The Foundation for Cultural Review is a nonprofit organization that promotes and fosters the discussion of cultural and intellectual activities, especially as it relates to American thought and life. ¹ It publishes The New Criterion, a monthly literary magazine and journal focused on the arts and intellectual life. ²

The New Criterion

The New Criterion was founded in 1982 by Hilton Kramer, a former art critic for the New York Times, and Samuel Lipman, a music critic and pianist. As of 2023, Roger Kimball is the editor of The New Criterion. ³

The New Criterion has focused on what it claims to be “the dismal state of academia” since its inaugural issue in 1982. To combat the alleged “woke” multiculturalist agenda in academia, The New Criterion has convened a symposium on “affirmative action & the law” and plans to hold future symposiums aimed at helping conservatives compete against left-wing radical agendas. ⁴

The New Criterion’s other initiatives include a Visiting Critic program, the Hilton Kramer Fellowship, a podcast series featuring its executive editor James Panero, and publications by Encounter Books. ⁵

People

James Panero is the executive editor of The New Criterion and a former editor of National Review. ⁶

Roger Kimball is the vice chair of the board of the Foundation for Cultural Review, the editor and publisher of The New Criterion, and the president and publisher of Encounter Books. Kimball sits on the board of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and is the chair of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale. Kimball formerly sat on the advisory board of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History. ⁷

Russell Pennoyer is the treasurer of the board of the Foundation for Cultural Review. Pennoyer is the vice chair of the board of the Hudson Institute, the chair of the William T. Grant Foundation, and the president of the Achelis and Bodman Foundations. ⁸

Erich Eichman is the deputy books editor of The Wall Street Journal. Eichman formerly worked as an associate editor of Harper’s Magazine and as managing editor of The New Criterion. ⁹

James Piereson a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and president of the William E. Simon Foundation. Piereson is a former executive director of the John M. Olin Foundation. Piereson sits on the boards of the Pinkerton Foundation, the Thomas W. Smith Foundation, the Center for Individual Rights, the Philanthropy Roundtable, the American Spectator Foundation, the Hoover Institution, and DonorsTrust. ¹⁰

Other members of the board include Christopher Laconi, secretary; Lionel Goldfrank; Marco Grassi; Stephen Jenks; Richard Miller, Jr.; and Peter Pettus. ¹¹

1. Foundation for Cultural Review, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Part I, Line 1.
2. “About.” The New Criterion. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://newcriterion.com/about.
3.  “About.” The New Criterion. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://newcriterion.com/about.
4. “Donate.” The New Criterion. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://newcriterion.com/donate.
5. “Donate.” The New Criterion. Accessed June 19, 2023. https://newcriterion.com/donate.
6. “Biography.” James Panero. Accessed June 14, 2023. https://jamespanero.com/#biography.
7. “Roger Kimball.” The New Criterion. Accessed June 14, 2023. https://newcriterion.com/author/roger-kimball.
8. ^[1] “Russell Pennoyer.” Hudson Institute. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://www.hudson.org/experts/1062-russell-pennoyer.
9. “Erich Eichman.” The Wall Street Journal. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/news/author/erich-eichman.
10. “James Piereson.” Manhattan Institute. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://manhattan.institute/person/james-piereson.
11. Foundation for Cultural Review, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.