Organizers of 2015 “Innovation: An American Imperative” Issue Progress Report Detailing Path Congress & Administration Must Take to Ensure U.S. Remains Global Innovation Leader

Arthur Gelb, a prominent member of the American Academy since 2000, died on November 8, 2023. He served as the Chairman of the Academy’s Investment Committee and as a member of the Academy Trust. For many Academy Induction ceremonies his role was to introduce the Class I speaker (in the mathematical and physical sciences).

How the English department at Washington University at St. Louis reversed its enrollment slide and reinvigorated graduate training.

Why does academe still lack accurate information about non-tenure-track faculty members?

In a Young Voices opinion piece, Alexandra Hudson cites recommendations in the Academy's report and calls for a “fourth founding” to help Americans renew love of country and one another.

Rebecca Sandefur, cochair of Academy project on access to justice, believes America needs a new model for handling everyday legal issues.

Jeanne Gang, founding principal and partner of Studio Gang, is known for her forward-looking approach to design. She creates spaces that connect people with each other, their communities, and the environment. Her projects range from cultural centers to public projects that connect citizens with ecology to high-rise towers that foster community. At a virtual Stated Meeting, Jeanne Gang discussed how the design of physical spaces supports social, civic, and democratic infrastructure – a recommendation offered in Our Common Purpose, the final report of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.

List of Staff at the Academy

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and a political climate dominated by fear, resentment, and division, the cochairs of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship find reason to be optimistic about America’s faith in democracy: the civic heroism of our 2020 election workers.

Scott Russell Sanders discusses writing as discovery for the Bulletin’s new feature, “On the Professions”

Historian Bernard Bailyn opened the celebration of the 220th annual meeting of the Academy with a commentary on the personal characteristics of John Adams as revealed in his diary and his autobiography.

One of the great strengths of the Academy is its ability to bring together members with other experts from many disciplines and professions to explore contemporary challenges, identify solutions, and offer ways forward to advance the public good.

Criticism of the humanities seems commonplace among policymakers. That is in the face of contrary evidence including a recent study by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences showing that humanities graduates have similar rates of employment and job satisfaction than those in other fields.

Governance & Committees, 2021–2022

Language immersion is needed to help address global challenges, yet U.S. citizens are falling behind. Nicholas B. Dirks, member of the Academy's Commission on Language Learning, offers his commentary.

Interest in enlarging the House of Representatives - a recommendation included in the Academy's Our Common Purpose report - is growing and there are now two legislative proposals seeking to enlarge the House to increase responsiveness and representation.

Research funding is not unlike food production; it is not the amount, but the distribution of research funds that matters.

Stephanie Sy interviewed Daedalus contributor Joseph Felter about his article "Limiting Civilian Casualties as Part of a Winning Strategy: The Case for Courageous Restraint," co-authored with Jacob N. Shapiro.

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