We Strengthen the Capacities of the American people for constitutional self-government.

The Ashbrook Center, an independent academic center located at Ashland University, was established and named in honor of the late Congressman John M. Ashbrook, who represented Ohio’s 17th Congressional district for 21 years. President Ronald Reagan personally dedicated the Ashbrook Center on May 9, 1983. While based in north central Ohio, Ashbrook offers educational programs across the country for students, teachers, and citizens.

The mission of the Ashbrook Center is to strengthen constitutional self-government by educating our fellow Americans—students, teachers, and citizens—in the history and Founding principles of our country and the habits of reflection and choice necessary to perpetuate our republic.

Ashbrook’s programs began quite modestly in 1984 with 14 students in the inaugural class of the Ashbrook Scholar Program. Over the years, the Ashbrook Scholar Program has grown dramatically and achieved a national reputation as one of the finest programs for undergraduate students.

Many of Ashbrook’s friends and supporters know Ashbrook for sponsoring nationally and internationally known speakers at the John M. Ashbrook Memorial Dinner, including Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush, Benjamin Netanyahu, Clarence Thomas, Henry Kissinger, and William F. Buckley. Ashbrook’s other major speakers’ event, the Major Issues Lecture Series, is the oldest lecture series of its kind in the region.

Ashbrook began offering educational programs for middle and high school teachers in 1991. Teachers eagerly attended these events, hungering for a substantive education in American principles that was sorely lacking in their formal education. In 2001, Ashbrook launched TeachingAmericanHistory.org to offer teachers free access to teaching resources and a collection of primary sources that has grown to over 2500 historical documents.

At the request of teachers, Ashbrook established the Master of Arts in American History and Government graduate degree program in 2005. The graduate program, designed specifically for teachers, offers educators a deep understanding of the subjects they teach, while helping them to supplement or replace textbooks with original historical documents and engage their students in thoughtful conversations about the enduring questions of American history.

In 2013, an Ashbrook Board member who was deeply concerned about the direction of our country challenged Ashbrook to take action. He encouraged us to mobilize our unique capabilities to deploy our programs broadly to the nation’s 125,000 middle and high school history and government teachers. He was convinced that by preparing teachers, we could reach a generation of young Americans.

In response Ashbrook launched one-day seminars, multi-day seminars at historic sites, and webinars at no cost to the nation’s social studies teachers. These Teaching American History programs equip teachers to help their students discover for themselves the true story of America.

Since 1983, the Ashbrook Center has grown into a truly national organization, supporting teachers, students, and citizens wherever they live and work.

Ashbrook’s growth and success would not be possible without the sacrifice and vision of the founders and directors of the Ashbrook Center.

Ashbrook is governed by its own Board and is responsible for raising all of the funds necessary for its many programs. Contributions to Ashbrook are tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.