Aspen Society Member Handbook

“The Society of Fellows programs, especially the symposia, are an important part of my continuing education. The knowledge I have acquired over the years has given me the confidence to move from thought to action – to say what I believe and to do what I can. For example, the 2017 symposium on the tribalization of media and the post-truth world was the impetus for me to encourage our local University to discuss media literacy with its students. We were part of a grass roots effort to tackle a subject which put media literacy on the radar for lawmakers and educators across the country.” – Quote from longtime SOF member, Sue Oates, on the impact that her participation in this program has made on her life.

What is the Aspen Society?

The Aspen Society is a national community of diverse and distinguished leaders who sustain and support the values-based work of the Aspen Institute. Society members enjoy unparalleled access to Institute programs and events, including unique experiences with nationally recognized speakers and thought leaders. They are the first to know about Aspen Institute events, and they receive special invitations to member-exclusive programs across the country.

The early days of the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Society (formerly known as the Society of Fellows) were rooted in the Aspen Executive Seminar: an eight-day retreat for American businessmen to re-evaluate their values, guided by the texts of Aristotle, Plato, the Federalist Papers, and other notable Western works included in University of Chicago professor Mortimer Adler’s Great Book Series.

The Aspen Society was founded in 1964 as an alumni program for Executive Seminar participants so that they could keep in touch and continue learning together. The original membership consisted of 33 Seminar alumni who met in Elizabeth Paepcke’s living room in Aspen, CO and engaged in strengthening the humanities to give greater meaning to man and wiser direction to society. Since 1964, the Aspen Society has continued to embrace the seminar model by offering symposia on a variety of topics, such as “Globalization and the Human Condition” and “Medical Ethics: The Roots of Healthcare Debate”. Today, these dialogues moderated by leading experts continue to provide an in-depth exploration of current events and enduring issues from arts and culture to foreign and domestic policy.