Frederic John Fransen (born 1965) is an American academic.
Although he first came to prominence as the author of The Supranational Politics of Jean Monnet, a study of Monnet's critical contributions to the foundations of the European Union,[1] Fransen has in more recent years been more widely known as a consultant to—and advocate for—major donors to institutions of higher education in the United States.
Both in his role as a provider of advice to clients (principally through his Indianapolis-based consultancy "Donor Advising, Research, & Educational Services")[2] and in a more public way in his capacity as Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Excellence in Higher Education,[3] he has to a significant degree raised awareness of the problem that gifts to colleges and universities are at times used in ways that are not in accordance with the intentions of the donors.
[4][5] Fransen also writes and speaks on the need for more general structural reform in higher education.
[6] He holds a doctorate in Social Thought from the University of Chicago and was formerly the Director of Higher Education Programs at The Philanthropy Roundtable and a Senior Fellow of the Liberty Fund.