American academic
Kevin D. Roberts is the president of The Heritage Foundation. Prior to assuming his current role, he was the CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, Texas.[1] Roberts served as the president of Wyoming Catholic College from 2013 to 2016.[2][3]
Education
Roberts earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a Master of Arts in history from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in American history from University of Texas at Austin.[1]
Career
Wyoming Catholic College
He served as president of Wyoming Catholic College from 2013 to 2016 when he accepted his position as executive vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
During his tenure as president of Wyoming Catholic College, Roberts led the institution to an outright rejection of Title IV federal student loans and grants, citing religious liberty concerns.[4] This decision garnered significant national attention, as it made the college one of just a few nationally to reject such funding. In an article on the decision, The New York Times described Roberts and his students as "cowboy Catholics" for their independence.[5]
Heritage Foundation
In October 2021, it was announced that Roberts had been selected to replace Kay Coles James as president of The Heritage Foundation.[6][7]
Roberts said in January 2024 that he saw Heritage's role as "institutionalizing Trumpism," adding "the Trump administration, with the best of intentions, simply got a slow start. And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated." He said he did not believe Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.[8]
