Fresh from the founding of a brand new country with a Big Idea (but still in the throes of the Revolution), John Adams was among the founders of the storied American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Devoted to bringing diverse thinkers, professions and talents to the task of creating and communicating knowledge to serve this new nation, the earliest members of the Academy included George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Its membership through these centuries are civilization’s legends—like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

As we begin our reflections of the 250th year of our shared experiment, we are truly honored to bring you the current president of The Academy, Dr. Laurie L. Patton.

With facilitator Steve Seibert, former chair of Florida Humanities (and The Village Square), we’ll contemplate the hero arc storyline of this founding institution and how it’s shaping what comes next in America.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation and Florida Humanities.