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Welcoming Professor Matthew Spalding as our Newest Board Member
Posted on Feb 20 2026
Matthew Spalding
Vice President of Washington Operations at Hillsdale College and Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government
It is with great pleasure that we announce the expansion of JWI's Board of Trustees during this "Natural Law Moment."
Today we proudly welcome Dr. Matthew Spalding, Kirby Professor in Constitutional Government at Hillsdale College, to the JWI Board of Trustees.
“As Dean of Hillsdale College’s graduate school in Washington, DC, we have witnessed Matthew build a world-class educational program that has become the gold standard for thoughtful, politically minded students across America,” said Douglas Neff, Chairman of the James Wilson Institute. “His knowledge, expertise, and the particular care he takes to build intellectual communities will be an asset to our growing organization.”
Dr. Spalding is the best-selling author of We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future and executive editor of The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. His latest book, The Making of the American Mind: The Story of Our Declaration of Independence, is a recovery of the deep roots of the Declaration through a clause-by-clause commentary.
"I am very happy to join the James Wilson Institute board, not only because of my great respect and long friendship with Hadley Arkes but also because of JWI’s importance in teaching the meaning and influence of the natural law in American jurisprudence—and the need for its recovery in our jurisprudence."
- Professor Matthew Spalding
JWI Founder and Co-Director Hadley Arkes said the following on the occasion: "We are so pleased to welcome Matthew to the Board of Trustees. I have known Matthew from his earliest days in the academy; he has become the dearest friend, and a colleague I'd always want to bring to my side. His joining the Board, as his magisterial new book on the Declaration of Independence The Making of the American Mind rolls out, is the perfect way for us to kick off America's 250th. His new book, in particular, deserves special commendation. I’ve made a career in teaching about the American Founding and doing intensive sessions on the Declaration of Independence—the documents and the sources have long been familiar to me. And yet Matthew, in this book, has made things clearer that have not been as clear before. His advent on the Board marks an exciting new chapter for the organization. Welcome, Matthew—we are honored and grateful to have you with us."
Meet Professor Matthew Spalding
Matthew Spalding is the Kirby Professor in Constitutional Government and Dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College and oversees the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship at Hillsdale’s Washington, D.C. campus. His new book, The Making of the American Mind: The Making of Our Declaration of Independence, was released in December 2025. Spalding is also the best-selling author of We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future and the original executive editor of The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, the first line-by-line analysis of each clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Appointed executive director of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission, which produced The 1776 Report, he is currently a senior academic advisor for America250 projects. Prior to joining Hillsdale, Spalding was vice president for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation and founding director of its B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics.
He is a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy and serves on the boards of The Steamboat Institute, Faith & Law, the James Wilson Institute, and New College of Florida. He received his BA from Claremont McKenna College and his MA and PhD from the Claremont Graduate School.
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