The visual image that most people have of the Dead Sea Scrolls is likely of one of the beautifully preserved manuscripts stored in stone jars, discovered in the hill caves of Jordan in the late 1940s. Unfortunately, only a handful of the scrolls were preserved in this way.

Residents of Alabama are asked “Is America headed in the right or wrong direction?” and reporter Tim Lockette wonders if the Academy’s recommendations for reinventing democracy could be a way forward.

Review of challenges faced by state governments will inform recommendations in support of public higher education.

The risk of nuclear terrorism has guided and informed the work of the Academy’s Global Nuclear Future Initiative since its inception in 2008.

“Anticorruption: How to Beat Back Political & Corporate Graft” explores the nature of modern global corruption – and how to defeat it. Highlighting examples from the United States, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and Singapore, the authors in this issue – including both academics and law-makers – offer innovative, strategic, and practical recommendations to target public and private corruption.

On January 22, 2014, Robert J. Birgeneau, Mary Sue Coleman, Philip Bredesen, Don M. Randel, and Frank D. Yeary participated in a conversation on the future of America’s system of public higher education.

On April 1, 2022, the Academy presented Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with the Don M. Randel Award for Humanistic Studies in recognition of his groundbreaking work as a scholar and public intellectual. The program, which was the Annual David M. Rubenstein Lecture, included remarks by Academy President David Oxtoby, the presentation of the award by Chair of the Academy’s Board Nancy C. Andrews, and a conversation between Gates and David M. Rubenstein. An edited version of the presentations and conversation follows.

Reflections on the American Academy’s work on New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War and its engagement with international organizations

"Access to Justice," the Fall 2019 issue of Daedalus, is only the first of several efforts sponsored by the Academy to gather information about the national need for improved legal access, study innovations piloted around the country to fill this need, and advance a set of clear, national recommendations for closing the justice gap.

Meeting hosted by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in partnership with Nuclear Law Association and TERI University

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn, and prominent physicist and arms control expert Sidney D. Drell, will be honored with one of the nation’s oldest awards.

Financial Statements

On March 12, 2014, the Academy hosted a program at its 2006th Stated Meeting about “At Berkeley,” a new documentary by Frederick Wiseman. The program included screened selections from the film, followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, Robert J. Birgeneau, George W. Breslauer, and Mark S. Schlissel.

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

American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Affiliates
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as of June 30, 2023

Leaders convene on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to support Innovation: An American Imperative

Financial Statements

On April 17, 2025, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., was honored with the American Academy’s Award for Excellence in Public Policy and Public Affairs. The award recognizes individuals for their distinction, independence, effectiveness, and work on behalf of the common good. The award was presented to Dr. Fauci for his significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and COVID-19. The event included remarks by Dr. Fauci and an interview with Academy President Laurie L. Patton. An edited transcript of the program follows.