As Rick Graber sees it, the Bradley Foundation operates \u201cin a world of ideas, and we fund people who are in the world of ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s one way to describe the work of the Milwaukee-based foundation. But it is important to add a few things to that description: The Bradley Foundation is huge \u2013 it has an endowment of about $900 million and it makes grants of $40 to $50 million a year. It is influential \u2013 it has provided funding sparking big changes in American policy since it was launched in the mid-1980s. And it is conservative \u2013 its leaders have never hesitated in using that label to describe its support of limited government, free markets, traditional values, and other conservative causes. One of its signature issues is support of programs allowing parents to send their children to private and religious schools using public money.<\/p>\n
Graber, president and CEO of Bradley since 2016, told an audience at an \u201cOn the Issues with Mike Gousha\u201d program at Marquette Law School on Thursday, October 17, that the foundation tries to do what two brothers, Harry and Lynda Bradley, would want them to do. The two were founders of the Allen-Bradley Co., and they were supporters of conservative causes. Both died more than a half century ago and the foundation is funded out of some of the proceeds of the sale of Allen-Bradley in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
In addition to its support of conservative think tanks, scholars and advocacy groups, the foundation is one of the biggest givers to Milwaukee-based causes, many of them non-political. Graber said about 30% of Bradley grants support Milwaukee area organizations, including large annual donations to music, arts, and cultural groups. Bradley also supports some community-based social services organizations. Some people might be surprised to see some of the recipients of Bradley grants, but Graber said they are all non-governmental efforts to strengthen people\u2019s lives — and the foundation favors such efforts.<\/p>\n
Much of the session in Eckstein Hall\u2019s Lubar Center focused on the foundation\u2019s support of school voucher programs. It provided funding that was a key to the launch of school vouchers in Milwaukee, which has the oldest urban voucher program in the United States. Graber said the foundation believes \u201cparents know best\u201d when it comes to picking schools for their children and \u201cthe more options, the better\u201d when it comes to what schools parents can select.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want a strong public school system, absolutely,\u201d Graber said. \u201cBut they should have to compete.\u201d He was challenged on school voucher issues by some in the audience. He defended the fact that Bradley does not provide grants to deal with public school needs. He said the fact that private schools taking voucher students weren\u2019t getting results that were much different than public schools did not change his view that the voucher schools were offering a lot to their students, including things that can\u2019t be measured by test scores.<\/p>\n
Graber was the American ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2009, during the administration of President George W. Bush. Speaking for himself, he said he disagreed with President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to pull back American forces along the Turkish-Syrian border. \u00a0He said the US has to stand by its allies and play a leading role in the world. Asked about Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Graber said, \u201cI\u2019m of the view that Putin is an evil man. . . They only way to play ball with Vladimir Putin is to play hardball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graber said that both he and foundation agree with Trump on many issues and not on some issues. He said free trade was the best example of an area where they would disagree. Bradley supports free trade and not the kinds of tariffs Trump has imposed.<\/p>\n
Before taking the Bradley position, Graber was an executive of Honeywell International. He has also in the past been president and CEO of the Milwaukee law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren and he is a past chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocracies are messy, they\u2019re inherently messy,\u201d Graber said. But he said America still offers more opportunity to people than any other country.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s harder these days to discuss ideas with a lot of people, Graber said, given the polarization and emotionalism of political discourse. That is unfortunate, he said. That\u2019s especially true if you are seeking to support the world of ideas.<\/p>\n