Subra Suresh, President of Carnegie Mellon University, on the report of the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences

Despite the many challenges to higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by every field except the humanities increased through the end of the 2021 academic year.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members

Danielle S. Allen and Stephen B. Heintz, cochairs of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, presented strategies to strengthen civic engagement at a virtual panel co-hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.

Following an introduction from Mary C. Waters, Douglas S. Massey and Jorge Castañeda described the current state of U.S. immigration policy.

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will discuss current challenges faced by the federal and state courts in a climate of heightened partisanship, expensive election campaigns, and attacks on judicial independence.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has named Jenny Bulstrode the recipient of the 2018 Sarton Prize for History of Science in recognition of her achievement and promise as an emerging scholar in the field.

Greetings from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where earlier this fall the Academy celebrated its first in-person Induction weekend since 2019. We welcomed new members from the classes of 2020 and 2021 with an opening celebration featuring Yo-Yo Ma in conversation with David Rubenstein at Harvard Business School’s Klarman Hall. On the following day, new members gathered with governance members, project leaders, and Academy staff for a lively open house at the Academy’s headquarters in Norton’s Woods. Later that afternoon, the two classes of inductees gathered at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for a resumption of the moving Induction Ceremony that we have all missed for so long.

Janne E. Nolan reflects on John David Steinbruner's life, work, and immeasurable contributions to the Academy.

The Academy received grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

An engraving above the western entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court proclaims a bold ideal for the American judicial system: “equal justice under law.” Unfortunately, the nation has not yet achieved the Court’s aspiration. While many Americans experience legal issues at some point in their lives, not everyone has access to the legal assistance that they need.

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From the Archives

Our focus on issues of inequality in many areas of the Academy’s work – from convenings, to commissions and projects, to issues of Dædalus – illustrates what the Academy does best: explore contemporary challenges, identify solutions, and offer ways forward to advance the public good.

PBS NewsHour reports on the Academy's bipartisan commission on the state of American democracy and its report detailing 31 recommendations for how to strengthen it. Judy Woodruff introduces the report and discusses it with Danielle Allen and Stephen Heintz.

The pace of scientific and technological change means all adults must be prepared to learn and evaluate new science information after they leave schooling. The Academy’s latest publication, “Science and the Educated American: A Core Component of Liberal Education,” explores whether American colleges and universities are providing students with the foundation necessary for lifelong scientific learning.