Dr. Clay Routledge, PhD, is the Vice President of Research and Director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute, the co-editor of Profectus (a periodic magazine on human progress and flourishing), and the co-host of The Profectus Podcast. He is also a visiting fellow with the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange at the Mercatus Center. Prior to joining the Archbridge Institute, Dr. Routledge was the Arden and Donna Hetland Distinguished Professor of Business at North Dakota State University and a faculty scholar at the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth. 

Dr. Routledge is a leading expert in existential psychology. His work examines how the need for meaning and related psychological motives influence and are influenced by cognitive, affective, and self-regulatory processes, individual differences, momentous life experiences, personal and professional goals, social relationships, spirituality and religiosity, entrepreneurship, innovation, prosocial behavior, and attitudes about the future. He is a highly cited researcher who has published more than 100 scholarly papers, co-edited three books, authored two books, and received numerous awards for his academic research and student mentorship. In addition, his work has been featured by many media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Washington Times, CBS News, ABC News, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Vox, Slate, HGTV, Men’s Health, Wired, Forbes, The Hill, and many others. 

As a public intellectual, Dr. Routledge has authored dozens of articles for popular outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, National Review, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Fortune, Entrepreneur, and Harvard Business Review. He also wrote the documentary short film Why do We Feel Nostalgia? He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and podcasts such as NBC Today, Science Friday, NPR Morning Edition, The Jordan Peterson Podcast, The Strategic Financial Leadership Podcast, Economics for Entrepreneurs, The Human Progress Podcast, and The Art of Manliness. He has also been featured in a number of documentary programs including The Overview from NBC Peacock, The Benefits of Being Nostalgic from BBC Reel, and Cursed Films from Shudder.