Airlie Foundation and its Conference Center have hosted more than 10,000 groups and meetings over the past 40 years. Today Airlie remains one of few "dedicated" Conference Centers in the country hosting some 600 non-profit, government and private sector groups a year. The Foundation operates in tandem with the Center to develop and sponsor educational, environmental and cultural programs to further enrich Airlie's mission:

"To study, promote, encourage and foster knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the interrelationships which exist in the physical and social sciences..."

In 1956, Dr. and Mrs. Murdock Head purchased a large farm in the Piedmont foothills near Warrenton, Virginia. Thus began Dr. Head's plan to create a place where individuals and organizations could meet without distraction to discuss and exchange ideas in a natural setting. By 1960 this vision had become a reality and the rural farm estate called Airlie had become Airlie Foundation, an international center for communication, referred to as an "island of thought" by Life Magazine.

As one of the original centers of its kind in the country, Airlie was considered a model of innovation when it hosted its first group in 1960. Dr. Head converted old farm buildings into useful conference facilities to create a relaxed but up-to-date atmosphere for would-be guests. Airlie's inimitable character hasn't changed since the early sixties when Martin Luther King Jr. came to stay and plan his March on Washington. The campus remains a secluded retreat set amid 2500 rural acres. The facilities have been updated to provide guests with access to the latest conference support technology, but the atmosphere is the same: a natural place to meet.