Education | American Academy of Arts and Sciences

A group of students seated in a lecture hall face the instructor, who is standing in front of a white board with scientific notations and diagrams. Three of the students have their hands raised. — Photo by iStock.com/LuckyBusiness.

Projects in the Education program area examine the vital role that education plays in our nation and the world. Work in this area seeks to inform policy and practice in support of high-quality educational opportunities for all Americans. From advancing equitable educational outcomes to leveraging new developments in the learning sciences and digital technologies to understanding the vital role that public universities play as engines of economic growth, innovation, social mobility, and citizenship, projects in this area draw on scholars and practitioners from diverse fields to provide guidance and actionable solutions to policymakers, higher education leaders, and philanthropists.

Education Advisory Committee

Deborah Loewenberg Ball
University of Michigan

Joanne Berger-Sweeney
Trinity College

Nancy E. Cantor
Hunter College

John J. DeGioia
Georgetown University

Greg Duncan
University of California, Irvine

Joan Gabel
University of Pittsburgh

Kris Gutierrez
University of California, Berkeley

Nicholas B. Lemann
Columbia University

Susanna Loeb
Stanford University

Michael Lomax
United Negro College Foundation

John C. Mitchell
Stanford University

Na’ilah Suad Nasir
Spencer Foundation

Francesca Purcell
Harvard University

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco
University of Massachusetts Boston

David Weinstein
Write the World

Project

The Higher Education Forum

Photo by iStock.com/Rattankun Thongbun.

The Higher Education Forum at the Academy draws on the strengths of Academy Affiliates, members, and experts to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on the most pressing issues affecting higher education. The Forum is guided by the Academy’s Education Advisory Committee.

The Higher Education Forum’s annual convening was held in Aspen, CO, on June 10–13, 2024. More than one hundred higher education experts and leaders, including university presidents, provosts, and academic deans from many of the Academy’s Affiliate institutions, engaged in discussions on topics that included the future of work, speech on campus and beyond, the changing political landscape, the health of our communities, artificial intelligence in our world, and maintaining diversity on campus.

Funders

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Bank of America

Barclays

BrandED, Inc.

Kaplan, Inc.

Lumina Foundation

TIAA

United Educators

David C. Weinstein

A woman in business attire is standing at a podium and speaking into a microphone. Behind her is a brightly patterned wall painting. — **Joan Gabel** (University of Pittsburgh). Photo by Daniel Bayer.

A group of adults in business attire is sitting in a conference room and looking at a person speaking with a microphone. — **Marie Lynn Miranda** (University of Illinois Chicago), **Sisi Wei** (The Markup), **Xuedong Huang** (Zoom), and **Michael Crow** (Arizona State University). Photo by Daniel Bayer.

Two adults in business attire are standing together. — **Marie Lynn Miranda** (University of Illinois Chicago) and **Michael Bennett** (Northeastern University). Photo by Daniel Bayer.

A person in business attire speaks into a microphone and another person in business attire looks forward. — **Brandon Busteed** (BrandEd) and **David Campbell** (Notre Dame University). Photo by Daniel Bayer.

Three adults in business attire sitting together on a stage in front of a blue and white screen. — **Susan Dynarski** (Harvard University), **John King** (State University of New York), and **Frances Ward-Johnson** (North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University). Photo by Daniel Bayer.

Project

Commission on Opportunities After High School

A drawing of a person wearing a backpack, standing on a pathway and looking out at several intersecting roads. — Illustration by iStock.com/Dmitry Kovalchuk.

The Commission on Opportunities After High School was launched in May 2024. The mission of the Commission is to ensure that every student can thrive and find rewarding jobs in an ever-changing global economy and actively participate in society. The Commission will focus on expanding the possibilities for historically underserved students, so that multiple routes to success are broadly accessible. The Commissioners will develop recommendations that address the various obstacles that may impede a student’s progress and will identify promising pathways from high school into higher education or directly into the workforce.

Commission Chairs

Nancy E. Cantor
Hunter College

Harrison Keller
University of North Texas

Bridget Terry Long
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Commission Members

Kirsten Baesler
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction

Gilda A. Barabino
Olin College of Engineering

Jason Callahan
The Forum for Youth Investment

Mary Schmidt Campbell
Spelman College

Shirley M. Collado
College Track

Michael Collins
Jobs for the Future

Michelle Asha Cooper
Lumina Foundation

Aimée Eubanks Davis
Braven

Arne Duncan
Emerson Collective

Elena Fuentes-Afflick
Association of American Medical Colleges

Roberto G. Gonzales
University of Pennsylvania

Antonia Hernández
California Community Foundation

Enrique Hernandez, Jr.
Inter-Con Security Systems

Sheila Johnson
Salamander Hospitality

Paula A. Kerger
Public Broadcasting Service

Perri Klass
New York University

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
City University of New York

Janet A. Napolitano
University of California, Berkeley

Santa J. Ono
University of Michigan

Eloy Ortiz Oakley
College Futures Foundation

Bobby Pace
Community College of Aurora

Tracy P. Palandjian
Social Finance

Madeline Pumariega
Miami Dade College

Anne Marie Sweeney
BUA Ventures, Inc.

