On October 6, 2018, the American Academy inducted its 238th class of Members at a ceremony held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The ceremony featured readings from the letters of John and Abigail Adams by Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer, a performance by André Watts, and presentations by Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Huda Y. Zoghbi, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Robert Gooding-Williams, and David Miliband.

In the latest publication from the Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, a team of analysts from Moody's Analytics attempted to lay out the costs and benefits of a sustained investment program aimed at boosting program completion rates, especially for disadvantaged students.

Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson, members of the Academy's Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, write that the recent college admissions scandal represents a small fraction of college admissions and should not distract from persistent inequalities in higher education access.

As the photos and articles in this Bulletin convey, the Academy continues to deliver on its important mission of celebrating excellence and advancing the common good. We are well positioned to do so in light of the accomplishments of David Oxtoby, who served more than five years as Academy President and stepped down from the role in June. We are indebted to David for his tireless work in developing a robust range of projects and deepening relationships with our members. We are poised for continued strength and impact with the appointment of Laurie Patton, President of Middlebury College, as the Academy’s next President. A poet, humanist, and expert in South Asian culture and religion, Laurie brings a deep well of experience as a thought leader on democracy and pluralism, and as a seasoned executive at multiple institutions. We look forward to her arrival in January.

This guest essay in The Hill sets forth that journalism should be treated like critical infrastructure, with the understanding that it is essential to a strong and healthy democracy. Rooted in Academy work, the oped explores how and why stabilizing media is part of strengthening democracy in America.

A new resource from American Academy of Arts and Sciences to promote bridging divides and recognizing the value of economic connectedness.

On behalf of the Development and Communications Committee, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to all the Fellows, friends, and foundations who supported the Academy this year.

Jotwell examines Aaron Nielson’s Dædalus essay, “Deconstruction (Not Destruction),” which reinterprets deconstruction in the “more technical sense of examining the administrative state to identify where theory and reality diverge and what can be done to fix it.”

The report, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, was developed over a two-year period by a diverse commission of leaders sharing their expertise and priorities. Their report recommends how corporations, frontline communities, government, and environmental groups can work together to mobilize investments, build infrastructure, reduce emissions, and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

The Academy recently launched a new informational resource: the National Inventory of Humanities Organizations (NIHO).

An article from UC Berkeley’s College of Computing, Data Science, and Society covers an Academy event featuring experts at Berkeley titled “Generative AI Is Terrific, But Is it Really Legal?” The coverage highlights the legal and economic issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative endeavors.

News about Academy events and projects, including the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Global Nuclear Future initiative, as well as new research and publications.

Published during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, these essays offer expert insight into the character and quality of effective political leadership.

The two-day forum, part of a project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, led by the Freeman Spogli Institute’s Karl Eikenberry and Stephen Krasner, gathered experts to examine trends in civil wars and solutions moving forward.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution intended the House of Representatives to be “the People’s House.” For decades, the House grew as the nation grew. Then, in 1929, Congress capped the size of the House at 435 seats. A new Academy report assesses the impacts and alternatives with a proposal for enlarging the House now.

On October 18, the Our Common Purpose team returned to Lexington, Kentucky for a full day of events to shine a light on the contributions made by Kentucky residents to the Our Common Purpose report and engage with local leaders on strategies for implementing its recommendations.

Our focus on issues of inequality in many areas of the Academy’s work – from convenings, to commissions and projects, to issues of Dædalus – illustrates what the Academy does best: explore contemporary challenges, identify solutions, and offer ways forward to advance the public good.

Since its founding, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has worked to promote a strong and virtuous nation. Our charter states that the “end and design” of the American Academy is to “cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Today, this effort involves projects designed to advance knowledge about the nation’s institutions and to develop innovative solutions to problems facing American society. Projects in this area interpret the term “institution” broadly, focusing on all of the constituent elements of government and civil society. These projects address how Americans interact with social structures, how these experiences prepare people to make a positive contribution to a diverse nation, and how these institutions might operate differently in the twenty-first century. The Academy shares this research through publications, conferences, and active outreach.

“Democracy is under siege.” So begins the Summer 2017 issue of Dædalus on “The Prospects & Limits of Deliberative Democracy.”

What do we want for the future of our democracy? Danielle Allen, cochair of Academy project on the practice of democratic citizenship, explores, citing feedback from engagement sessions held by the Commission.