Academy Honors 13 Harvard Faculty

Thirteen members of the Harvard University faculty were named to the Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) on Tuesday, as the honor society announced its 213 new members.

The AAAS has named honorees each year since its 1790 founding, commemorating contributions of academics in fields ranging from mathematics and hard science to literature and architecture.

“Throughout its history, the Academy has convened the leading thinkers of the day, from diverse perspectives, to participate in projects and studies that advance the public good,” said AAAS Executive Officer Leslie Berlowitz. “I am confident that this distinguished class of new Fellows will continue that tradition of cherishing knowledge and shaping the future.”

The Academy’s broad membership, according to the AAAS website, enables “a unique capacity to conduct a wide range of interdisciplinary studies and public policy research.”

Harvard’s newest representatives in the AAAS include professors from across the University.

Gutman Professor of Latin American Affairs and Director of the David Rockefeller Center John Coatsworth, Law School Dean Elena Kagan, and Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby were among the 13 elected into the Academy.

“The AAAS is a great organization, and I’m both honored and delighted to have been chosen as a member,” Kagan wrote in an e-mail.

“New members are elected by current members,” explained AAAS Director of Publication Phyllis Bendell. “They receive nominations and there is a review process of their scholarship and work. The criteria for nomination and election is distinction in their particular fields.”

“Election to AAAS is a very gratifying sign of recognition by my fellow scholars,” Belfer Professor of International Affairs Stephen Walt wrote of his election into the Academy in an e-mail. “One never knows quite why some people are selected and others are not, but I assume it is partly a response to scholarship, partly to my broader work as a teacher, editor, and administrator, and partly due to plain good luck.”

This year, 13 Harvard representatives were elected, more than any other institution. Last year, 10 Harvard affiliates were elected.

“There is no quota or number that we try to fill for each university,” Bendell said.

Donner Professor of Science Cumrun Vafa, who was also honored, wrote in an e-mail that he was “glad to see so many of my colleagues at Harvard elected to AAAS, though given the quality of faculty here, this is not very surprising.”

Although the AAAS is situated in Cambridge, Bendell affirms that there is no connection between the AAAS’ location and the number of Harvard nominations. “Our members are elected completely based on their scholarship. We have members from all over the United States,” she said.

“When one gets an individual honor like this, it is also a reflection on the support of one’s associates and the institution,” Jay Lorsh, a newly elected Academy member and Kirstein Professor of Human Relations at the Business School, wrote in an e-mail. “After all, none of us are lone wolves!”

On October 8, Harvard’s 13 new members will join the other new Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members at the Academy’s annual induction ceremony.