John White
Great Minds

Anthony Woods
Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs

David S. Yeager
University of Texas at Austin

Laura Zabel
Springboard for the Arts

Project Staff

Melissa Chan
Program Coordinator for Education

Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré
Program Director for Education

Catherine Van Ness
Program Officer for Education

Funders

Spencer Foundation

Carnegie Corporation of New York

William T. Grant Foundation

Anonymous Sources

Commission Meetings

First Meeting of the Commission

May 4–6, 2024
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA

At this first meeting of the Commission on Opportunities After High School, Commission members discussed the current state of high school and postsecondary opportunities, including how high school students receive information and make decisions about their postsecondary pathways. The interdisciplinary group of experts also focused on the training and skills that form a strong foundation for young people to be successful in the current and future economy and society, including the ability to be agile in the landscape of an ever-changing economy and willingness to be lifelong learners as employers’ needs shift. The members discussed the target audience for their work as well as successful programs and policies to highlight.

Twenty-three adults in business attire stand in the lobby of the Academy, with floral arrangements behind them, and smile at the camera. — Members of the Commission on Opportunities After High School and project staff at the first meeting of the Commission (left to right) row one: **Michelle Asha Cooper**, **Nancy Cantor**, **Mary Schmidt Campbell**, **Sheila Johnson**; row two: **Lywana Dorzilor**, **Catherine Van Ness**, **Félix Matos Rodríguez**, **Janet Napolitano**, **Roberto Gonzales**, **Gilda Barabino**, **Bridget Terry Long**, **Antonia Hernández**, **Kirsten Baesler**; row three: **Peter Robinson**, **David Oxtoby**, **Harrison Keller**, **Eloy Ortiz Oakley**, **Laura Zabel**, **Bobby Pace**, **Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré**, **Aimée Eubanks Davis**. Photo by Peter Walton.

Two women and one man wearing business attire stand in a line and smile at the camera. — Commission cochairs **Bridget Terry Long**, **Harrison Keller**, and **Nancy Cantor**. Photo by Peter Walton.

Exploratory Meeting

Leading for a Future of Higher Education Equity: Transforming Supreme Court Challenges into Opportunities for Positive Change

August 20–21, 2023
House of the Academy, Cambridge, MA

The Academy partnered with the American Council on Education and EducationCounsel to convene an exploratory meeting with senior leaders from a range of higher education institutions, including public and private institutions, large and small institutions, historically black colleges and universities, and some institutions already operating within environments that had banned affirmative action. The participants discussed the anticipated impact of Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action. They also shared how they could continue to advance equity and diversity through available avenues.

In April 2024, the Academy published a summary that highlights the strategies, recommendations, and approaches identified by the meeting participants that would help leaders across higher education to move their institutions forward for the benefit of their students and society at large. The key themes included centering equity throughout campus; uniting committed and collaborative university leaders for systemic change; communicating the value of equity to constituents; fostering community partnerships; and highlighting and funding the valuable expertise and contributions of minority-
serving institutions (MSIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This summary is available online.

MEETING CHAIRS

Joanne Berger-Sweeney
Trinity College

Kim Wilcox
University of California, Riverside

FUNDERS

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The Mellon Foundation

ACADEMY PARTNERS

Ted Mitchell
American Council on Education

Art Coleman
EducationCounsel

Jamie Lewis Keith
EducationCounsel

A group of five adults wearing business attire stand in front of a white wall and smile at the camera. — **John King** (State University of New York), **Jamie Lewis Keith** (EducationCounsel), **Goodwin Liu** (California Supreme Court), **Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré** (American Academy of Arts and Sciences), and **David Oxtoby** (American Academy of Arts and Sciences). Photo by Jen Smith.

A group of four adults stand behind a table that has a microphone and an open laptop. They all smile at the camera. — **Gabrielle Starr** (Pomona College), **Kedra Ishop** (University of Southern California), **OiYan Poon** (Spencer Foundation; University of Maryland, College Park), and **Ted Mitchell** (American Council on Education). Photo by Jen Smith.

A man wearing a grey suit and a woman wearing a black cardigan and green scarf face each other and are engaged in conversation. — **Jonathan Holloway** (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey) and **Susan Wente** (Wake Forest University). Photo by Jen Smith.

Three adults wearing business attire stand next to one another, in front of a white wall, and are smiling at the camera. — **Kim Wilcox** (University of California, Riverside), **Joanne Berger-Sweeney** (Trinity College), and **David Oxtoby** (American Academy of Arts and Sciences). Photo by Jen Smith.