Jeffrey O. Nelson

Dr. Jeffrey O. Nelson

Jeff Nelson co-founded the Kirk Center with Annette Kirk and is currently Vice Chairman of the Center’s Board of Trustees. He served in 1986 and again in 1989 as Dr. Kirk’s personal assistant.

Dr. Nelson is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (Wilmington, Delaware). He was the second president of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, NH). He received his B.A. at the University of Detroit, an M.A. at Yale University Divinity School, and was awarded his Ph.D. in American History at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Dr. Nelson founded ISI Books, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s now nationally recognized publishing imprint, in 1993. Under his direction, more than 110 books were published. During that time he also edited two respected journals of thought and opinion: The Intercollegiate Review and The University Bookman, and is publisher of Studies in Burke and His Time. He also is senior fellow of both the International G. K. Chesterton Institute (Toronto, ON) and the Centre for the Study of Faith and Culture in Oxford, England; and he is secretary of the Edmund Burke Society of America.

Dr. Nelson has edited two book collections: Redeeming the Time by Russell Kirk, and Perfect Sowing: Reflections of a Bookman by Henry Regnery; he co-edited an award winning treasury of the historian John Lukacs’ writings entitled Remembered Past; and was project director of the popular national college guide, Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America's Top Schools. Dr. Nelson was featured in a New York Times front-page news article about a major reference work he co-edited, American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia; and he is series editor of The Library of Modern Thinkers. Jeff Nelson is a frequent and popular guest on radio and television talk shows across the country.

Mere unthinking negative opposition to the current of events, clutching in despair at what we still retain, will not suffice in this age. A conservatism of instinct must be reinforced by a conservatism of thought and imagination.

Russell Kirk

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News and Events

Kirk in Traverse Magazine

John J. Miller has a lovely article about Dr. Kirk and his life and legacy in the January issue of Traverse Magazine, now released online. Take a look.

Aug 2010

Kirk in the 1950s

We have new posts of several articles of Russell Kirk in the online archive, including four from the 1950s. Kirk covers topics including tradition, revolution, the age of boredom (addressing themes that later became Eliot and His Age), and ”The Inhumane Businessman.” Do take some time and read them.

Aug 2010

The University Bookman

We have posted the latest number of the University Bookman, which is our penultimate print issue. The Bookman will be expanding our presence online after this point. This number features reviews on two very different historians—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and Carlton Hayes—and continuing efforts to define the right. The full contents are available here.

Jun 2010

Spring Permanent Things

The Spring 2010 number of our Permanent Things newsletter is up featuring updates on past Wilbur Fellows and articles on other admirers of Russell Kirk. You can download a copy of the PDF from this link.

Jun 2010

Intercollegiate Review on Kirk

To commemorate the 16th anniversary of the death of Russell Kirk on April 29, we would like to highlight the new archives of the Intercollegiate Review, particularly the 1994 commemorative issue on Russell Kirk, featuring essays from several noted writers and friends of Dr. Kirk.

Apr 2010

Kirk Center in Italy

Senior Fellow Marco Respinti announces progress on the web site for the Centro Studi Russell Kirk based in Milan, Italy. It is still under development, but you can visit at www.russellkirk.eu. We have also recently posted an updated bio for Marco.

Feb 2010