The purpose of the Northern Kentucky University Institute for Freedom Studies is to promote interdisciplinary research, teaching, and community outreach grounded in the study of the Underground Railroad movement in the Middle Ohio River Valley.

From this basis in the study of the historical resistance to slavery, the NKU Institute for Freedom Studies fosters multicultural education as part of the never-ending struggle for human freedom and a fully democratic American society.

The goals of the IFS include:

• Partnering with and helping to empower grassroots community groups active in the study of local history.
• Supporting interdisciplinary academic research in the history and culture of the Underground Railroad.


• Developing curricula and faculty opportunities for teaching about the Underground Railroad and related movements on all educational levels.


• Working in partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.