Colonel William A. Phillips

The National Institute of Social Sciences (NISS) is one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. The stated mission of NISS is to promote the study of the social sciences, to support social science research and discussion, and to honor individuals who have rendered distinguished service to humanity.

NISS is headquartered in New York City.

Current activities

Since 1913, NISS has presented Gold Medals that celebrate the accomplishments of distinguished Americans and world leaders who have contributed at the highest level to the welfare and improvement of society. Gold Medal honorees, which include four U.S. presidents and 16 Nobel Prize winners, represent outstanding achievement in the social sciences, law, government, education, philanthropy, the arts, medicine, science, and industry.

The organization sponsors speaking engagements on critical issues. It supports graduate students in the final stages of completing their dissertations through a grants program.

Early history

The National Institute of Social Sciences traces its origins to the American Social Science Association, or ASSA, which was established in 1865 in Boston as the American Association for the Promotion of Social Science. The ASSA was chartered by an act of the 56th Congress on January 28, 1899.^[1] In 1912, the ASSA established NISS as a distinct department. In 1926, when the ASSA dissolved, an act of Congress transferred its congressional charter to the NISS "for the furtherance of the interests of social science."^[2]

Gold Medals

The NISS original constitution states the organization's goal "to promote the study of Social Science and to reward distinguished services rendered to humanity, either by election to the National Institute, or by the bestowal of medals or other insignia.”^[3]

In 1913 the NISS bestowed its first Gold Medals in recognition of significant contributions to humanity. The first recipients were William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States, Archer M. Huntington, founder of the Hispanic Society of America, and Samuel L. Parrish, founder of the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY. Each year since 1913, (except for 1922), the organization has presented Gold Medals to distinguished individuals.

The National Institute's Gold Medal was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser, a noted sculptor with a specialty in medals.

Honorees

Research support

In its first two decades, the National Institute published an annual Journal of the National Institute of Social Sciences, which included articles by members and scholars. The 1920 journal, for example, included articles by the noted economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen and academic Virginia Gildersleeve.^[6]

In the 1970s, the National Institute supported a national project on experiential education. The project was begun in 1974 by Frank Pace Jr., the NISS president, to strengthen field experiential education and support the NISS's "original mission and function."^[7]

Grants and scholarships

In 2011 the Institute began awarding Dissertation Grants (originally called Seed Grants) to graduate students completing dissertations in social science fields.^[8] In 2016, it was announced that Hirokazu Shirado, then a graduate student at Yale University, would receive the fourth Seed Grant through this program.^[9] The 2020 recipients were Gabriel Raeburn,^[10] a doctoral candidate in Religious Studies and History at the University of Pennsylvania, and Francisco Lara-García,^[11] a doctoral candidate and Paul Lazarsfeld Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Columbia University in the City of New York. The 2021 recipient was Emma Gilheany,^[12] a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at the University of Chicago. The 2022 recipients are Betsy Priem, Nicolas Rodrigo, Jessica Schirmer, Cameron McAllister, Brooke McKenna. ^[13]

Advisory Council

In 2022, NISS President Fred Larsen and the Board of Governors established the first Advisory Council, composed of former Gold Medal Honorees, leading scholars in the social sciences and cognate fields, leaders of educational and not-for-profit institutions focused on the social sciences, and distinguished artists, journalists, and performers whose work affects and is concerned with the advancement of knowledge and the betterment of society. The Inaugural Council consists of

• Kwame Anthony Appiah
• Paul Boghossian
• Anthea Butler
• Anthony Roth Costanzo
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• James Grossman
• Kenneth T. Jackson
• Nancy Kidd^[14]
• Edward Liebow^[15]
• Louise Mirrer
• Jennifer Raab
• Elizabeth Barlow Rogers
• Amartya Sen
• Steven Rathgeb Smith^[16]
• Max Stier
• Stacy Wolf^[17]
• Judy Woodruff

References