Released in June of 2013, The Heart of the Matter, the report of the American Academy’s Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, has become an integral part of an ongoing national dialogue about the state of the humanities and social sciences in the United States.

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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.

A list of all active Members, arranged by Class and Section, Affiliation, or Year of Election, is available on the
Academy’s website at www.amacad.org/directory. IHM designates an International Honorary Member.

Despite America’s history and reputation as a “melting pot,” immigration continues to polarize policy-makers. The Summer 2013 issue of Dædalus examines the origins and characteristics of new immigrants and considers their reception in the United States, with regard to both public policies and private behavior. The issue is guest edited by Academy Fellow Douglas S. Massey (Princeton University), a leading expert in the sociology of immigration.

Study is requested by bipartisan group of members of U.S. Senate & House of Representatives.

A dinner discussion on DNA and Art: In Search of the Genome of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Jesse H. Ausubel, director of the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University and introductory remarks from Kenneth Wallach (Central National Gottesman Inc.) who cochairs the New York Program Committee.

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.

On December 4, 2015, at the Georgetown University Law Center, the Academy hosted a panel discussion on “The Crisis in Legal Education” with Louis Michael Seidman, Robert A. Katzmann, Philip G. Schrag, Robin L. West, and Patricia D. White.

In Memoriam: Francis M. Bator

The Academy’s new strategic framework presents four animating principles and seven strategies that are designed to ensure that the Academy continues to produce high-quality, interdisciplinary work that addresses urgent societal challenges. In 2025, the Academy’s programmatic work laid the groundwork for new projects and initiatives that will implement this framework and built on ongoing efforts to increase impact and raise the visibility of the institution with external audiences. These audiences include 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.

Ellen T. Harris spoke at the Academy about Handel’s life and his inner circle of friends.

On October 30, 2018, Kenneth Prewitt spoke about the 2020 Census at a gathering of Academy members and guests at the House of the Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“More people worldwide are being displaced from their homes for longer periods than ever before,” noted David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee, at a gathering of Academy members and guests at the inaugural Jonathan F. Fanton Lecture in New York. Miliband, one of the foremost advocates for refugees and a leader in responses to global humanitarian and human rights crises, described the causes of today’s global refugee crisis and offered solutions, both simple and effective.

Recent business scandals reveal a disturbing breakdown of values in corporate America. A new book from the American Academy examines the failure of “gatekeepers” – corporate directors, auditors, regulators, lawyers, investment bankers, and business journalists – to stand between corporate misconduct and the public interest.

Civil wars continue to be a frequent and debilitating phenomenon in international politics. Of the approximately 200 countries in the world, there are currently 30 civil wars underway, including several in which the U.S. military is directly and deeply enmeshed. In the twelve essays in this issue, the authors explore causative factors of civil war, the connection of intrastate strife and transnational terrorism, the limited successes and failed ambitions of intervening powers in the recent past, and the many direct and indirect consequences associated with weak states and civil wars, including the dangers posed by pandemics, mass migrations of people, and great-power proxy warfare.

Arts and sciences faculty sticks with a three-course-sequence foreign language requirement, even as other institutions shrink their language requirements.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members