It is with profound sadness that the Academy notes the death of former Academy President Leo L. Beranek on October 10, 2016, at age 102. Dr. Beranek served as President from 1989 to 1994. He was an active and devoted member of the Academy.

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, elected to the Academy in 2022, have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2023. They shared insights into their pioneering work on mRNA vaccines in an Academy conversation earlier this year.

George Packer, in The Atlantic, considers whether America might now repair our broken democracy by entering an era of major reform - including the Academy's recommendations in Our Common Purpose.

From the President

On March 12, 2014, the Academy hosted a program at its 2006th Stated Meeting about “At Berkeley,” a new documentary by Frederick Wiseman. The program included screened selections from the film, followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, Robert J. Birgeneau, George W. Breslauer, and Mark S. Schlissel.

Following an introduction from Mary C. Waters, Douglas S. Massey and Jorge Castañeda described the current state of U.S. immigration policy.

A new study from the American Academy's Humanities Indicators project reveals trends among U.S. residents, and the impact of respondents’ political leanings, socioeconomic status, gender, and race.

The Academy's Commission on Language Learning makes the case for increasing foreign language learning capacity in a political climate that's increasingly anti-global.

Communities with strong civic infrastructure engender greater civic engagement and a sense of belonging. Stephen Heintz, cochair of the American Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, argues that philanthropy should lead in funding projects across the country that would connect people to their neighbors, communities, and government institutions.

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.

The Spring 2006 issue of Dædalus maps the development and evolution of seven humanities disciplines in the 21st century. The seven disciplines traced in this issue are: American Literature, Comparative Literature, History, Art History, African American Studies, Law and the Humanities, and Philosophy.

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"

Lawrence Goldstein moderated a panel discussion about scientific advances and their impact on society with J. Craig Venter, Lisa Madlensky, and John H. Evans at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine in La Jolla, California.

The American Academy inducted its 236th class of members at a ceremony that included presentations by five new members: Terry A. Plank, Jay D Keasling, Andrea Louise Campbell, Theaster Gates, Jr., and Walter Isaacson.

Amplifying a recommendation in Our Common Purpose, this OpEd in The Washington Post by Yuval Levin and Lee Drutman proposes expanding the U.S. House of Representatives.

Greetings from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where earlier this fall the Academy celebrated its first in-person Induction weekend since 2019. We welcomed new members from the classes of 2020 and 2021 with an opening celebration featuring Yo-Yo Ma in conversation with David Rubenstein at Harvard Business School’s Klarman Hall. On the following day, new members gathered with governance members, project leaders, and Academy staff for a lively open house at the Academy’s headquarters in Norton’s Woods. Later that afternoon, the two classes of inductees gathered at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for a resumption of the moving Induction Ceremony that we have all missed for so long.