About Us

Prōfectus (latin) (genitive prōfectūs) (masc.)

Advance, Progress, Effect, Increase, Growth, Profit, Success
Profectus is a periodic web-based magazine featuring thoughtful essays and interviews on the intersection of academic literature, public policy, civilizational progress, and human flourishing.
Our goal is to kickstart a cultural and academic conversation around the key drivers of human flourishing, progress, and the barriers that stand in the way of improving well-being, with a recognition of the immense potential for innovation and ingenuity to make positive changes when properly encouraged and applied.
Email us at: profectus@archbridgeinstitute.org or sign up below to receive an email when new editions are published!

Our Editors

Clay Routledge

Clay Routledge is a senior research fellow at the Archbridge Institute, the Arden & Donna Hetland Distinguished Professor of Business at North Dakota State University, the director of the Psychology of Progress Project, a faculty scholar at the Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth, and a leading expert in existential psychology. Clay has authored over 100 academic journal articles, two books, and dozens of articles for outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, National Review, Entrepreneur, and Harvard Business Review. He has also co-edited three books on existential psychology.

Follow Clay on Twitter @clayroutledge. Or email at croutledge@archbridgeinstitute.org

Ben Wilterdink

Ben is the Director of Programs at the Archbridge Institute, where he oversees projects, manages marketing, hosts the Archbridge Podcast, and writes on topics ranging from occupational licensing reform to youth employment. Before joining Archbridge, Ben was the Director of Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development at a national association of state lawmakers. Follow Ben on Twitter @bgwilterdink. Or email at bwilterdink@archbridgeinstitute.org

Security Can’t Substitute for Development

Rediscovering the Bonds We Share

Capitalism is Key to Fulfilling the Promise of “Black Lives Matter”

The American Dream as the Vision Statement for the United States

Trigger Warnings Are Effective (at Generating Division, and Not Much Else)

Breaking Out of the College Box

“We Are Their Switchpoint”: An Effective Model Addressing Homelessness

The Four Corners of Liberalism: Mapping Out a Common Ground

Existential Economics

Creating Special Economic Zones: Lessons from the Real World

From Theory to Action: An Academic’s Journey to Entrepreneurship

How COVID-19 Transformed Social Mobility in the Arab Gulf States

Spiritual Species in a Secular Age

Meeting the Challenge of Mental Decline in the Age of Material Abundance

Progress Roundtable

Prōfectus (latin) (genitive prōfectūs) (masc.)

Our Editors

Prōfectus (latin) (genitive prōfectūs) (masc.)

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