The Academy holds in-person and virtual events that bring members, Affiliates, and others in their communities together to explore topics of national and global concern. Academy President David W. Oxtoby provided opening remarks for most of the meetings in 2021 and 2022.
*Activity of a Local Program Committee or Representative
Virtual Meetings
July 15, 2021
“Good Enough” Governance and Peacekeeping
Cohosted with the United Nations Department of Peace Operations
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Karl Eikenberry (U.S. Department of State; Tsinghua University); Vanda Felbab-Brown (Brookings Institution); Stephen Krasner (Stanford University); Clare Lockhart (Yale University); Stephen Stedman (Stanford University); INTRODUCTION: Jean-Pierre Lacroix (United Nations)
September 15, 2021
Now What? An Action Plan for Advancing Arts Education
Cohosted with the Arts Education Partnership
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Porché Hardy (The Wallace Foundation); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); Sonia Manzano (Actress, Author); Mario Rossero (National Art Education Association); Nemisa Samanthapudi (Student); MODERATOR: Allentza Michel (American Academy of Arts and Sciences)
September 28, 2021
Celebration of New Members
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Nancy Andrews (Duke University); Ann Fudge (Young and Rubicam Brands); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); Eric Liu (Citizen University); Geraldine Richmond (University of Oregon); David Rubenstein (The Carlyle Group); Marcelo Suárez-Orozco (University of Massachusetts Boston); Natasha Trethewey (Northwestern University)
October 18, 2021
A Virtual Welcome to New Members in Philadelphia*
MODERATORS: Kathleen Hall Jamieson (University of Pennsylvania); Nora Newcombe (Temple University)
October 27, 2021
New Horizons: Elevating the Arts in American Life
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); Deborah Rutter (The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); Natasha Trethewey (Northwestern University)
November 1, 2021
A Toast to New Members in Chicago*
FEATURED SPEAKER: Helene Gayle (Chicago Community Trust); INTRODUCTION: Young-Kee Kim (University of Chicago); Richard Morimoto (Northwestern University)
November 9, 2021
The Afterlife of the Humanities Major
Cohosted with the National Humanities Center
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Pam Hendrickson (The Riverside Company); Rebekah Paré (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Ben Vinson (Case Western Reserve University); MODERATOR: Robert Newman (National Humanities Center)
December 1, 2021
How Higher Education Can Save American Democracy: A Convening of American Academy Affiliates
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Melody Barnes (University of Virginia); Ronald Daniels (Johns Hopkins University); Ben Vinson (Case Western Reserve University); MODERATOR: Lisa García Bedolla (University of California, Berkeley)
December 7, 2021
The Supreme Court’s Transformational Year: A Conversation with Linda Greenhouse*
Morton L. Mandel Conversation
FEATURED SPEAKER: Linda Greenhouse (Yale Law School)
December 9, 2021
Congressional Briefing: The Value of Equitable Arts Education
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Suzanne Bonamici (U.S. House of Representatives); Brian Kisada (University of Missouri); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); Mwalim Peters (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth); Chellie Pingree (U.S. House of Representatives); Deborah Rutter (The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); David Sousa (Cognitive Neuroscience Society); Paul Sznewajs (Ingenuity); Natasha Trethewey (Northwestern University)
December 16, 2021
Should the House of Representatives Be Expanded?
Cohosted with the American Enterprise Institute
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Yuval Levin (American Enterprise Institute); Lee Drutman (New America); Kevin Kosar (American Enterprise Institute); Ruth Bloch Rubin (University of Chicago); Jonah Goldberg (American Enterprise Institute)
January 28, 2022
Emerging Science Partners and the Future of Global Research
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Bruce Alberts (University of California, San Francisco); Kerri-Ann Jones (U.S. State Department); Shirley Malcom (American Association for the Advancement of Science); Khaled Toukan (Jordan Atomic Energy Commission); MODERATOR: Olufunmilayo Olopade (University of Chicago); INTRODUCTION: Peter Michelson (Stanford University)
January 31, 2022
Congressional Briefing: Supporting America’s Creative Workers
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Teresa Leger Fernandez (U.S. House of Representatives); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); Betty McCollum (U.S. House of Representatives); Deborah Rutter (The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); Kristin Sakoda (Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture); Peter Strong (Racing Magpie); Laura Zabel (Springboard for the Arts)
February 10, 2022
Honoring Charles L. Bennett with the Rumford Prize
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Charles Bennett (Johns Hopkins University); Mark Kamionkowski (Johns Hopkins University); Kathryn Sullivan (Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; KD Sullivan Enterprises, LLC)
February 28, 2022
Night at the Museums*
Morton L. Mandel Conversation
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Scott Vernon Edwards (Harvard University); Jon Erlandson (University of Oregon); Matt Friedman (University of Michigan); Philip Gingerich (University of Michigan); Akito Kawahara (University of Florida); Douglas Soltis (University of Florida); Pamela Soltis (University of Florida); Victoria Sork (University of California, Los Angeles)
March 7, 2022
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the Future of the Global Order*
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Michael McFaul (Stanford University); Mary Elise Sarotte (Johns Hopkins University): Oxana Shevel (Tufts University); Timothy Snyder (Yale University)
April 20, 2022
What Does It Mean to be an American? Reexamining the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship
Jonathan F. Fanton Lecture
