Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will discuss current challenges faced by the federal and state courts in a climate of heightened partisanship, expensive election campaigns, and attacks on judicial independence.

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.

Study is requested by bipartisan group of members of U.S. Senate & House of Representatives.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences and Washington University in St. Louis convened more than 50 community leaders, social entrepreneurs, and professionals - between 18 and 29 years old - from across the political spectrum. The participants were united by a commitment to developing a youth agenda for American democracy.

One of the recommendations for strengthening American democracy proposed in Our Common Purpose - the report of a bipartisan Academy commission - is to enact ranked-choice voting (RCV) for presidential, congressional, and state elections. This article examines legislative progress at the federal, state, and local levels concerning ranked-choice voting.

The Academy’s 2017th Stated Meeting on February 11, 2015, featured members of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT performing a staged reading of Mr g, a novel by Alan Lightman. Mr g is the story of creation as narrated by God (Mr g). In it, Mr g’s uncle Deva and aunt Penelope give him advice as he sets about creating the universe; he also spars with a Satan-like character about various ethical and philosophical issues raised by his creation, especially when intelligent life emerges.

A Law360 article about the publication "The Case for Supreme Court Term Limits" issued by the Academy's bipartisan working group quotes Professor Akhil Reed Amar and Professor Charles Fried who are members of the working group and the Academy.

New Research from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Moody's Analytics

Yuval Levin (American Enterprise Institute)'s Opinion Piece in the New York Times on the case for enlarging the House of Representatives; with the headline “Some Good Can Come Out of the Kevin McCarthy Fiasco.”

In the face of unprecedented hostility toward institutions dedicated to knowledge and the pursuit of truth, the Academy’s Board of Directors issued a statement reaffirming a commitment to the practice of democratic self-governance and the belief that a great nation invests in the arts and sciences while protecting the freedom that enables them to flourish.

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Bert Emerson, a participant in a listening session in Spokane, wrote a guest column about the nation's greatest challenges and what gives him hope that Americans have the will to fix our democracy.

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Danielle S. Allen and Stephen B. Heintz, cochairs of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, presented strategies to strengthen civic engagement at a virtual panel co-hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.

Among the 31 recommendations in the Academy's cross-partisan publication, Our Common Purpose, was a proposal to enlarge the House of Representatives to ensure better and more responsive representation for Americans across the country. The idea was explored in a "Vox, America Explained" video which featured the Academy's work.

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, members of the class of 2021 gathered virtually to celebrate their election and gain an introduction to Academy history, culture, and membership opportunities. In the tradition of the Academy, the program included stimulating discussions, interdisciplinary connections, and moments of artistic expression.

On October 18, Stephen Heintz, President and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) and one of three cochairs of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, and Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer, a member of the Commission, sat down with Renee Shaw for the KET program Connections to talk about the Commission's bipartisan report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century.

A statement from Academy President David Oxtoby on the passing of Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. who was an Academy member of vision and generosity.