American Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects 20 from Harvard

Twenty Harvard affiliates were elected last week to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the most prominent honorary societies in the country.

Faculty members selected for the society span the disciplines, from Economics Professor David I. Laibson ’88 to Neurobiology Professor David P. Corey, English Professor Louis Menand to Business School senior lecturer Robert F. Higgins ’68.

Founded in 1780 by John Adams and other political intellectuals, the Academy counts 4,600 among its members, including scientists, writers, scholars, and artists, as well as corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders, more than 250 Nobel laureates, and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

Among those selected is Harvard history and law professor Annette Gordon-Reed, famous for her work on four generations of a slave family descended from Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.

“I was thrilled to learn that I had been elected to the Academy,” Gordon-Reed wrote in an email. “Given the Academy’s history and the roster of its members, it’s such an honor to now be a part of it.”

Several members of the faculty at Harvard Law School have previously earned the honor, such as Dean Martha L. Minow, former Dean and current Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, and University Professor Laurence H. Tribe ’62.

“I’m delighted that Annette Gordon-Reed has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” Tribe said. “It makes me all the prouder to be a member.”

The Harvard affiliates who will be inducted into the society at an Oct. 1 ceremony are Professor James I. Cash Jr., Professor Timothy J. Colton, Professor David P. Corey, Professor George Q. Daley ’82, Professor Philip J. Fisher, Dean Julio Frenk, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, Professor Daniel A. Haber, senior lecturer Robert F. Higgins ’68, Professor Jay H. Jasanoff ’63, Professor Farish A. Jenkins Jr., lecturer Alex S. Jones, Professor Frances M. Kamm, Professor Thomas F. Kelly, Professor Robert E. Kingston ’76, Professor David I. Laibson ’88, Professor Louis Menand, visiting scholar W. Jason Morgan, Professor Michael R. Van Valkenburgh, and Professor Daniel M. Wegner.