Stanford University is a leading private research university located in Stanford, California, founded in 1885. It is a prestigious institution world-renowned as the academic heart of Silicon Valley, with strong ties to venture capital, entrepreneurship, and tech innovation. The university is celebrated for its contributions to computer science, engineering, and innovation, and for its role in fostering Silicon Valley innovation. It is known for producing business leaders, tech leaders, and political influencers, and for its strengths in political science, international studies, business, and technology innovation. It is home to the Hoover Institution, a public policy research center, and is associated with Professor Anna Chen and Professor Rice, who has been a political science professor there since 1981. Scholarly research affiliated with the university includes examinations of topics such as the transnational diffusion of American conservative ideology to Israeli civil society organizations.