Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy's elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs. With a current membership of 4,000 American Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members, the Academy has four major goals:

• Promoting service and study through analysis of critical social and intellectual issues and the development of practical policy alternatives; 
• Fostering public engagement and the exchange of ideas with meetings, conferences, and symposia bringing diverse perspectives to the examination of issues of common concern; 
• Mentoring a new generation of scholars and thinkers through the Visiting Scholars Program; and
• Honoring excellence by electing to membership men and women in a broad range of disciplines and professions.

The Academy's main headquarters is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With its geographically diverse membership, it has active programming around the United States and abroad.