2020 Projects, Publications, and Meetings of the Academy | American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Projects in the Education and the Development of Knowledge program area inform policy and practice in support of high-quality, lifetime educational opportunities for all Americans. The program area continues the Academy’s enduring focus on the vital role education and knowledge development play in our nation and in our world. From advancing equitable educational outcomes to leveraging new developments in the learning sciences and digital technologies to questioning how domestic and international scholarly work may be affected by advances in machine learning, the Education and the Development of Knowledge program area – through commissions, projects, convenings, and publications – draws upon scholars and practitioners from various fields and disciplines to explore the conditions that foster the creation, transfer, and preservation of knowledge in a global context.

Program Advisory Committee

CHAIR

Michael McPherson
formerly, Spencer Foundation

MEMBERS

Deborah Loewenberg Ball
University of Michigan

Philip Bredesen
former Governor of Tennessee

Howard Gardner
Harvard Graduate School of Education

David L. Lee
Clarity Partners, LP

Richard Light
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Kathleen McCartney
Smith College

Paula D. McClain
Duke University

Joseph Neubauer
formerly, Aramark Corporation

Nancy Peretsman
Allen and Company

Paul Sagan
General Catalyst Partners

Morton Schapiro
Northwestern University

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
University of Massachusetts Boston; formerly, University of California, Los Angeles

Beverly Daniel Tatum
Spelman College

PROJECT

Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education

The Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education is a multiyear initiative charged with examining the current state of American undergraduate education, projecting the nation’s short-term and long-term educational needs, and offering recommendations to strengthen all aspects of undergraduate education. The Commission–whose members include leaders from higher education, philanthropy, business, and government–reviewed the research and data; met with students and faculty members, experts, and state and federal policy-makers; and produced a data-based primer on the student journey through college, four in-depth research papers, a comprehensive final report, and an issue of Dædalus on improving teaching. The key idea emerging from this body of work is that what was once a challenge of quantity in American undergraduate education, of enrolling as many students as possible, is increasingly a challenge of educational quality – of making sure that all students receive the education they need to succeed, that they are able to complete the studies they begin, and that they can do all this affordably. The Commission engaged in a range of outreach activities to make its work as widely read as possible and to advance its recommendations around quality, completion, and affordability.

COMMISSION CHAIRS

Roger Ferguson, Jr.
TIAA

Michael McPherson
formerly, Spencer Foundation

COMMISSION MEMBERS

Joseph E. Aoun
Northeastern University

Deborah Loewenberg Ball
University of Michigan

Sandy Baum
Urban Institute

Rebecca M. Blank
University of Wisconsin-Madison

John Seely Brown
formerly, Xerox PARC Research

Wesley G. Bush
Northrop Grumman

Carl A. Cohn
formerly, Claremont Graduate University

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
Purdue University

John J. DeGioia
Georgetown University

Jonathan F. Fanton
President Emeritus, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Robert Hormats
Kissinger Associates; formerly, U.S. Department of State

Freeman A. Hrabowski III
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Jennifer L. Jennings
New York University

Jeremy Johnson
Andela

Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing Foundation

Nicholas Lemann
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

J. Michael Locke
formerly, Rasmussen, Inc.

Monica Lozano
College Futures Foundation

Gail O. Mellow
LaGuardia Community College

Diana Natalicio
formerly, University of Texas at El Paso

Hilary Pennington
Ford Foundation

Beverly Daniel Tatum
Spelman College

Shirley M. Tilghman
Princeton University

Michelle Weise
Strada Education Network

DATA ADVISORY GROUP MEMBERS

Thomas Bailey
Teachers College, Columbia University

Sandy Baum
Urban Institute

Ronald G. Ehrenberg
Cornell University

Bridget Terry Long
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Judith Scott-Clayton
Teachers College, Columbia University

Project Staff

Francesca Purcell

Beth Niegelsky

Funders

Carnegie Corporation of New York

TIAA Institute

Project Publications

A Primer on the College Student Journey (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2016)

Undergraduate Financial Aid in the United States, Judith Scott-Clayton (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)

The Complex Universe of Alternative Postsecondary Credentials and Pathways, Jessie Brown and Martin Kurzweil, Ithaka S+R (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)

The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion, Sophia Koropeckyj, Chris Lafakis, and Adam Ozimek, Moody’s Analytics; Foreword by Michael S. McPherson (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)

Policies and Practices to Support Undergraduate Teaching Improvement, Aaron Pallas, Anna Neumann, and Corbin Campbell (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)

The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017)

“Improving Teaching: Strengthening the College Learning Experience,” Dædalus, edited by Sandy Baum & Michael S. McPherson (2019)

Project Videos

Cornell’s Active Learning Initiative video — National Priority: Quality

Florida State University’s Graduation Rates video – National Priority: Completion

Cincinnati State’s Accelerate Program video – National Priority: Affordability

Project Meeting

Young Adult Mental Health and Well-Being: Higher Education’s Responsibility

September 5–6, 2019
House of the Academy
Cambridge, MA

On the campuses of residential colleges and universities, young adults (eighteen to twenty-five years old) are experiencing an intensifying crisis of their mental health and well-being. Students have increasing levels of depression and anxiety, which interfere with and may interrupt both their academic and developmental progress.

In many instances, higher education institutions have responded by expanding mental health services and resources that focus on the individual student’s needs. However, the availability and provision of clinical care do not appear to be mitigating the crisis. Perhaps a pivot to a systemic intra- and inter-institutional response is required. Both mental health leaders and university presidents may need to consider addressing issues of academic climate and culture, both on campuses and as promoted by the higher education institutions collectively.

In this gathering of university presidents and mental health leaders, several critical issues were considered: the role of higher education in the development of young adults; what students are telling us about their mental health during college and graduate education; how the current research on young adult development and well-being can frame our thinking; and how colleges and universities can engage with other institutions and entities to jointly foster the mental health of young adults. The goals of this meeting were to explore the roles colleges and universities have in creating campus cultures that foster student mental health and well-being; to deepen understanding of how recent research can inform this work; and to identify pathways forward.