Academy President David Oxtoby shared his decision to step down from his role at the Academy with this letter:
Dear Friends,
I am writing to let you know that I plan to step down from the presidency of the Academy at the end of June 2024. At that time, I will have served as president for five and a half years—just over the five-year term.
I have been honored to serve the Academy during this period—not only as a member but also as my professional focus. Now is a good time for a transition for several reasons. On a personal level, I am looking forward to spending more time with my family, especially with our six grandchildren. From an institutional perspective, the Academy is in excellent shape, with the success of our recent fundraising campaign, the release later this fall of major final reports by the commission on climate action and the commission on reimagining our economy, and the continuing important work on education, global security, the arts and humanities, and American democracy. We have moved through the unexpected challenges of a pandemic and emerged even stronger than before as an organization. We just completed a very successful Induction Weekend, with members from the classes of 2022 and 2023 signing their names in the Book of Members. It was a joy to welcome 366 new members into our midst, and I left the weekend uplifted and inspired by the opportunities that lie ahead for this exceptional group to come together in service of the nation and the world.
I shared my plans with the Board over the summer so that they could take the first steps toward initiating a search process. In the coming weeks, our Board Chair, Goodwin Liu, will write you with information about the search and the steps that the Academy will be taking to identify and smoothly transition to the next president. The Academy staff is outstanding, and I am confident that we will not lose a step in the transition.
We have a busy schedule planned for the year ahead, and I look forward to seeing many of you in Cambridge and at events in a variety of locations during that time.
Thank you as always for all you do for the Academy.
Yours,
David