The Baskerville Institute is dedicated to promoting, enhancing, and strengthening the bond of friendship between the people of Iran and the people of the United States. By recognizing and incorporating the critical role of people-to-people friendship between Americans and Iranians, we can open the doors for conversations and collaborations that go beyond the state level. With over a century of friendship between them, this history of friendship provides an opportunity to constructively re-imagine, re-build, and foster bridges to deepen understanding and connections.

The cultural connections between the United States and Iran run deep. Howard C. Baskerville, who sacrificed his life for Iranian constitutionalism in 1909, bestowed to posterity a model of friendship that is relevant today because it provides an alternative to the mutual satanization and perpetual conflict that has defined U.S.-Iran relations since 1979.

The Baskerville Institute builds on its namesake’s legacy to promote understanding and respect between Americans and Iranians. It runs a lecture/webinar series, hosts a digital archive, supports research fellows and student interns, publishes a newsletter and translation projects, organizes cultural exhibitions and educational programs, and otherwise facilitates bridge-building between Americans and Iranians. The non-profit Baskerville Institute is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and draws on the experiences and expertise of individuals around the United States and across the world.