The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded by visionaries who foresaw that the nascent republic would benefit from the expertise of learned citizens to guide its development, health, and integrity through whatever challenges may arise.

Today, the clarity of that vision has never been more evident. We find ourselves in a time of deepening divides across lines of politics, race, religion, income, and opportunity. The institutions we have long turned to for leadership and information are under fire, as trust in the media, government, commercial enterprise, and academia declines. Strong and responsive institutions and a healthy civil society can carry us through crises and are vitally important in their aftermath.

When the Federal Reserve celebrated its centennial in December 2013, it bore only passing resemblance to the institution created by Democrats, Progressives, and Populists just a century before.

States across the country took steps to advance and impede recommendations in the Academy's crosspartisan publication, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Learn more about which issues - including civics education, redistricting commissions, and voting regulations - were addressed and where.

A Wall Street Journal essay features the CORE Score, a metric created by the Academy's Commission on Reimagining the Economy to help move national focus from how the economy is doing to how Americans are doing. In this essay, the CORE Score helps explain how standard economic measures may indicate a good economy, while that's not what many Americans are feeling about their own wellbeing.

The Academy's Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences includes a group of prominent business, government, and academic leaders, artists, and scholars.

Building a more just society has become a unifying theme for much of the Academy’s work, and we are addressing issues of justice and equality as they relate to our past, present, and future.

Inspired by the Academy report on "America's Languages," Congressmen David Price (D-NC) and Don Young (R-AK) announced the creation of the Congressional Caucus on American Languages, a bipartisan effort to support and enhance foreign language competency and international education in the U.S.

A protracted debate within the Academy over Darwin’s Origin of Species began with a paper on Japanese flora presented by Asa Gray in 1858, leading to an exchange between Louis Agassiz and William Barton Rogers...

The Commission on Reimagining Our Economy issues final report and new dashboard in its efforts to advance an American economy that is centered on working for the people who make it work.

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands partnered with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in May 2022 to host Strengthening American Democracy through Civic Investment, a historic effort to bring attention to the chronic underinvestment in the civic health of our nation’s communities and to mobilize resources to support the development of local civic infrastructure.

The CORE Score is a nationwide measurement of American wellbeing. It was launched in November 2023 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences as a result of the cross-partisan, multi-disciplinary Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE).

The bipartisan Academy commission that issued the Our Common Purpose report recommended using the commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary to develop shared narratives about our nation’s story. An article in the New York Times highlights a new tour at Monticello -- developed in collaboration with two OCP Champion organizations -- that invites reflections on today’s challenges through a historical lens.

Since the Academy was established, newly elected members have written letters of acceptance, from George Washington in 1781 to the newest members elected in 2020. In May, the Academy started asking members to share how they were experiencing the pandemic. Then came the murder of George Floyd, which galvanized protests for racial justice across the country. Subsequent reflections included thoughts about pervasive injustice and what it means to face and address racism in our country.

The American Academy has announced its 2014 class of new members, which includes leaders in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts, business, public affairs, and the nonprofit sector.

An Academy working group has issued a new resource for repairing and strengthening civic culture in America. In a highly polarized political environment, the Academy’s new publication reminds us America is united by people who believe in its ideals and who balance their self-interest with the well-being of their community and country.

As the United States approaches the 2024 presidential election, several journalists and commentators have been puzzled by one question: “Why do Americans seem so unhappy with an economy that appears to be doing so well?” Polls are influenced by many factors, but recent results show how pessimistic many Americans feel about the economy. And yet, judged by traditional economic metrics like the GDP or the Dow Jones, the economy is doing well. How do we explain this paradox?

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences announced its members elected in 2020. The 276 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, non-profit, and private sectors include Joan Baez, Eric Holder, and Ann Patchett.

Citing the Academy report “Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education,” Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), David Price (D-NC), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) led 15 Members of the House in calling on President Biden to restore the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities via Executive Order.

A publication, The Case for Enlarging the House of Representatives, proposes adding 150 seats to the House of Representatives, followed by regular expansion. Enlarging the House will help restore the connection between the people and “the people’s house” as envisioned by the nation’s founders.