In his annual faculty address Thursday, President Richard Brodhead spoke of the importance of the humanities—an issue recently taken on by Congress.
Brodhead will co-chair the newly-formed Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. The commission, created by the academy, is set to emphasize the humanities and social sciences over the next 18-24 months.
The formation of the commission is part of a bipartisan effort from two U.S. senators and two U.S. representatives, including Rep. David Price, D-N.C. and former political science and public policy professor at Duke.
“In recent years, people have structured a compelling case that America needs to take seriously its defining role in the arts and sciences,” Brodhead said in an interview. “It’s also true that education in the humanities and the humanistic social sciences needs boosting, as well. The strengths it supplies to everyday life are very important.”
In upcoming months, Brodhead will work closely with John Rowe, the commission’s co-chair and the chairman and chief executive officer of Exelon Corporation, one of the nation’s largest electric companies. Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, said the academy contacted Brodhead about potentially serving in this capacity about six months ago.
The commission will consist of a diverse group of members, such as filmmaker George Lucas, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter and a variety of scholars, policymakers and leaders.
“I must say that I think it is very important that this thing be headed by somebody from the academic sector and somebody from a broad civic sector,” Brodhead said, referring to Rowe and himself. “[The group] is a lot of very smart people who will be able to come at [the issues] from a lot of different ways.”
Throughout the nearly two-year period, the group will work to determine actions that Congress, local governments and other institutions should take to improve excellence in the humanities and sciences. The work will build on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ “Humanities Indicators,” a compilation of statistical data released in February 2010 concerning the state of the humanities.
“As our world becomes more interconnected, building a solid foundation in the humanities is of vital national importance,” Price said in a statement. “Maintaining a robust capacity for teaching and research in these fields will help provide a context and a framework for the most current and urgent policy debates.”
Indeed, many of the backers of the commission have a background in education. Price and Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Wis., chair the Congressional Humanities Caucus, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., previously served as president of the University of Tennessee.
“He has a healthy respect and a healthy background in the humanities himself,” Price’s Press Secretary Andrew High said of the representative’s educational experience. “His personal story is about the power of making sure that accessible opportunities are there in these areas, because he came from a small school to UNC as a Morehead Scholar.”
The establishment of the commission may also benefit Duke, Schoenfeld said. One of the group’s meetings—which will be held across the country—may take place on campus, he added.
“It’s again another affirmation of Duke’s leadership in scholarship and education, and also at the intersection of education and economic development,” Schoenfeld said. “For Duke, it gives us a platform to... learn from a lot of different people. We hope to perhaps have a meeting of the commission on campus.”
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