FEATURED SPEAKERS: E.J. Dionne Jr. (Brookings Institution); María Teresa Kumar (Voto Latino); John Shattuck (Tufts University); MODERATOR: Danielle Allen (Harvard University)
May 5, 2022
Talking About Democracy with Millennials and Gen Z
Cohosted with the Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Nimisha Ganesh (GenUnity); David McCullough III (The American Exchange Project); Amy McIsaac (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement); Manu Meel (Bridge USA); MODERATOR: Caroline Klibanoff (Made by Us); INTRODUCTION: Diana Aviv (Partnership for American Democracy); Darshan Goux (American Academy of Arts and Sciences)
May 17, 2022
Bridging Divides in America
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Andy Barr (U.S. House of Representatives); Kay Bailey Hutchison (formerly, U.S. Mission to NATO); Derek Kilmer (U.S. House of Representatives); Farah Pandith (Harvard Kennedy School; Council on Foreign Relations); Laurie Patton (Middlebury College); MODERATOR: Eric Liu (Citizen University)
November 2, 2022
Celebration of 2022 New Members
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Nancy C. Andrews (Boston Children’s Hospital); Ann Fudge (Young and Rubicam Brands); John Lithgow (Actor, Author); David M. Rubenstein (The Carlyle Group); Deborah F. Rutter (The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
In-Person and Hybrid Meetings
California
February 28, 2022
The Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club
University of California, San Diego
San Diego Program Committee Luncheon*
October 23, 2022
The Getty Center, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Members’ Reception*
FEATURED SPEAKERS: David W. Oxtoby (American Academy); Katherine E. Fleming (J. Paul Getty Trust)
October 25, 2022
The Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club
University of California, San Diego and Virtual
San Diego Reception Featuring Barbara F. Walter*
FEATURED SPEAKER: Barbara F. Walter (University of California, San Diego); INTRODUCTION: M. Margaret McKeown (United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit); Susan Taylor (University of California, San Diego)
Colorado
June 13–16, 2022
Aspen, CO
American Academy Higher Education Forum at Aspen
Illinois
October 13, 2022
The Quadrangle ClubUniversity of Chicago
Jeffersonian Dinner: STEM Representation*
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Young-Kee Kim (University of Chicago); Nergis Mavalvala (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Massachusetts
November 8, 2021
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA
Future Founders Initiative/Boston Biotech Working Group Meeting
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Sangeeta Bhatia (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Anantha Chandrakasan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Chris Coburn (Mass General Brigham); Steven Knight (F-Prime Capital); MODERATOR: Susan Hockfield (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
April 1, 2022
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA, and Virtual
Honoring Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Annual David M. Rubenstein Lecture
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Nancy C. Andrews (Boston Children’s Hospital); Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Harvard University); Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Harvard University); Paula Kerger (Public Broadcasting Service); David M. Rubenstein (The Carlyle Group)
September 9, 2022
Klarman Hall
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA
Opening Celebration
Annual David M. Rubenstein Lecture
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Yo-Yo Ma (Cambridge, MA); David M. Rubenstein (The Carlyle Group)
September 10, 2022
Kresge Auditorium
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Induction Ceremony
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Kimberlé Crenshaw (Columbia Law School; UCLA Law School); Mary Kay Henry (Service Employees International Union); Lisa Su (Advanced Micro Devices Inc.); Sanjay Gupta (Emory University; Warner Media); Patricia Limerick (University of Colorado, Boulder)
October 3, 2022
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA
Reimagining the American Economy
Morton L. Mandel Conversation
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Ann Fudge (Young & Rubicam Brands); Jim Himes (U.S. House of Representatives); Goodwin H. Liu (Supreme Court of California); Bryan Steil (U.S. House of Representatives)
November 15, 2022
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA
Members’ Reception
New York
June 6, 2022
The University Club, New York
DNA and Art: In Search of the Genome of Leonardo da Vinci*
FEATURED SPEAKER: Jesse Ausubel (Rockefeller University)
September 21, 2022
The Yale Club, New York
An Evening with Mary Beard*
Cohosted with Cambridge in America
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Mary Beard (University of Cambridge); Simon Goldhill (University of Cambridge)
Washington
May 17, 2022
University of Washington
Reception for Members in Seattle*
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Ana Mari Cauce (University of Washington); Patricia Ebrey (University of Washington); Edward Lazowska (University of Washington)
Induction 2022
The Induction events of 2022 celebrated the Academy’s 240th and 241st classes of members, elected in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The events commenced Friday evening with the Annual David M. Rubenstein Lecture featuring Yo-Yo Ma. The program, at Klarman Hall at the Harvard Business School, featured a lively conversation that explored the meaning of Academy membership, the universality of music, and the importance of democracy. Members and guests then connected and reconnected at receptions in Cambridge.
Saturday morning began with an Open House at the Academy at which members and guests learned about the history of the Academy and ways to get involved in Academy activities. The afternoon Induction Ceremony at Kresge Auditorium at MIT provided new members with the opportunity to learn about the traditions of membership, hear from five class speakers and Academy leadership, and sign the Book of Members. Following the ceremony, newly inducted members celebrated with guests and one another at a reception in a tent across from Kresge.
Rubenstein Lecture
Receptions
Open House
Induction Ceremony
Celebration
