Shilo Brooks

Dr. Shilo Brooks is the president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a leading nonpartisan institution focused on advancing the values of freedom, opportunity, accountability, and compassion. In addition to his executive role, Brooks serves as a professor of practice in the Department of Political Science at Southern Methodist University and as a senior fellow at both the Center for Presidential History and the Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs. He is also a member of the Bush Foundation's board of directors.

Before joining the Bush Center, Brooks was executive director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, where he also lectured in the Department of Politics. Collaborating with program founder Robert P. George, Brooks contributed to the Madison Program’s prominence in the study of American constitutional law and Western political thought. His course on statesmanship and the American presidency expanded significantly in enrollment, reflecting growing interest in American political leadership. Brooks received Princeton University's Phi Beta Kappa teaching award for his contributions in the classroom.

Prior to his tenure at Princeton, Brooks held academic appointments at the University of Colorado, where he designed and directed the Engineering Leadership Program to examine the impact of technology on democratic society. He also served as associate faculty director of the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization. Brooks has held positions at Bowdoin College and the University of Virginia's Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy. His scholarship covers the history of political philosophy, statesmanship, politics and literature, and the ethics of science and technology. He is the author of "Nietzsche's Culture War: The Unity of the Untimely Meditations" and has a forthcoming book on noble ambition from Penguin Random House.

Brooks hosts The Free Press' "Old School" podcast, which explores transformative books and encourages intellectual engagement. He writes and lectures on topics in politics, leadership, and the humanities, and appears in media and public forums. Brooks earned a doctorate in political science from Boston College and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the Great Books Program at St. John's College. His educational background informs his commitment to civic literacy, civil discourse, and the principles of American democracy.