American Academy of Arts and Sciences Inducts 234th Class of Members

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences today inducted 157 members, from leading scientists, authors, and business executives, to the heads of academic, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in the United States and abroad.

Ocean explorer and discoverer of the Titanic Robert Ballard, writer for the New Yorker Jill Lepore, short story writer Amy Hempel, dancer-choreographer Tere O’Connor, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Carlyle Group David Rubenstein were among the inductees. Yale University professor John Fabian Witt and Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Hammond read from the Letters of John and Abigail Adams.

The ceremony included talks by five new inductees: Yale physics professor Ramamurti Shankar; ecologist and professor of biology at Colorado State University Diana Wall; Massachusetts Institute of Technology sociologist and social networking expert Sherry Turkle; University of Michigan history professor Mary Kelley; and John W. Rogers, Jr., Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Ariel Investments.
“This weekend, we recognize the achievements of an accomplished group of leaders, from every field and discipline, who have contributed so much to our nation and the world,” said Academy President Jonathan Fanton. “Through the Academy they will find new opportunities to collaborate in service to the greater good.”

Founded in 1780, the American Academy is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious learned societies, and an independent research center that draws from its members’ expertise to conduct studies in science and technology policy, global security, the humanities and culture, social policy, and education.

Members of the 2014 class include winners of the Nobel Prize; the Wolf Prize; the Pulitzer Prize; National Medal of the Arts; MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Fulbright Fellowships; and Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

In addition to the Induction ceremony, weekend events also included:

Readings by writers Frank Lentricchia and Jill Lepore, poets Mary Jo Salter and Linda Gregerson and video performances by musician Ralph Stanley and choreographer Tere O’Connor on October 10.
A Briefing on October 11 featuring presentations by leaders of Academy policy projects including Science, Engineering & Technology, Global Security & International Affairs, and Humanities, Education and Social Policy.
A presentation by Robert D. Ballard, Ocean Exploration Trust/University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography whose work in underwater archaeology includes discovering the wrecks of the Titanic, the Bismarck, the USS Yorktown, the nuclear sub Thresher (on a top-secret mission for the Navy — for which the Titanic was his cover story) and John F. Kennedy’s PT-109.