The LEO strauss complete works: an endowment for scholarly editing and education [the LEO strauss foundation applies for an NEH endowment grant to fund the comprehensive collected works of LEO…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the Leo Strauss Foundation $1.1 million on November 1, 2026, under the Promotion of the Humanities Challenge Grants program (CFDA 45.130) to establish an endowment for scholarly editing and education supporting the comprehensive collected works of Leo Strauss.

The Leo Strauss Foundation will produce a definitive 60-volume series published in partnership with the University of Chicago Press, preserving and publishing Strauss's complete legacy across four editorial tracks: critical editions of books with handwritten notes; complete correspondence; unpublished manuscripts including notebooks on Plato and Maimonides; and critical editions of seminar transcripts. The $1.1 million federal award is intended to be matched one-to-one with $1.1 million in non-federal gifts to establish a $2.2 million term endowment generating approximately $88,000 annually to sustain the editorial infrastructure over the 20-year project lifecycle.

Work is performed in Illinois. The period of performance extends through September 30, 2029, during which the recipient must raise and certify the required non-federal matching gifts. Once certified, the endowment income will support ongoing editorial operations to advance this scholarly preservation effort.

The LEO strauss complete works: an endowment for scholarly editing and education [the LEO strauss foundation applies for an NEH endowment grant to fund the comprehensive collected works of LEO strauss, a definitive 60-volume series published in partnership with the university of chicago press. This 20-year project will preserve and publish strauss?S complete legacy across four tracks: (1) critical editions of books with handwritten notes; (2) complete correspondence; (3) unpublished manuscripts (notebooks on plato, maimonides); and (4) critical editions of seminar transcripts. We request $5,000,000 in federal matching funds. Paired with a 1:1 non-federal match, this creates a $10,000,000 endowment generating ~$400,000/year to sustain the editorial infrastructure required to safeguard this vital intellectual history for future generations.]