American Academy of Political and Social Science

American Academy of Political and Social Science
Name	American Academy of Political and Social Science
Formation	1889
Type	Honorary society
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Leader title	President

Contents

American Academy of Political and Social Science is an independent scholarly society founded in 1889 to advance understanding of public affairs and social issues through interdisciplinary research, publications, and convenings. The Academy has engaged with leading figures across American and international public life including Woodrow Wilson, Jane Addams, W. E. B. Du Bois, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Dewey, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt, and has influenced policy discussions involving institutions such as United States Congress, United Nations, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Council on Foreign Relations.

History

The Academy was established in Philadelphia alongside contemporaneous institutions like University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, and benefactors including Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller whose philanthropy shaped late 19th‑century civic scholarship. Early participants included reformers and scholars associated with Progressive Era, Hull House, Settlement movement, and investigative journalists such as Ida B. Wells and Lincoln Steffens, while legal and political thinkers from Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to Charles Evans Hughes engaged with its forums. Throughout the 20th century the Academy intersected with major events and movements including the Spanish–American War, World War I, New Deal, World War II, Cold War, and the Civil Rights Movement, hosting panels with policymakers tied to Social Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Brown v. Board of Education, and discussions relevant to treaties like the Treaty of Versailles. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the Academy expanded collaborations with organizations such as National Academy of Sciences, American Political Science Association, American Sociological Association, American Economic Association, RAND Corporation, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank.

The Academy’s governance has featured presidents, trustees, and editorial boards drawn from universities and public institutions including Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and think tanks like Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation. Leadership has included scholars connected to commissions and offices such as Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Office of Management and Budget, and the Federal Reserve Board. The Academy’s bylaws create committees for editorial direction, awards, conferences, and finance, interfacing with funders and partners like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and municipal entities such as City of Philadelphia.

The Academy publishes flagship series and peer‑reviewed venues that have featured contributions from authors associated with Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Amartya Sen, Elinor Ostrom, Robert Putnam, Diane Ravitch, Cass Sunstein, Samantha Power, and Fareed Zakaria. Its journals and monographs address policy areas involving legislation like the Affordable Care Act, court decisions such as Roe v. Wade and Citizens United v. FEC, and regulatory debates linked to agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Communications Commission. Collaborative research projects have involved grants and partnerships with National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, United States Department of Education, Department of Labor, and international bodies including World Health Organization and United Nations Development Programme. The Academy’s periodicals have historically influenced public debates examined by commentators from outlets tied to figures such as Walter Lippmann, George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, and Noam Chomsky.

The Academy administers awards, medals, and citation programs recognizing scholars, practitioners, and public servants who have contributed to policy scholarship and civic life, joining a landscape of honors that includes the Nobel Prize, MacArthur Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and awards from associations like the American Political Science Association. Recipients often include academics affiliated with MIT, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics, Oxford University, and public figures from administrations such as Kennedy administration, Johnson administration, Clinton administration, Obama administration, and Trump administration. The Academy’s honors ceremonies have been held in venues associated with Independence Hall, Constitution Hall, and university auditoriums, and have featured addresses by leaders from Supreme Court of the United States and executive branch agencies.

The Academy convenes symposia, roundtables, and annual meetings attracting participants from legislative, judicial, academic, and nonprofit sectors, parallel to events hosted by World Economic Forum, American Political Science Association annual meeting, United Nations General Assembly, and regional forums like Commonwealth Club of California. Program topics have included public finance, urban policy, immigration, health policy, education reform, climate policy, and international security, engaging experts from institutions such as International Criminal Court, European Commission, African Union, and national ministries. The Academy also organizes training programs and workshops alongside partners like Khan Academy‑linked initiatives, university executive education programs at Harvard Kennedy School, and policy labs modeled after projects at MIT Media Lab.

Membership and fellowship have included elected fellows, honorary fellows, and institutional affiliates drawn from a wide array of professionals including scholars from Princeton University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Duke University, University of Michigan, judges from United States Court of Appeals, ambassadors from United States Department of State, and civic leaders from organizations such as American Red Cross, League of Women Voters, National Education Association, and AARP. Fellows have been recognized for interdisciplinary contributions bridging scholarship and practice, often concurrently holding positions at research centers like Hoover Institution, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Urban Institute, and Cato Institute.

Category:Learned societies of the United States