In August, NCA signed on to a statement from the American Council of Learned Societies regarding the role of the humanities and social sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement reads, in part, “At this critical moment in history, humanistic knowledge – the study of languages, history, culture, the arts, anthropology, archaeology, communication, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, rhetoric, sociology, regional studies, and interdisciplinary areas – is crucial to envisioning and realizing a better future for the world. For this reason, we believe that humanistic education and scholarship must remain central to campus communities and conversations.”
In September, NCA signed on to an American Physiological Society letter to Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) in support of Representative Johnson’s call for a study to assess systemic racism in academia. The letter reads, in part, “Across disciplines, demographic representation throughout the ranks of academia still fails to reflect the diversity of our society. We are hopeful that a comprehensive study by the NASEM will yield the data and tools that the academic community needs to pursue evidence-based changes leading to more rapid progress.”
NCA also signed on to a September Alliance for Aging Research letter to the leaders of federal health care agencies. The letter urges federal leaders to rise above politics and focus on providing the American public with information about the well-established guidelines in place to ensure safe and effective COVID-19 prevention, detection, and treatment. The letter reads, in part, “By sticking to science, you build public faith in the process. Stand strong and we will join with you to communicate that scientists are leading the way to ensure treatments and vaccines are safe and effective – and in turn – lead the nation to full recovery.”
Toward the end of September, NCA signed on to a statement from the American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education in support of anti-racist education. The statement reads, in part, “We need in essence more and better education about race and racism without the imposition of a federal government view about what it can and cannot include. Despite the progress that the nation has made toward racial equality, we recognize that we still have a long way to go.”
Full statements and letters can be found on the public policy page of the NCA website.