The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understanding between the people of these two areas." History Founding years In 1946, architect George Camp Keiser felt strongly that the Middle East, a region he had traveled through before World War II, should be better understood in the United States, so he brought together a group of like-minded people to form the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. His colleagues on the original Board of Governors included Halford L. Hoskins, Director of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Christian A. Herter, then-congressman from Massachusetts and later Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of State; Ambassador George V. Allen; Harold Glidden, Director of the Islamic Department at the Library of Congress; and Harvey P. Hall, the first Editor of the Middle East Journal, professor at the American University of Beirut and Robert College. Keiser was also MEI's chief source of financial support. In 1946, the Institute found a temporary home at 1906 Florida Avenue NW at SAIS. At the time, they have linked administratively through the Diplomatic Affairs Foundation, the parent organization of both SAIS and MEI. In its early years, MEI concentrated on establishing a library, publishing the Middle East Journal, holding annual conferences and sponsoring formal courses in Middle East studies at SAIS. Keiser and his group recognized the need for studying the Middle East using the framework of area studies. This interdisciplinary approach to training diplomats and businesspeople was a new phenomenon and closely linked to foreign policy initiatives in the United States. During its founding years, the Institute was small, its membership resembling that of a club. The annual conference, held at the Friends Meeting House on Florida Avenue, brought together a close-knit group of approximately 150 people accustomed to writing short articles for the Institute's newsletter to inform fellow members about their trips to the Middle East. George Camp Keiser: founder of the Institute George Camp Keiser was born on November 2, 1900, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1924, he went to Columbia University to complete his graduate degree in Architecture by 1930. Over the following years, he worked as a draftsman for David Hyer and James