Director

Daniel Jacobson

Daniel Jacobson

Director • Bruce D. Benson Professor of Philosophy
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Daniel Jacobson is the Bruce D. Benson Professor of Philosophy at the Ƶ and Director of the Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization. He was previously a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, where he founded and directed the Freedom and Flourishing Project. He directs an annual Workshop in Heterodox Moral and Political Philosophy which began at Michigan and is now under the...

Associate Faculty Director

Jaworski headshot

Taylor Jaworski

Associate Faculty Director
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Taylor Jaworski is an associate professor in the Department of Economics. His research and teaching interests are in economic history and economic geography. Jaworski has been a regular participant in Benson Center faculty seminars and a host/panelist in several events including lectures with Jared Rubin , Noel Johnson , and the Hamilton: The Man Behind the Musical CU faculty panel discussion. Jaworski received his BA from The George Washington University,...

Assistant Director

Alex Headshot

Alexandra Roberts

Assistant Director
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Alexandra Roberts joined the Benson Center in April 2022. She is responsible for managing the Center's operations, budget and finance, HR, and academic scheduling. Alexandra serves as the primary liaison with the CU Foundation for donor stewardship and fundraising. A CU Ƶ alum with a B.A. in International Affairs, she is particularly passionate about student engagement with the Center and its mission. Alexandra has been a staff member with the...

External Relations Manager

AJ Shively

Alexander (AJ) Shively

External Relations Manager
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
AJ Shively joined the Benson Center in 2020 as a student intern where he helped launch the Free Mind podcast. He became the Center’s External Media Relations Manager in 2023, where he is now responsible for event management. Shively is a CU Ƶ alum with a B.S. in Strategic Communication with a focus on strategic advertising and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Business Analytics.

Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy

Deneen Headshot

Patrick J. Deneen

Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Patrick J. Deneen holds a B.A. in English literature and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University.  From 1995-1997 he was Speechwriter and Special Advisor to the Director of the United States Information Agency.  From 1997-2005 he was Assistant Professor of Government at Princeton University.  From 2005-2012 he was Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University, before joining the faculty of Notre Dame in Fall 2012.  He is the...

Associate Teaching Professor

Porter Headshot

Joseph Porter

Associate Teaching Professor
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Joseph Porter is an associate teaching professor at the Benson Center who specializes in political philosophy, PPE (philosophy, politics, and economics), and ethics. He received his PhD in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. Before coming to UNC, he studied philosophy and religion at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. His personal website may be found here .

Visiting Researcher

Nagler Headshot

Matthew G. Nagler

Sabbatical Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Matthew G. Nagler is a Professor of Economics at The City College of New York. Previously, he served on the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team in the White House of President Barack Obama. He specializes in behavioral economics, social economics, and applied microeconomics and has been published in the Journal of Public Economics, Political Science Quarterly, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, and numerous other outlets. His work has been...
Strausburg headshot

James Strasburg

Roubos Sabbatical Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
James Strasburg is an Associate Professor of History and the Charles F. Kline Chair in History at Hillsdale College. His research explores Christianity's encounter with key political, economic, and international developments in the twentieth century. His first book, God's Marshall Plan: American Protestants and the Struggle for the Soul of Europe, appeared in 2021 with Oxford University Press. His current book project, Heavenly Marketplace: A History of Christianity and Capitalism, 1945-2008, explores the connections...

Faculty Fellows

Alston headshot

Eric Alston

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Eric Alston is a Scholar in Residence in the Finance Division and the Faculty Director of the Hernando de Soto Capital Markets Program in the Leeds School of Business at the Ƶ. He also serves as a Research Associate with the Comparative Constitutions Project. Alston received his MA in Economics from the University of Maryland and his JD from the University of Chicago. His research and teaching...
Paul Diduch

Paul Diduch

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Paul Diduch is an instructor in the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society, the Herbst Certificate for Engineering, Ethics & Society, and the Herbst “Culture Wars in Rome” study abroad program at CU Ƶ. Diduch considers himself first and primarily a scholar of ancient philosophy, mainly Platonic philosophy, and secondarily a student, teacher, and researcher of the history and philosophy of science, with special emphasis on the cultural and...
Fileva Headshot

Iskra Fileva

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Iskra Fileva is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and an Associate Director of the Center for Values and Social Policy at the University of Colorado, Ƶ. Fileva specializes on issues in moral psychology, aesthetics, and epistemology. She has written on a variety of topics including character, free will, moral disgust, and moral testimony. Fileva also does work for a broad audience. She is the author of two prize-winning essays published...
Landgrave Headshot

Michelangelo Landgrave

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Michelangelo Landgrave is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. His research is at the intersection of legislative studies, state & local politics, and immigration politics. He is currently focused on better understanding public attitudes towards immigration policy using experimental research methods.
DiStefano Headshot

Philip P. DiStefano

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Chancellor Phil DiStefano has spent his entire professional career as a leader within the CU Ƶ community, serving as an educator, dean, provost and CU Ƶ’s longest-serving chancellor. A first-generation college graduate, DiStefano joined the campus in 1974 as an assistant professor in the School of Education. In addition to his role as chancellor, he served as the Quigg and Virginia S. Newton Endowed Chair in Leadership, overseeing CU Ƶ’s...
Benjamin Teitelbaum

Benjamin Teitelbaum

Faculty Fellow
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Benjamin Teitelbaum is associate professor of Ethnomusicology, International Affairs. For over a decade, he has worked as an ethnographer of European reactionary intellectualism and rightwing expressive culture. Teitelbaum says, "Having long rejected standard imperatives to research these topics as an activist, I have come to value with heightened urgency principles for which the Benson Center is a primary ambassador on campus, namely, free speech and free inquiry."

Student Interns

Sophie Allaway headshot

Sophie Allaway

Digital Marketing Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Sophie Allaway is a sophomore majoring in Media production with a minor in Business and Sports Media.
Olivia Gewanter Headshot

Olivia Gewanter

Social Media Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Olivia Gewanter is a Junior at CU Ƶ, graduating in May of 2026. She is majoring in Strategic Communications on the Creative Track with a Minor in Media Production. Olivia has also held the position of Creative Director for CU's fashion and lifestyle magazine ROAM Ƶ since her sophomore year.
Will Godsil Headshot

Will Godsil

Project Management Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Will Godsil is a Senior at CU Ƶ, graduating in May of 2025. He is majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Political Science. Outside of class, he has interned in Washington, DC at Ferguson & Associates, as a lobbying intern, and in the House of Representatives, as a Legislative Intern.
Michael Kakkar headshot

Michael Kakkar

Operations Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Michael is a senior at CU, graduating in 2026. He is majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Business Analytics and Operations. He looks forward to working with and contributing to the Center.
Portrait of Rebecca Rodriquez

Rebecca Rodriquez

Digital Marketing Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
Rebecca is a senior at CU Ƶ, graduating in fall of 2024. She is pursuing a BA in Art History with a minor in Business.
George Weber headshot

George Weber

Podcast Management Intern
Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization
George Weber is a senior at the University of Colorado at Ƶ, pursuing a B.A. in Media Production with an emphasis in sound and a certificate in Music Technology. His academic experience has honed his technical expertise in software like Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, and Adobe Photoshop. In 2023, he joined the Benson Center as a Student Intern, where he edits the Free Mind Podcast.