Established in 1958 to recognize distinguished achieve­ment in the field of literature, the Emerson-Thoreau Medal is awarded to an individual for their overall literary achievement. The first recipient of the award in 1958 was poet Robert Frost (elected to the Academy in 1931).

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is launching a multi-year Commission on the Arts with distinguished cochairs, more than $1 million of support from foundations and individuals, and a commitment to exploring the role of the arts in American life.

The humanities, arts, and culture are woven through virtually every Academy program, in which artists and humanists add interdisciplinary breadth to projects in science, democracy, and security. However, the Academy also undertakes projects that put humanities, arts, and culture at the forefront–tracking and reporting data on the health of the sector through the Humanities Indicators, and working with leaders in the field to articulate the needs of the sector and their importance to a vital and thriving nation.

On Wednesday, the 19th of February of 1800 at 11:00 A.M., the Academy met pursuant to adjournment at the Senate Chamber of the Old State House and from there went in procession, at 12 o’clock, to the Meeting House on Brattle Street where a Eulogy on General George Washington was pronounced before the Academy by Dr. John Davis, Recording Secretary.

Martha Nussbaum accepts the Don M. Randel Award for Humanistic Studies and speaks about a philosophical approach to anger and fear.

For the third time in our long history as an independent republic – the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement, and now this movement of civil unrest – we see the possibility of real progress in escaping the long shadow of White Supremacy in our country that dates back to its beginnings. The Academy was founded, as was our nation, during the Enlightenment, a moment in which prominent thinkers and philosophers – including Thomas Jefferson – codified notions of racial difference and hierarchy, the bedrock of White Supremacy and racism. These ideas, intrinsic in our national story, are embedded in our institutional history as well, and we certainly cannot advance if we refuse to have frank conversations about the past and the present of racism in our country.

To celebrate the arts, artists, and the work of the Academy’s Commission on the Arts, Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” talked with Commission Cochairs John Lithgow, Deborah Rutter, and Natasha Trethewey. The program included poetry, music, and a discussion of the recommendations developed by the Commission to elevate the arts, support artists, and promote arts education in America. The event also introduced Mixtape, an online collection of arts experiences that features members of the Commission and members of the Academy.

The report calls attention to the United States’ comparative decline in research investments over the past decade and offers recommendations for sustaining long-term thinking in science and technology policy, and for strengthening the partnership among government, universities, and industry.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences announced its members elected in 2020. The 276 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, non-profit, and private sectors include Joan Baez, Eric Holder, and Ann Patchett.

Jerrold Meinwald will long be remembered for his consummate curiosity, his infectious smile, his love of music, and his passion for all things wondrous. With his passing on April 23, 2018, we grieve the loss of this wonderful, kind, and generous man who made our lives much richer in so many ways.

Reflections from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on Receiving the Don M. Randel Award for Humanistic Studies

Frances McCall Rosenbluth, one of the Academy’s most dedicated members, died in New Haven on November 20, 2021, at age 63. Rosenbluth, the Damon Wells Professor of Political Science at Yale University, had been dealing admirably with glioblastoma for the past year.

Members of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT performed a staged reading of Chantal Bilodeau’s play SILA. The reading was followed by a panel discussion with Naomi Oreskes, Robert L. Jaffe, and playwright Chantal Bilodeau about the competing interests shaping the future of our planet.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has received a $750,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to advance the Academy's work on statistical indicators for the humanities.

Renowned immunologist and former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, MD, is receiving the Award for Excellence in Public Policy and Public Affairs from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his work on behalf of the common good.