Submitted: 08/06/2026
Submitted By: Isaacson, Miller
Department: –
Institution: The Wenner-Gren Foundation
Job type: Full time
Apply by: 09/08/2026
Application Email:
Application URL: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/wenner-gren-foundation/president

President
The Wenner-Gren Foundation
New York, New York

The Wenner-Gren Foundation, a highly respected private operating foundation dedicated to providing leadership in support of anthropology and anthropologists worldwide, seeks a strategic, visionary, and collaborative next President. Wenner-Gren has a storied history of advancing anthropology through convening conversations and publications, as well as through grant and fellowship programs designed to support innovative and ethical research across all branches of anthropology. In a moment of global change—including significant change in the funding landscape for the humanities and social sciences—the next President will have a singular opportunity to ensure the Foundation remains a beacon for anthropology as a vital, engaged, and inclusive discipline that is grounded in rigorous methodology and enhances humankind's understanding of itself and its place in the world.

The role of the President is to lead the Foundation to advance anthropological knowledge, amplify its impact, foster inclusivity across the discipline, and address threats facing anthropology as a career and a field of study. The President will be a public champion for the discipline and its scholars, and an adept communicator to showcase the critical value of anthropology. The successful candidate will have significant leadership experience—including strategic planning and financial management—in higher education, philanthropy, or another related sector, as well as the ability to inspire and convene diverse constituent groups.

Wenner-Gren has retained Isaacson, Miller, a global executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment of its next President. Please direct all applications, nominations, and inquiries to Isaacson, Miller via https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/wenner-gren-foundation/president

Jeff Kessner, Ryan Leichenauer, and Jenny Rubin
Isaacson, Miller

The Wenner-Gren Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.