On the evening of September 21, 2017, the Academy inaugurated the twentieth year of its fellowship program, welcoming the thirty-ninth class of fellows—a vibrant group of writers, artists, and scholars from across the United States. Opening remarks were delivered by Academy president Michael P. Steinberg, an introduction was delivered by Jutta Allmendinger, president of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), followed by the fall 2017 fellows introducing themselves and their projects.