The Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, commonly called just the Ronin Institute, is an independent scholarly research institute located in California, United States. The institute conducts dedicated to multidisciplinary study of science and the humanities and supports the work of independent scientists and scholars.[1]
The institute consists of research scholars from a range of fields and disciplines, such as computational economics, high energy physics, earth sciences, theology, law, history and philosophy.[2] Most of them are independent, while others have hold positions at traditional universities. The institute regularly holds seminars and conferences and manages grants.[3]
History
In 2012, Jon F. Wilkins, an evolutionary biologist, and former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows and Santa Fe Institute, founded the Ronin Institute in New Jersey. The institute's original mission was to aggregate "fractional scholarship" happening outside the academy by creating a new model to support independent researchers.[2]
According to its official mission, the institute remains "devoted to facilitating and promoting scholarly research outside traditional academic research institutions"[3] and providing an alternative to the traditional academic career path and tenure track appointments.[1]
The name "Ronin" derives from the legend of Rōnin: samurais who broke with the code of feudal Japan by refusing to commit suicide upon the deaths of their masters. According to Wilkins, the metaphor is analogous to scholars who leave the academy, but continue to pursue scholarly research:
The analogy is, if you're not employed by a university and you're an academic, you're supposed to say, 'Well, I'm not an academic anymore.' You're supposed to sort of commit professional suicide at that point. And what we're saying is, 'You know what? No, we can do this. We don't need a master.'[1]
The Ronin Institute was closed in 2024,[4] but a new Ronin Institute was registered in California in 2025 under the leadership of a different board of directors.
Organization
The institute is governed by a board of directors responsible for grants and financial management, as well as a community-level advisory board. Each member of the advisory board heads a working group that addresses one of the core aspects of the community's activities: governance, communications, events, infrastructure, membership, and research..[3]
The institute has a single academic position, ‘research fellow,’ which allows for a more equitable structure. Research fellows hold virtual and face-to-face meetings with researchers from 33 countries.[2]
New changes to the institute's internal regulations and management are expected in the near future.
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