Founded in September 1994, The American Academy in Berlin is an independent, private, non-partisan center that works to strengthen the transatlantic relationship by promoting intellectual and cultural exchange. It does so by awarding residential fellowships to accomplished Americans in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and public policy, as well as through programming and partnerships with organizations in the United States and Germany. Serving alternately as quiet haven and wellspring of intellectual life, the American Academy in Berlin strives to narrow the transatlantic divide while bolstering excellence in scholarship. It hosts roughly two dozen American academics, policy experts, writers, and artists at the Hans Arnhold Center each year for advanced study in their respective areas of expertise.