The American Scholar Privacy Policy

The American Scholar (“the Magazine,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, seeks to protect the privacy of our subscribers, members, and visitors to our websites. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures that are intended to safeguard and secure the information we collect online and offline, to prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information to further the mission of The American Scholar.

The following Privacy Policy explains how we treat information gathered through the website theamericanscholar.org (the “Website”), as well as through our print subscription and fulfillment services. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding personal data and other information that we collect in connection with your use of the Website for general information, access to literary, educational, and cultural content, subscription management, newsletter registrations, and donations.

By viewing or using the information, services, and links provided by the Website, or by subscribing to the Magazine, you accept this Privacy Policy.

Overview of Information Collection and Uses

The American Scholar gathers information from subscribers, website visitors, and members via voluntary print and digital subscription registration, voluntary sign-ups for email newsletter lists, online donations, cookie technology, and IP addresses.

We use the information that we collect to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve our Website and digital offerings.

• Process, fulfill, and manage your print and digital magazine subscriptions.

• Send you editorial newsletters, marketing communications, subscription renewal reminders, or updates regarding our podcasts and activities.

• Respond to your questions and customer service inquiries.

• Conduct data analysis and audience research to sustain and grow our readership base.

Information Sharing and Marketing Practices

In general, you may visit the Website without submitting any personal information. However, to provide subscription services and maintain our publication, we collect and share information in the following ways:

• Mailing List Rentals: On occasion, The American Scholar rents its postal mailing list (containing subscriber names and physical mailing addresses) to selected, reputable outside organizations, including other magazines, non-profit organizations, and cultural institutions whose products or services we believe may interest our readers. We do not share email addresses or telephone numbers with these third-party organizations for marketing purposes.

• Subscriber Modeling and Direct Mail Campaigns: To find new readers and grow our community, we securely use our current subscriber database to develop predictive data models. These models help us identify potential new subscribers with similar profiles and interests, allowing us to send targeted physical direct mail invitations to outside lists.

• Opt-Out Rights: We respect your choices regarding your data. If you prefer that your name and postal address not be rented to outside organizations, or if you wish to exclude your information from our subscriber modeling practices, you may opt out at any time. To request exclusion, please contact our subscription fulfillment team at scholar@pbk.org or write to us at the postal address listed below.

• Online Forms and Business Purposes: Some information collected via online forms may be shared on occasion with chapters and associations of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, or with trusted third-party vendors contracted to perform operational services on our behalf (such as subscription fulfillment, printing, billing, and distribution). These third parties are contractually obligated to use your information only to perform their specific business functions.

Online Credit Card Transactions

As a convenience to subscribers and donors, The American Scholar accepts online credit card transactions through secure servers. The credit card information provided by users is processed securely through verified third-party payment gateways. This information is encrypted, used strictly to authorize the specific transaction, and is not stored or used by us for any other purpose.

Information Collected Through Website Navigation

Password-Protected Services & Cookies

The Website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. A cookie is a small piece of data stored on your device that helps us recognize your browser, keep you logged into subscriber-only digital content, and understand how visitors interact with our site.

We utilize the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Crucial for user logins, subscription verification, and payment processing.

• Performance/Analytics Cookies: Used anonymously to track how visitors navigate the site so we can identify popular pages and diagnose technical issues.

• Functionality Cookies: Remember your specific preferences, configurations, or settings.

• Targeting/Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver marketing materials or subscription offers relevant to your interests and to measure the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns.

You can set your web browser to warn you before you accept a cookie, or to refuse cookies altogether. Please note that if you disable cookies, certain personalized features or subscriber-only sections of the Website may not function properly.

Website Administration

Our web servers automatically log standard connectivity data, such as IP addresses. No personal information is inherently attached to these logs. We use this non-identifying, aggregate information to diagnose server issues, administer the Website, and analyze general traffic trends to better design our digital platform.

Privacy Policy Updates

At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy at any time to reflect changing operational practices or regulatory requirements. Any changes will be updated on this page with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the site or subscription services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of those updates.

Questions and Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to update your subscription details, or want to exercise your right to opt out of mailing list rentals and data modeling, please contact us at:

The American Scholar

scholar@pbk.org

1606 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 800-821-4567