Robert B. Townsend is Program Director for Humanities, Arts, and Culture at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In this role, he oversees Humanities, Arts, and Culture programs and day-to-day work on the Humanities Indicators. Prior to his current role at the Academy, he spent 24 years at the American Historical Association, in positions ranging from editorial assistant to deputy director. He is the author of History’s Babel: Scholarship, Professionalization, and the Historical Enterprise in the United States, 1880-1940 (University of Chicago Press, 2013) and author or co-author of over 200 articles on various aspects of history, higher education, and public humanities. He received his Ph.D. in history from George Mason University.