Responds to Congressional Request

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.

A study being released today by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences -- based on data from the U.S. Census and other government sources, plus Gallup polling of workers nationwide -- challenges the myth of the underemployed, unhappy humanities graduate.

How much does the public know about science and where does it get its information? Do scientists communicate effectively with the public about their work? What role do the media and our education system play in advancing Americans’ scientific literacy? Two recent Academy publications examine these questions.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members

Members Elected in 2025, by Class & Section

Data from the latest release by the Humanities Indicators project of the American Academy indicate the earnings of older humanities majors never ‘catch up’ to those of their peers in other disciplines.

As of January, less than half of Americans made intentional use of artificial intelligence tools (AI) to perform a variety of common tasks, but a substantial minority used AI for humanities-related tasks.

Academy Staff

A new survey found that more than 90 percent of graduates are happy with their lives, despite all the pundits who say they shouldn’t be. Inside Higher Ed delves into other findings from the new Humanities Indicators workforce report.

In recognition of his philanthropy and dedication to public service, business leader and entrepreneur Morton L. Mandel is presented with the Academy’s Scholar-Patriot Award.

Since 1780, the Academy has advocated for the importance of the humanities, arts, and culture in American society, and has called on both private citizens and the nation’s government to help foster advances in these areas. Today, the Academy conducts research and develops policy recommendations to advance the humanities in academic scholarship and in the public sector, to display the importance of the arts in society, and to enrich the nation’s cultural life. By bringing together scholars, artists, and leaders from both the public and private sectors, Academy programs in The Humanities, Arts, and Culture put practitioners and scholars in conversation with individuals from other disciplines, ensuring that the arts and humanities are valued in all areas of civic life. Projects in this area demonstrate the value of the arts, humanities, and culture to the nation’s security and prosperity, and call attention to the role played by work in these fields to enriching the health of communities and the daily lives of its citizens.

At the National Press Club, members of the Academy's language commission met for a public discussion of their answers. Commission member Rubén Rumbaut, offered the core of the commission’s framing, “Ironically, despite the diversity of American languages, the United States has acquired the dubious designation of being a language graveyard...we have immigrants and children of immigrants not passing on their language skills.”

A new publication, which emerged from the Academy's Our Common Purpose work, proposes alternatives to the “winner-take-all” system used in most U.S. elections. The proposed alternatives have the potential to reduce partisan divides and virtually eliminate gerrymandering.

One of the great strengths of the Academy is its ability to bring together members with other experts from many disciplines and professions to explore contemporary challenges, identify solutions, and offer ways forward to advance the public good.

It’s 8 am on a sunny day in Miami, Florida, and the former chair of Shell is discussing mitigation with Indigenous leaders over arepas. Nearby, a reverend and youth activists chat about sea walls as they enjoy their coffee outside in the 70-degree weather. The diversity of these individuals, who are members of the Academy’s Commission on Accelerating Climate Action, speaks not only to the convening power of the Academy, but also to the growing interest in climate from sectors across America.

In 2015, the American Musicological Society gave the Noah Greenberg Award to musicologist Jessie Ann Owens and the vocal ensemble Blue Heron, directed by Scott Metcalfe, for their project to produce the world premiere recording of Cipriano de Rore’s landmark I madrigali a cinque voci (Venice, 1542). On May 3, 2018, Owens spoke at the Academy about Cipriano’s music; following her presentation, Blue Heron performed a selection of madrigals drawn from his 1542 publication.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $275,000 to the Academy's Humanities Indicators project to survey the general public about the humanities.