Letter From Condoleezza Rice:

Dear Friend,

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your generous support of the Hoover Institution this year and to share an update on the groundbreaking work of our scholars. In a time of profound change and uncertainty, they are producing research that meets the current moment and addresses America’s most pressing policy challenges.

Among the most urgent issues we are addressing is how America navigates the promise and peril of generative AI. Some have described China’s release of its DeepSeek model–comparable to US systems but far cheaper–as this generation’s Sputnik moment. As I recently wrote in a Fox News op-ed with Amy Zegart, technological competition is a high-stakes battleground. From Roman aqueducts to nuclear weapons, technology and the leadership that guides it have always shaped global geopolitics.

Today is no different. But we are at a unique point: Never had so many transformative technologies emerged and converged so rapidly. It is essential that America and its allies lead on these frontiers–otherwise, authoritarian forces that reject our norms of freedom, privacy, and active citizen participation will fill the void. Hoover is tackling a critical part of this challenge in addressing the need for US leadership in fundamental research across universities and the innovation ecosystem. This long-horizon work has fueled breakthroughs like the internet and the Human Genome Project and allows top minds to explore freely, without immediate commercial pressure.

Providing a primer on these frontier technologies is a central aim of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR), a university-wide initiative co-led by Hoover and Stanford Engineering. SETR equips leaders with insights into emerging technologies and their policy implications. This past February, we released the second annual report in Washington, DC, briefing policymakers, diplomats, and intelligence officials. At our Capitol Hill event, Senators John Hickenlooper and Todd Young emphasized SETR’s importance in informing America’s response to emerging technologies.

The AI race mirrors the arms race in its reliance on talent. A new paper co-authored by Dr. Zegart debunks the myth that China’s rise in AI is driven by US-trained scientists. In fact, over half of DeepSeek’s researchers have never left China. This challenges our assumptions and highlights the urgent need for the United States to win the global competition for talent.

Education plays a central role in our ability to compete as a nation. Ours to Solve, Once–and for All, the inaugural report of Hoover’s Education Futures Council, calls for structural K-12 reform. Despite decades of funding increases for schools, student outcomes remain poor. At our January Education Summit, Hoover scholars proposed flipping the system–from top-down to bottom-up–and centering it on student success.

The urgency of this work is clear. Quality education is essential not just to global competitiveness and national security but to our health as a democracy. For this reason, Hoover is deeply invested in civic education. I commend my Hoover associate Josiah Ober for working to expand Stanford’s civics curriculum and helping the university move forward toward making it a requirement for undergraduates. Through the Alliance for Civics in the Academy, Dr. Ober and his colleagues are building a network of faculty across the country committed to teaching students how to be engaged and informed citizens.

Chester “Checker” Finn Jr. continues to lead vital research on civic understanding, including historical analyses of how civics has been taught over time and the current state of civic knowledge in America. With our partners at iCivics, we convened the Civic Learning Week National Forum at Hoover this part March. During the forum, General Jim Mattis shared lessons from his decades of service, and I was honored to join Utah Governor Spencer Cox in a conversation about the need for civic leaders to model respectful debate in today’s polarized climate.

Our scholars are also addressing America’s fiscal health. In a recent paper, Niall Ferguson warned that any nation spending more on debt service than on defense ceases to be a great power. He draws on examples like Habsburg Spain and Bourbon France to show how debt has undermined once-mighty empires. The United States crossed that worrying threshold in 2024. To meet this challenge, this spring we launched the Fiscal Policy Initiative, led by Josh Rauh. It brings together top economists and experts to develop realistic strategies for restoring fiscal discipline.

We have continued to expand the ranks of our fellowship. Earlier this year we welcomed Frank Dikötter, a renowned historian of modern China, and Barry Strauss, a distinguished classicist and military historian. We extend our warmest congratulations to Professor Strauss, who received the 2025 Bradley Prize in recognition of his contributions to preserving the intellectual foundations of Western tradition.

Finally, one of the ways we are amplifying the breadth of scholarship at Hoover is through expanded strategic communications and marketing efforts. We are reaching broader audiences by delivering content where they are–in a variety of formats and across digital platforms and devices. hoover research and analysis are now seen, heard, and shared at remarkable levels. Engagement across social media continues to grow, and our YouTube channel recently surpassed the milestone of one million subscribers. These channels are not just growing our audiences–they are shaping national conversations in real time.

All of this work is only possible because of your continued support. You empower Hoover scholars to develop the ideas that will secure a freer, stronger America–and a safer, more stable world for generations to come.

Your generosity is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Condoleezza Rice

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