Dr. Joseph Loconte appointed affiliated scholar with Philadelphia-based American leadership center

Contact: Jeff Bone, The John Jay Institute, 215-987-3002

PHILADELPHIA, March 9, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The John Jay Institute today announced that Dr. Joseph Loconte has been appointed as an affiliated scholar. Dr. Loconte's academic and professional interests are in the areas of religious freedom, religious human rights theory, and the relationship of religion, civil society and democracy. He has been a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media. "I've been a fan of Alan Crippen and his vision and work at the John Jay Institute since it began five years ago," said Dr. Loconte. "The Institute has developed and directed some incredibly talented young people for public service. I'm honored to be a part of this good, important and necessary work of preparing principled public leaders." "Dr. Loconte's array of gifts as a thinker, journalist, human rights advocate and teacher has been and remains a personal inspiration to me," said Alan Crippen, President. "He's a model professional in the classroom and in the political arena, and I have the highest expectations for his inspirational influence on our students in forming their character, mind and vision for service."

For 10 years Dr. Loconte served as a monthly commentator for National Public Radio. In 2007 he hosted Britain and America, a weekly political program on the London-based 18 Doughty Street, the United Kingdom's first internet-television program. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, The American Interest, National Review, and Books and Culture. His most recent book is The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler's Gathering Storm (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004).

Dr. Loconte is an associate professor of history at The King's College in New York City, where he teaches courses on Western Civilization and U.S. Foreign Policy. In 2008, he was named a distinguished visiting professor at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.

Previously he served as a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He also held the first chair in religion as the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Dr. Loconte was graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He earned his master's degree in Christian history and theology from Wheaton College and his doctor's degree in history at King's College, the University of London. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he resides in Washington, D.C.

The John Jay Institute is the only faith-based, intercollegiate organization in America that is exclusively dedicated to developing principled leaders for public life. The Institute has recently relocated from Colorado to Greater Philadelphia and operates its educational programming in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.