While much of the conversation about the outcomes of college graduates focuses on their earnings, a new report from the American Academy’s Humanities Indicators offers a more expansive view of bachelor’s degree recipients’ experiences in the workforce and beyond.

May R. Berenbaum presented at the fall Stated Meeting of the Midwest Center of the American Academy. The talk was a condensed and popularized version of her paper titled "Animal-Plant Warfare: Molecular Basis for Cytochrome P450-Mediated Natural Adaptation."

National commission to undertake data-driven examination of opportunities and challenges in U.S. higher education. Initiative receives $2.2 million in funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This essay argues that the gray infrastructures made of steel and concrete, which we built to connect our physical world, are shallow or even fake constructs that are destroying the real and deep connections between human beings and nature, and among various natural processes and flows.

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One of the most important and defining features of the Academy’s modern era is the journal Dædalus. In its first issue as a quarterly publication in Winter 1958, Editor Gerald Holton stated that the journal would be “a medium through which leading scholars in all fields can address one another.” Each issue would focus on a single theme or subject, encompassing over the long run the full range of scholarly interests: the humanities, the sciences, the social sciences, and public affairs. The rationale for Dædalus was to fill a void created by the success of specialization that made communication between members of different disciplines and fields increasingly difficult.

On October 16, 2024, the Academy hosted a discussion on the importance of science communication and strategies to bridge the gap between science and the public. The event featured Sean Decatur (American Museum of Natural History) and Naomi Oreskes (Harvard University) in conversation with Holden Thorp (American Association for the Advancement of Science). Shirley Malcom (American Association for the Advancement of Science) offered opening remarks and Cristine Russell (formerly, Harvard Kennedy School) provided some final comments.

Announcing the six universities awarded $250,000 as part of the inaugural Modernizing Academic Appointment & Advancement (MA3) Challenge. This new cohort of university awardees will implement bold institutional reforms to faculty hiring, evaluation, promotion, and tenure systems. 

As Board Chair Nancy Andrews notes in her message, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect every aspect of Academy life. Yet despite the challenges of the last eighteen months, by nearly every measure the strength of our community of members has only increased.

How can nuclear technology be made safer? How should nuclear installations be protected from potential attacks by terrorist groups and from sabotage carried out by insiders? What policies should aspiring nuclear countries enact to fulfill their global commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)? These questions and others were discussed at a recent Academy symposium held in Hiroshima, Japan, on June 26–28, 2013.

On December 15, 2015, the Language Commission convened its first meeting at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, MA, under the leadership of Paul LeClerc.

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.

It is with profound sadness that the Academy notes the death of former Academy President Leo L. Beranek on October 10, 2016, at age 102. Dr. Beranek served as President from 1989 to 1994. He was an active and devoted member of the Academy.

The Academy's Commission on Language Learning makes the case for increasing foreign language learning capacity in a political climate that's increasingly anti-global.

Danielle Allen featured on BYU Radio about what she learned cochairing the Academy's bipartisan Commission on democratic citizenship and how recommended reforms can help Americans increase trust in one another and their institutions.

Business as usual won’t solve the existential challenges facing higher education. Gabriel Paquette discusses three models for reinventing higher ed: the laissez-faire, the pragmatic, and the utopian, citing the American Academy report on “The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America” in this opinion piece.