Stanley Foundation to Be Renamed Stanley Center for Peace and Security

MUSCATINE, Iowa – For more than 60 years, the Stanley Foundation has assembled diverse perspectives to seek out new solutions to the problems that affect all of humankind. On November 11, the organization will be renamed the Stanley Center for Peace and Security to better reflect its purpose and approach to driving progress on global policy.

“Our founders Max and Betty Stanley lived through two world wars and believed passionately that causes of conflict must be approached by countries working together,” according to Stanley Foundation President Keith Porter. “Max believed in the promise of the United Nations and created the foundation in 1956 as a means to help that great experiment thrive.”

The organization continues to believe in the power of institutions like the UN, and today incorporates the perspectives of civil society organizations, the private sector, and governments at local, national, and regional levels in progressing policy on three issue areas: mitigating climate change, avoiding the use of nuclear weapons, and preventing mass violence and atrocities.

“Collective action on global challenges requires the participation of those most impacted by them, as well as those who shape, influence, and implement policy at all levels of government and society,” Porter said.

In addition to its new name, the organization will reveal a new logo, website, and revamped publications which emphasize its approach, on November 11.

“These changes are not being made lightly,” said Mark Seaman, Director of Communications at the Stanley Foundation. “They emerge from a year-long process of self-exploration where we sought the perspectives of our governance members, staff, and external collaborators. We conducted outreach surveys, interviews, and a series of introspective dialogues to understand how others around the world perceive us and whether any changes in those perceptions could make us more effective.”

The organization’s status as an endowed, private operating foundation will remain the same, as will its work in the local community: assisting the Model United Nations club at Muscatine High School, presenting the Catherine Miller Explorer Awards to local educators, and promoting other global education efforts in and around Muscatine, Iowa.

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