In this Washington Post column, Danielle Allen identifies state ballot initiatives that can help Americans rebuild a civic culture of commitment to one another and our democracy.

More than 200 individuals with compelling achievements in academia, business, government, and public affairs were elected to the Academy in 2019.

The events of the last decade, including the business failures of 2001-2002 and the economic crisis of 2008-2009, have called into question fundamental assumptions regarding the role of business and its relationship to global financial markets, governments, and society as a whole. The American Academy of Arts & Sciences will convene a working conference, cosponsored by the New York University Pollack Center for Law and Business, at the NYU Law School.

Learn about the Academy event -- "What are the Challenges and Opportunities of AI in Mental Health Care?" -- which brought together members of the Academy’s AI and Mental Healthcare project to discuss what they learned and the publication they released.

Scientists and the journalists who cover their research approach their roles from very different perspectives, yet they depend on each other to keep the public informed about scientific issues. Science and the Media, a new volume from the American Academy, examines this dynamic though a series of essays by scientists, journalists, and public relations specialists.

Tuition is the principal revenue source for many of these institutions; Teaching and research remain the two top expenditures.

In December, Commission on Accelerating Climate Action co-chair Chris Field and the Academy's John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology Leo Curran presented the Commission’s final report, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, to the annual American Geophysical Union conference.

The Academy’s 2017th Stated Meeting on February 11, 2015, featured members of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT performing a staged reading of Mr g, a novel by Alan Lightman. Mr g is the story of creation as narrated by God (Mr g). In it, Mr g’s uncle Deva and aunt Penelope give him advice as he sets about creating the universe; he also spars with a Satan-like character about various ethical and philosophical issues raised by his creation, especially when intelligent life emerges.

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.

An update on state legislative and regulatory activities concerning independent citizen-redistricting commissions.

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.

As climate-driven extreme weather events continue to impact communities around the globe, researchers and policymakers are growing more interested in understanding connections between climate change and conflict. An interdisciplinary Academy discussion on global conflict and climate resulted in points of agreement, areas of caution, and suggested topics for future exploration. 

In its continued effort to identify common concerns and build consensus for innovative solutions in American public higher education, the Lincoln Project recently convened a series of regional meetings in Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; New York City; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Stephen Heintz, Cochair of the Academy's Commission on Democratic Citizenship, calls for greater philanthropic support for work that strengthens democracy in American democracy. He makes the case that a healthy, functional government advances every other investment.

The Academy’s strategic priorities include improving the impact of the Academy’s work and raising the visibility of the institution with external audiences. These audiences vary and have included policymakers at the federal, state, and local level; leaders in philanthropy, higher education, nonprofit organizations, and business; scholars and students; advocacy groups; professional groups and practitioners; and the public.

In the early 1800s, the Academy received reports of a sea serpent, described as 60 to 100 feet long, in what is now Maine’s Penobscot Bay. In 1810, upon hearing that the reports had been lost, minister and politician Alden Bradford, with the assistance of Lemuel Weeks, collected and presented to the Academy sworn statements of witnesses. In doing so, Bradford acknowledged, “Accounts of this sort, I am aware, should be received with caution.”

Among the founding documents in the Academy Archives is a large bound volume, in three parts, of manuscript minutes, dating back to the Academy’s first meeting in May 1780. In addition to attendance rolls and descriptions of business trans­acted at these meetings, the volume contains other documents that chronicle the establishment of the organization’s rules, regulations, and practices.

“The bottom line is that despite the profound global threat of pandemics, there remains no global health mechanism to force parties to act in accordance with global health interests,” write Paul Wise and Michele Barry in the Fall 2017 issue of Daedalus.

This Annual Report comes at an important moment in the life of the Academy. After years of primarily virtual engagement, our members are again gathering in person with a renewed sense of energy, vitality, and hope. During the last year, we held major Academy events in a dozen U.S. cities, and this fall we visited international members in Mexico City and London. In September, we hosted a historic Induction weekend for the classes of 2022 and 2023, welcoming 366 new members and more than one thousand total guests—the largest single in-person event the Academy has ever hosted. And in October and November, we released the final reports of two major Academy commissions: the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and the Commission on Reimagining Our Economy.