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The American Philosophical Society is pleased to announce Robert D. Putnam as the recipient of the 2026 Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences, presented in recognition of Dr. Putnam’s rigorous empirical research to identify and analyze central challenges facing democracy in the 21st century.
The Thomas Jefferson Medal, established by the American Philosophical Society in 1993 through an act of Congress, is the Society’s highest award for the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The award honors Thomas Jefferson’s devotion to learning by recognizing individuals whose scholarship and creativity have significantly advanced understanding in their fields and informed public life.
Robert Putnam, elected to the APS in 2005, is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and a leading scholar of social capital, civic engagement, and democracy. He co-founded the influential Saguaro Seminar, uniting thinkers and practitioners to explore means of civic renewal, has served as Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Director of Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and President of the American Political Science Association. His wide-ranging empirical research has shaped scholarly and public understanding of how social networks, associations, and trust influence political life and community wellbeing. His books and articles have reached audiences across academia, policymaking, and the general public, and his research has informed debates about civic renewal and democratic resilience.
Dr. Putnam’s pioneering studies outlining how social capital has declined in America, especially in his landmark book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community in which Dr. Putnam provides original and invaluable insights into the causes, scope, and possible cures for the heightened political disengagement and diminished civic trust that today endanger democratic self-governance. In Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, Dr. Putnam analyzes the sources of diminishing social mobility in the United States, and in The Upswing: How Americans Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, he shows how eroded social capital can be and has been rebuilt. During the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, initially drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the American Philosophical Society is proud to award its Jefferson Medal to Robert Putnam for his distinguished contributions to useful knowledge in the service of democracy.
The 2026 Jefferson Medal selection committee included Caroline W. Bynum, Rogers M. Smith, Roger S. Bagnall, and Patrick Spero. The Jefferson Medal will be presented to Dr. Putnam on April 24, 2026, during the Society’s April Meeting.