The bipartisan Academy commission that issued the Our Common Purpose report recommended using the commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary to develop shared narratives about our nation’s story. An article in the New York Times highlights a new tour at Monticello -- developed in collaboration with two OCP Champion organizations -- that invites reflections on today’s challenges through a historical lens.

A list of all active Members, arranged by Class and Section, Affiliation, or Year of Election, is available on the Academy’s website at www.amacad.org/directory.

The American Academy delivered its final report on the future of language education to the U.S. Congress yesterday, recommending “a national strategy to improve access to as many languages as possible for people of every region, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background.”

On April 1, 2022, the Academy presented Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with the Don M. Randel Award for Humanistic Studies in recognition of his groundbreaking work as a scholar and public intellectual. The program, which was the Annual David M. Rubenstein Lecture, included remarks by Academy President David Oxtoby, the presentation of the award by Chair of the Academy’s Board Nancy C. Andrews, and a conversation between Gates and David M. Rubenstein. An edited version of the presentations and conversation follows.

A panel discussion on Institutions of Democracy and the Public Good was the focus of the Academy's 2012 Induction Weekend, featuring Diane Wood, Governor Phil Bredesen, and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry alongside Judy Woodruff, Alex Jones, and Marty Baron. The discussion was moderated by Norman Ornstein.

Lassina Zerbo, Rose E. Gottemoeller, Siegfried Hecker, and Robert Rosner participated in a discussion on the prospects for ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the challenges presented by nuclear testing.

ARISE II Calls for Reorganization of the U.S. Scientific Enterprise

As I reflect on my first year as president of the Academy, I am struck by how our members came together in so many different ways to address such a broad range of challenges, including unprecedented threats to academic freedom, the research enterprise, and the rule of law. And while it was a year of great challenges, there were also moments of great hope. For me, top among those moments was the Induction of our 2025 class of new members here in Cambridge in October.

On October 8, 2016, 175 new Fellows and 37 new Foreign Honorary Members will be inducted into the American Academy. The Induction weekend is a wonderful occasion for Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members to meet one another, learn about the Academy’s work, and formally celebrate their election to the Academy.

On March 30, 2025, the Academy’s Chicago Committee hosted an event for members and guests that explored the role of cultural organizations and the communities they serve. The program featured Leah A. Dickerman (The Museum of Modern Art) and Oskar Eustis (The Public Theater) in conversation with Academy President Laurie L. Patton. An edited transcript of the program follows.

Does locking up more people reduce crime? More Americans are serving time in prison or jail than at any point in the nation’s history, reflecting an incarceration rate that greatly exceeds those found in other advanced democracies.

Peter Michael Nicholas, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999, died two days before his 81st birthday at his home in Boca Grande, Florida.

Noteworthy section from the Winter 2016 issue of The Bulletin.

After 238 years, there are not that many “firsts” left for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to achieve. Yet on November 29, 2018, the Academy found one, hosting its first jazz performance at its headquarters in Cambridge.

What are the lessons learned when community college leaders, researchers, area employers, policymakers and philanthropists get together to discuss how to provide postsecondary students with the skills they need for meaningful employment?

Richard Brodhead, president of Duke University, addresses the future of liberal arts education.

Mark S. Schlissel, Mary Sue Coleman, Patrick Doyle, M. Roy Wilson, and Lou Anna K. Simon participated in a discussion at the University of Michigan about public research universities and their role in serving the public interest in Michigan.

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.