News Release

January 8, 2002

Cato New Center for Educational Freedom

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Cato Institute is proud to announce the establishment of the Center for Educational Freedom. Headed by David F. Salisbury, former president of the Sutherland Institute in Utah, the Center for Educational Freedom will provide myriad policy resources to promote educational freedom, choice and excellence.

"No policy issue is more important than the education of our children," said Cato President Edward Crane. " Increased centralization, stagnant test scores, and high school graduates who know little about American history and American values all indicate deep-seated problems. The Center for Educational Freedom will explore ways to give parents, students, and teachers more choice and more freedom."

The Center's Director David Salisbury said: "The mission of the Cato Institute is to preserve and enhance the liberty that we enjoy as Americans. Unfortunately, in America, we have allowed government to usurp the liberty of parents in making the most personal and important of decisions--how and where our children will be educated. The new Center for Educational Freedom will promote freedom of choice for parents as well as explore and promote education reform policies that will increase options outside of the government run schools.

"My hope is that the Center for Educational Freedom will be a national policy leader for parental choice and a free market environment for schools."

David Salisbury holds a Ph.D. in instructional science and technology from Brigham Young University and was a professor of education at Florida State University for 13 years. In 1995 he became the first president of the Sutherland Institute, a free-market think tank focused on Utah issues. For the past year he has served as executive director of Children First Utah, a scholarship organization. Also, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Peru and a visiting scholar at the James Madison Institute.

The Center for Educational Freedom, at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., will have a staff of four at the outset.