American Council of Learned Societies

12/06/2026

ACLS President Joy Connolly shares our vision for a “new academy,” where faculty reward structures are reimagined, doctoral programs evolve, and knowledge connects people across disciplines, institutions, and public spaces.

11/06/2026

Bruce Springsteen described America as "an ongoing, blessed, sacred argument" during his latest tour. For ACLS Chief Financial Officer Matthew Sapienza, the phrase underscored why we need the humanities.

Read more in his reflection on the humanities, democracy, and how it all connects to finance: https://bit.ly/4ekIulf

10/06/2026

In a Chronicle of Higher Education Letter to the Editor, ACLS President Joy Connolly responds to coverage of the new “State of Scholarship” report:

Its authors committed one of the faults they criticize most sharply, writes Joy Connolly.

10/06/2026

In ACLS President Joy Connolly's June Advocacy in Action update, she shares the latest on attacks on humanistic knowledge on the state level, the OMB's proposed overhaul of federal research funding, and the ongoing culture-war debates inside the academy.

Read the full update: https://bit.ly/4omQiHZ

09/06/2026

ACLS has released a statement opposing the Office of Management and Budget’s proposal for new criteria and process for federal funding for scientific research.

Read the full statement:

"Let us be clear: research must not be under the thumb of politicians."

08/06/2026

2026 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellow Danielle Burke is creating a digital map of craftspeople from the Handicraft Movement and inviting the people who still have or use those handiworks today to contribute to the site.

“This particular fellowship was really important for me,” Burke said. “I feel really lucky to receive it, because it has so much more support for building out this kind of atypical research tool.”

Read more from University of Wisconsin-Madison:

PhD student Danielle Burke has received a fellowship to help her create a digital map of craftspeople from the Handicraft Movement and invite the people who still have or use those handiworks today to contribute to the site.

04/06/2026

New book alert! "Disabled Empire: The Colonial Body in First World War Britain" by Hilary R. Buxton, 2023 ACLS Fellow, explores the interactions between military servicemen and medical caregivers during World War I to tell a broader story about race, colonialism, labor, and global health.

03/06/2026

The latest edition of Building Blocks for a New Academy is out today!

In it, ACLS Program Manager Treviene Harris shares three innovative humanities undergraduate programs designed to serve students’ intellectual formation and their lives post-graduation:

In April 2026, I sat down to speak with Sara Holt, chair of Cal Poly Humboldt’s newly minted Applied Humanities department. In the course of our conversation, she said something that has stayed with me: “The student who wants a meaningful life and the student who needs a job are not two differen...

02/06/2026

Happy !

LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Pride Month is not only a celebration, but a time to reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we have left to go regarding liberation for the LGBTQ+ community and for all.

We asked members of the ACLS community to share resources on LGBTQ+ liberation consisting of existing research, published works, podcasts, and any other mediums. Check out the list here: https://bit.ly/3xb2Cll

29/05/2026

The stories we tell, and the stories we hear, shape the choices we make.

Stacy Hartman, ACLS Program Officer for Higher Education Initiatives, shares why we need more literary scholars.