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.

The Commission on Opportunities After High School held illuminating listening sessions with high school and college students, K-12 administrators and teachers, higher education administrators and faculty, employers, philanthropic leaders, and community partners. The insights shared will guide the commissioners in their work to ensure that all students can thrive.

Academy member Judith Butler discusses the Humanities Indicators’ survey on the humanities in American life, concluding that the future of the humanities may well depend on realizing that the best case for art, poetry, literature, and performance is already being made by our most publicly engaged fields.

Martha Abbot, member of the Academy's Commission on Language Learning, speaks to Wisconsin Public Radio about language learning and global education.

List of Staff at the Academy

Scott Sagan discusses the nuclear necessity principle and Academy project on ethics, technology, and war with Randall Pinkston of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Scott Russell Sanders discusses writing as discovery for the Bulletin’s new feature, “On the Professions”

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 Academy organized a workshop in Washington, D.C. that gathered investigators from the government, academic, and industry sectors to discuss novel approaches to understanding and overcoming the social and behavioral barriers to the adoption of new energy technologies.

A CNN column about voting and equality features Academy recommendations for strengthening democracy - specifically to enlarge the House of Representatives - in the section titled "How to make the US more democratic"

Academy Staff

Subra Suresh, President of Carnegie Mellon University, on the report of the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences

In light of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and v. University of North Carolina, which bans the consideration of applicants’ racial status in admissions decision-making, the Academy’s Education program area engaged senior leaders of Affiliate institutions with the goal of supporting these leaders’ commitments to equity in higher education.

There is a surge of outbreaks in vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States. What research is needed to reverse this trend?

What does it mean to conduct responsible, ethical, and constructive social research within the Middle East and North Africa and around the world? For decades, social scientists who work in and on the Middle East have confronted the ethical complexities of working with research participants, partners, and colleagues who are at risk. Conflict, autocracy, censorship, poverty, inequality, disciplinary imperatives, and institutional interests all shape research opportunities and agendas in ways that may imperil careers, livelihoods, and even lives.

What is consciousness? How do we store memories, process thoughts, and command our bodies? Why do we require sleep to live? And can we trust our perception of the world around us? The Winter 2015 issue of Dædalus responds to these fundamental questions of human experience, exploring “What is the Brain Good For?” through recent developments and new theories in the field of neuroscience.

Higher education continues to be one of the most important avenues of opportunity in American society. But the education landscape is changing rapidly: there are more options for how and when Americans receive some form of higher education.

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.