Giving by private foundations to the humanities more than doubled during the past decade, according to a new study conducted and published by the Foundation Center in collaboration with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

What does it mean to conduct responsible, ethical, and constructive social research within the Middle East and North Africa and around the world? For decades, social scientists who work in and on the Middle East have confronted the ethical complexities of working with research participants, partners, and colleagues who are at risk. Conflict, autocracy, censorship, poverty, inequality, disciplinary imperatives, and institutional interests all shape research opportunities and agendas in ways that may imperil careers, livelihoods, and even lives.

The Academy’s Francis Amory Prize recognizes major contributions to the field of reproductive biology and was first awarded in 1940. Over the years, the prize recipients have reflected the increasing complexity and remarkable scientific progress in the field of reproductive biology.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir made history in October 2019 when she participated in the first all-female spacewalk. After 205 days in the isolation of space, she returned to a planet experiencing its own form of isolation: the global COVID-19 pandemic. As an astronaut and a marine biologist, Dr. Meir’s research into the impact of extreme environments has brought her to the depths of the Antarctic and the heights of space. At a virtual program, hosted by the Academy’s San Diego Program Committee, Dr. Meir described her research and her experiences in space and participated in a conversation with Brian Keating (University of California San Diego) about the perspectives that her work provides about our world.

At the 3rd Meeting of the Academy held on August 30, 1780, Academy members voted to appoint “a Committee to confer with the Reverend and Honorable Corporation of the University of Cambridge upon pursuing measures to procure an accurate observation of the Solar eclipse...”

The firm of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Certified Public Accountants, conducted the audit of the American Academy’s statements of financial position for the fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021). I am pleased to report the auditors found the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Academy, and the auditors have issued an unqualified report. The consolidated statement of activities and financial position may be found below. A copy of the audited financial statements is available on the Academy’s website and upon request from the Academy’s Business Office.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post presents the recommendations in “Our Common Purpose” on social media and disinformation as key to restoring American democracy.

The firm of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Certi­fied Public Accountants, conducted the audit of the American Academy’s statements of finan­cial position for the fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020). I am pleased to report the auditors found the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Academy, and the auditors have issued an unqualified report. The consolidated statement of activities and financial position may be found on pages 12–13. A copy of the audited financial statements is available on the Academy’s website and upon request from the Academy’s Business Office.

This online data set – the first of its kind – attracted extensive attention in the news media and in the blogosphere and the website received more than 250,000 hits originating from 38 countries. The prototype includes 74 indicators and more than 200 tables and charts.

One of the recurring questions the Humanities Indicators receives concerns the extent to which students are engaging with the humanities as undergraduates—a subject for which there is precious little data. The best available information comes from an occasional survey of college graduates, which includes a painstaking review of the college transcripts of a nationally representative sample of college graduates.

A new survey found that more than 90 percent of graduates are happy with their lives, despite all the pundits who say they shouldn’t be. Inside Higher Ed delves into other findings from the new Humanities Indicators workforce report.

In updates released this morning, the American Academy's Humanities Indicators report that visits to historic sites, museums, and art galleries are on the rise in recent years.

Today the Academy’s Humanities Indicators launches its latest informational resource, the National Inventory of Humanities Organizations (NIHO).

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

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.

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.

Temple Grandin discussed the education of students who have different kinds of minds, as well as her own upbringing and work experience as a woman with autism.

Ronald Ehrenberg assesses the merits of the society job advertisements as data for measuring trends in academic employment for the humanities and offers some guidance on how they should be read.