Research Scholar, Dept. of Politics, University of Dallas
  • Emeritus Professor, Marquette University
Stephen Wolfe
  • Independent Scholar
  • 2021-22 Garwood Postdoctoral Research Associate
Matthew D. Wright
  • Associate Professor of Government, Torrey Honors College, Biola University
  • 2019-2020 John and Daria Barry Visiting Research Scholar