The Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences was convened by the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
at the request of Senators
Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee fro ...
(R-
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
) and
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governo ...
(R-
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
) and Representatives
Tom Petri
Thomas Evert Petri (born May 28, 1940) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1979 to 2015; he is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life
Petri was born in Marinette, Wisconsin. When he was a toddler, his fat ...
(R-
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
) and
David Price (D-
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
).
On June 19, 2013, the Commission issued its initial report ''The Heart of the Matter,'' along with a companion film created specially with the aid of
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...
and
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
.
The Commission was chaired by
Richard H. Brodhead
Richard Halleck Brodhead (born April 17, 1947) is an American scholar of 19th-century American literature and served as the ninth president of Duke University.
Early life and education
Brodhead was born April 17, 1947, in Dayton, Ohio. His fami ...
, President of
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, and
John W. Rowe, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the larges ...
Corporation. Other Commission members included university, college, and community college presidents, museum directors, public servants, corporate executives, humanists, social scientists, and artists.
The Commission’s report has received wide press coverage and statements of support from at least fifteen national and state organizations.
Statements of Support for the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences
References
External links
American Academy ''Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences''
Humanities Indicators, a project of the American Academy
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Humanities organizations
Social sciences organizations
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