John Lithgow reflects on the mission of the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, which was asked to examine the state of the humanities and the social sciences in our country at this historical moment, to evaluate their importance, and to make recommendations for the future.

At a program hosted by the Academy’s New Haven Program Committee, Linda Greenhouse (New York Times columnist and Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School) discussed the United States Supreme Court’s transformational year and the challenges to Roe v. Wade.

The University of West Georgia College of Arts and Humanities is serving as the statewide host site for discussion on a national report titled “The Heart of the Matter: the Humanities and Social Sciences” conducted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Members of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT performed a staged reading of Paradise, a play by Laura Maria Censabella. The program included a panel discussion featuring Paula T. Hammond, Rebecca Saxe, and Saba Valadkhan.

The world may need to adopt new multinational arrangements to ensure the security and safe storage of nuclear materials that result from a global expansion of nuclear energy, according to the authors of a new collection from the American Academy.

On February 13, 2019, Anthony Abraham Jack (Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, Assistant Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Shutzer Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study) spoke at a gathering of Academy Members and guests about his new book, The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Disadvantaged Students. The program, which served as the 2078th Stated Meeting of the Academy, included a welcome from David W. Oxtoby (President of the Academy) and an introduction from Bridget Terry Long (Dean of the Faculty of Education and Saris Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education). Danielle Allen (James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics) participated in a conversation with Anthony Jack following his opening remarks. An edited version of his remarks and of his conversation with Danielle Allen appears below.

Deceased Members

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has named Kwame Anthony Appiah - author, philosopher, and public intellectual - the recipient of the Academy's award for outstanding contributions to humanistic scholarship.

When looking at American politics at the national level, it is easy to become cynical about the future of our democracy. High levels of polarization persist, and the headlines all too often are dominated by stories of government dysfunction.

The Commission on Opportunities After High School held illuminating listening sessions with high school and college students, K-12 administrators and teachers, higher education administrators and faculty, employers, philanthropic leaders, and community partners. The insights shared will guide the commissioners in their work to ensure that all students can thrive.

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.

When President Donald Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2019, the World Language Advancement and Readiness Act became the first piece of federal legislation in a generation that addressed the language needs of the nation.

Achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons will require the increased engagement of nations that currently do not posses nuclear arms of their own. In a new occasional paper from the Global Nuclear Future initiative, the authors move beyond the traditional cycle of complaints from the “have-nots” and retorts from the “haves” to suggest new ways to realize the shared goal of nuclear disarmament.

Members Elected in 2024, by Class & Section

Three of the country’s leading philanthropic organizations are supporting the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in its goal to ensure safety and security amid the anticipated expansion of nuclear energy around the world.

The final report was released on February 28, 2017, during a series of events in Washington, D.C.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has named Ernest J. Moniz, nuclear physicist and former United States Secretary of Energy, the recipient of the inaugural Award for Excellence in Public Policy and Public Affairs that was created to recognize excellence, independence and effectiveness in public service.

On September 17, 2015, at the Silver Center of Arts and Science at New York University, Matthew S. Santirocco moderated a panel discussion featuring Kevin Guthrie, Daphne Koller, and Nicholas Lemann.