The Academy holds in-person and virtual events that bring members, Affiliates, and others in their communities together to explore topics of national and global concern. Academy President David W. Oxtoby provided opening remarks for most of the meetings in 2021 and 2022.

Since 2013, when the American Academy’s Humanities Commission issued The Heart of the Matter report, there has been considerable media discussion about declining humanities majors, an anemic academic job market, and general perceptions of a field in crisis. A new study by the Humanities Indicators, completed on the eve of the COVID-19 crisis, provides a fresh look at these questions.

A decade has passed since the publication of The Heart of the Matter, the influential report on the value of the humanities by the Academy’s Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. What has happened to the humanities over the past ten years, and what might we do to better support the humanities in the future?

The 2111th Stated Meeting featured remarks from Danielle Allen, a member of the Commission that authored The Heart of the Matter, who reflected on the humanities as a historical and contemporary practice in an age of digital superabundance. The meeting also included a conversation between Allen and arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown about the practical applications for the humanities, what works and what doesn’t for asserting their value, and their role in contemporary political debates and culture wars. Academy President David W. Oxtoby offered introductory remarks. An edited version of the presentations and discussion follows.

Why does academe still lack accurate information about non-tenure-track faculty members?

Those of us who teach undergraduates are familiar with the trend revealed in these data. Baccalaureate graduates typically have earned more course credits in the humanities (about 17% as defined here) than in STEM fields (about 13%). STEM majors earn fewer credits in the humanities than do students majoring in other areas; and students majoring in the humanities, business, social sciences, and education apparently earn no more than a required minimum of their credits in STEM courses.

Proponents of the historical understanding of infrastructure think in terms of “hard” physical structures. To achieve real social progress, we must address the “soft” infrastructure that improves our quality of life, beginning with healthcare and education.

Noteworthy

The Committee on Studies and Publications supports the Academy’s Council by regularly reviewing the progress of projects, considering topics for future studies, and evaluating publications, including Dædalus.

As we enter the third decade of the new millennium, rather than use higher education as a balance wheel in the state budget, lawmakers working with college officials need to develop a new model of public higher education.

Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense, echoes the recommendations of Academy report on language learning, saying "we are constrained by our inadequate understanding of other nations and peoples, and by our inability to communicate effectively with them."

A new publication released by the Academy’s Global Nuclear Future Initiative, Governance of Dual-Use Technologies: Theory and Practice, explores the legal frameworks for the regulation of nuclear, biological, and information technologies.

David Ellwood and Christopher Jencks discuss how inequalities in race, gender, and income continue to divide American society. Through the 2000–2001 Stated Meeting series on inequalities, the Academy seeks to reevaluate what has been achieved in the past quarter-century and assess the challenges that await us in the future.

Immigration is not only where the people come from, and why they come, and whether they are forced to come; it's also how and, in the long run, whether they are received.

With the passing of Dave Frohnmayer on March 9, 2015, we have lost a remarkable statesman and friend. Although the sadness that comes with his absence will be felt for a long time, we can find comfort in reflecting on this amazing man’s life. He leaves behind a powerful legacy as a charismatic leader in the national and statewide political arena, in public higher education, in the health sector, and in a multitude of other public service roles.

Business as usual won’t solve the existential challenges facing higher education. Gabriel Paquette discusses three models for reinventing higher ed: the laissez-faire, the pragmatic, and the utopian, citing the American Academy report on “The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America” in this opinion piece.

To celebrate the arts, artists, and the work of the Academy’s Commission on the Arts, Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” talked with Commission Cochairs John Lithgow, Deborah Rutter, and Natasha Trethewey. The program included poetry, music, and a discussion of the recommendations developed by the Commission to elevate the arts, support artists, and promote arts education in America. The event also introduced Mixtape, an online collection of arts experiences that features members of the Commission and members of the Academy.

Civic science literacy is key to our democracy, and the current science literacy of American citizens is a concern to many scientists and scientific leaders. An Academy event on “Communicating Science in an Age of Disbelief in Experts” shed light on the growing gap between the scientific community and civilians.

The Academy hosted a meeting at the University of California, Los Angeles, on public research universities in the twenty-first century. The speakers included Gene Block, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, and Kim A. Wilcox.