The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the creation of a new endowed fund to support its premier fellowship program in science-related policy. Previously named the Hellman Fellowship in Science and Technology Policy, the rebranded program will now be known as the Hellman and Simons Fellowship in Science and Technology Policy. The new name reflects the contributions of two families, the Hellman Family on the West Coast and the Simons Family on the East Coast, with strong philanthropic ties to the Academy and longstanding commitments to the critical importance of basic and academic science research in America.

What is consciousness? How do we store memories, process thoughts, and command our bodies? Why do we require sleep to live? And can we trust our perception of the world around us? The Winter 2015 issue of Dædalus responds to these fundamental questions of human experience, exploring “What is the Brain Good For?” through recent developments and new theories in the field of neuroscience.

Across the country, state and local referenda gave voters a chance to enact the recommendations in Our Common Purpose. Almost everywhere, they did just that, supporting ballot measures to expand ranked-choice voting, increase access to early voting, and improve transparency around election funding.

Remembrance of Stephen R. Graubard

The Academy has launched a cross-sector Commission on Opportunities After High School. The multi-year project will bring together educators, economists, and employers to envision a new system that would help foster informed decision-making among students, enable effective planning by colleges and universities, and promote business growth.

Governance & Committees, 2025–2026

Communities with strong civic infrastructure engender greater civic engagement and a sense of belonging. Stephen Heintz, cochair of the American Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, argues that philanthropy should lead in funding projects across the country that would connect people to their neighbors, communities, and government institutions.

As I reflect on my first few months as president of the Academy, one of the great joys has been getting to know our extraordinary fellowship of members. As of this writing, I have had the opportunity to visit our vibrant member communities in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New York, Southern California, Chicago, and, of course, the Academy’s home in the Boston-Cambridge area. In each location, I have been awed by our fellow members: their achievements, their passions, their hopes for the future. The articles in this issue also represent the power of the local–with deliberations in San Diego, New York City, and Los Angeles.

The Academy’s second annual convening of The Higher Education Forum was held in Aspen, CO, in June 2023. More than one hundred higher education experts and leaders, including university presidents, provosts, and deans from many of the Academy’s Affiliate institutions as well as several Academy members, engaged in an array of topics.

The Academy, in partnership with the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA) and the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program, launched the Modernizing Academic Appointment and Advancement (MA3) Challenge. The initiative invites U.S. colleges and universities to transform academic hiring, review, promotion, and tenure practices.

Caregiving is essential to the health and well-being of society. It is also a fundamental human experience: almost all of us will care for others and be cared for during our lives.

After the Board of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences issued a statement attesting to the science and threat of climate change, the Academy launched a new project dedicated to accelerating climate action.

When I took office as President in 2019, I quickly realized that one of the great joys of this role is the opportunity to travel to meet with members of our remarkable community. During 2019–2020, I visited some of our largest member communities in New York, Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay area; smaller member groups in locations such as Dallas, St. Louis, and Nashville; and many international members in places such as Colombia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

List of Staff at the Academy

This summer, the National Academy of Public Administration and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences held panel discussions on Public Governance and Civic Engagement. From these conversations emerged clear recommendations for policymakers to build a stronger civic culture and increase trust in government.

The Academy’s New Haven Program Committee, in partnership with Yale University’s MacMillan Center, hosted a conversation on national and international policies for slowing global warming that featured William Nordhaus (Yale University), recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The program included remarks from Pinelopi Goldberg (Yale University; formerly, The World Bank Group) and Scott Barrett (Columbia University) as well as introductions from Steven Wilkinson (Yale University) and David Oxtoby (American Academy of Arts & Sciences).

Watching "peaceful protests sweep across the land even amidst a plague" causes Eric Liu, cochair of the Academy's Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, to note the strength of spirit and movement he sees even when the nation's neck is broken.

On December 4, 2015, at the Georgetown University Law Center, the Academy hosted a panel discussion on “The Crisis in Legal Education” with Louis Michael Seidman, Robert A. Katzmann, Philip G. Schrag, Robin L. West, and Patricia D. White.

The Humanities Indicators, a project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, is a nationally recognized source of nonpartisan information about the humanities. The Indicators are available to the public. The information provided is used by journalists and decision-makers to understand and convey the state of the humanities for a range of audiences and purposes—including an array of examples compiled here.

Influential political scientist Robert D. Putnam is awarded the Academy's Talcott Parsons Prize for distinguished and original contributions to the social sciences.