Looking forward to the Academy report on the future of undergraduate education, Jeffrey Selingo outlines three basic recommendations to improve undergraduate education in the United States.

The Academy is launching the Our Common Purpose Communities Project - a national coalition of municipalities committed to strengthening American democracy. Lexington, Kentucky is the first city in the nation to join this effort and identify two recommendations from the Our Common Purpose report to advance at the local level.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members

The crafters of the Constitution expected the size of the House to grow as the U.S. population increased. Citing the American Academy report on “The Case for Expanding the House of Representatives,” Kevin Kosar calls for Capitol Hill to consider the proposition.

Perceptions of Science in America offers an in-depth examination of the current state of trust in science among Americans. The data paint a picture of a heterogeneous public whose perceptions are dependent on context and values. The report underscores the need for additional studies on the influences on attitudes toward science, as well as how those attitudes impact both personal decisions and public support for evidence-based policy.

This profile of Ruth Simmons - a visionary higher education leader and Academy member - emphasizes the role of the humanities in shaping Simmons as a thinker and leader, and explores the significance of the humanities for others. Author Antoinette Burton cites a recent Academy report on career outcomes of humanities majors.

The world is witnessing the emergence of new nuclear states that have acquired or are pursuing nuclear capabilities. These new nuclear actors pose significant threats to global security as they challenge the existing nuclear order and nonproliferation regime.

The University of West Georgia College of Arts and Humanities is serving as the statewide host site for discussion on a national report titled “The Heart of the Matter: the Humanities and Social Sciences” conducted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The American Academy inducted its 236th class of members at a ceremony that included presentations by five new members: Terry A. Plank, Jay D Keasling, Andrea Louise Campbell, Theaster Gates, Jr., and Walter Isaacson.

Recent Dædalus Issues Explore the Future of Free Speech and the Global Quest for Educational Equity

Since the release in June 2020 of Our Common Purpose: Re­inventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, the final report of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizen­ship, there have been a number of surprising and inspiring stories about the impact the report has had. From giving the report away as Valentine’s Day presents to ordering a copy for everyone in the city government of Boise, Idaho, Our Common Purpose has been shared, read, downloaded, viewed, and discussed around the country.

New analysis from the Academy's Humanities Indicators project shows dramatic decreases in open positions for professors. Health professions faculty jobs, once equal in number to those in humanities, now far outnumber them.

Academy Publications

On November 26, 2018, Nicholas Kristof (a columnist for The New York Times) spoke at a gathering of Academy Members and guests in New York City about journalists in the age of Trump. He also shared a preview of his forthcoming book on dysfunction in America after fifty years of wrong policy turns.

When forced to decide between a career in biochemistry or psychology in the spring of 1950, Jerome Kagan chose the latter because of a gnawing puzzlement provoked by the observation that apparently sane people living in the same community held different beliefs about love, honesty, and whom was entitled to respect and whom to scorn.

Now is the moment to think about the people, places, and practices of democracy, write Hollie Russon Gilman, Darshan Goux, and Elizabeth Youngling in this op-ed.

Artists can help us emerge and heal from the global pandemic — but first we have to create more systems that support them and their work. Laura Zabel, member of the American Academy’s Commission on the Arts, explains how.

Timothy J. Colton and George Breslauer gave a presentation on “Russia Beyond Putin,” the subject of the upcoming Spring 2017 issue of Dædalus.