Founded in 1930 on the principle of knowledge for its own sake, your Institute for Advanced Study sits quietly in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner with philanthropists Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld, it was built on Flexner’s guiding principle: the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Here, faculty have no classes to teach; there are no degree programs or experimental facilities, and research is never contracted or directed.
Instead, scholars pursue their own goals. Over decades this calm, singular mission drew some of the twentieth century’s most restless minds — Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Emmy Noether, Hermann Weyl, John von Neumann, Michael Walzer, Clifford Geertz, Freeman Dyson and Kurt Gödel — many of whom had emigrated from Europe to the United States. The institute does not charge tuition or fees, and, despite collaborative ties and its neighboring geographic location, it has "no formal links" with Princeton University.
Founded as fascism rose in Europe, the institute played a key role. Picture the freedom of thought it protects, then notice the neighboring Princeton University and the institute's independence from it.