Public research universities contribute to overall economy, research, and infrastructure in support of students, families, and the nation

The White House’s proposed budget cuts to language and exchange programs will make America less able to communicate with and understand our allies and potential adversaries abroad, argues Karl Eikenberry, citing Academy report.

The Academy hosted a meeting at the University of Chicago on the benefits and risks of nuclear, biological, and information technologies. The speakers included Robert Rosner, James M. Acton, Elisa D. Harris, and Herbert Lin.

An engraving above the western entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court proclaims a bold ideal for the American judicial system: “equal justice under law.” Unfortunately, the nation has not yet achieved the Court’s aspiration. While many Americans experience legal issues at some point in their lives, not everyone has access to the legal assistance that they need.

On June 19–20, 2019, the Academy convened an Exploratory Meeting in Boston, MA, on “Water in Our Future.” The participants included water program officials, water policy experts, research scientists, and scholars in the humanities and sciences from the United States and around the world. The meeting was organized to help identify key questions related to water security and to inform how a potential Academy project might make a contribution in this area.

It is my pleasure to present this edition of the Annual Report of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the first since I officially began my term as president in January 2025. I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the hundreds of members whom I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from this year.

Over the past year, the Humanities Indicators of the American Academy (http://humanitiesindicators.org) have been offering evidence for many of the urgent questions facing the humanities field.

Academy members and guests attended a matinee performance of Robert Glaudini's The Poison Tree, in its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum. After the show, they adjourned to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for dinner and the Stated Meeting, presided over by Western Center Cochair Jack W. Peltason.

A big boost to college completion would pay off for students and the economy, a new paper finds, but would substantially increase the federal deficit. Academy report cited in coverage.

One of the strategic priorities in the Academy’s 2018 strategic plan is to improve the impact of the Academy’s work and raise the visibility of the institution with external audiences. These audiences vary and have included policymakers at the federal, state, and local level; leaders in philanthropy, higher education, nonprofit organizations, and business; scholars and students; advocacy groups; professional groups and practitioners; and the public.

Public Higher Education and the Private Sector on Tap for Discussion

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 American Academy has received one of the largest donations since its founding in 1780. David M. Rubenstein, co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager, has donated $5 million to establish the David Rubenstein Enhancement Fund at the American Academy. This gift will provide funding for new Academy projects (both major commissions as well as exploratory initiatives), and it will also enhance the visibility of the Academy and its projects and commissions among policymakers and the general public.

Working with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the Academy convened college and university presidents and leaders of scholarly societies. Together, they developed and supported a unified defense of learning and higher education. More than 650 leaders signed the statement on behalf of their students, faculty, staff, and communities.

Much of the attention about the humanities in higher education tends to focus on four-year colleges and universities (and more specifically, on the declining number of students who major in the humanities). In recent years, the American Academy’s Humanities Indicators (HI) have been exploring the growing presence of the humanities in the community college sector.

Although declarations and prophesies of doom for the humanities abound, they provide no consistent facts about the current or past situation of the collection of academic interests loosely defined as the humanities. The Academy is trying to provide a body of information and of ideas that will support intellectual community and intellectual action.

The American Academy delivered its final report on the future of language education to the U.S. Congress yesterday, recommending “a national strategy to improve access to as many languages as possible for people of every region, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background.”