American Academy Welcomes New Fellows
On October 14, more than 110 new Fellows from around the country
and the world gathered at the American Academy's Cambridge House to take part
in an elegant and intellectually vibrant Induction Ceremony.
At the daylong program, Academy officers and current Fellows
welcomed this year's diverse class of scholars, scientists, civic leaders,
writers, and
businesspeople, and introduced them to the Academy's 220-year
history and ambitious roster of ongoing studies and projects. After
congratulating the new inductees, Vice President Patricia Albjerg Graham
(Harvard University) called on them to help the Academy continue its tradition
of conducting interdisciplinary, pathbreaking studies and "identifying and
exploring critical social and intellectual issues, even before their importance
is widely recognized."
After Graham and Secretary Emilio Bizzi (MIT) welcomed the new
Fellows at the afternoon program, Communications Secretary Leon Eisenberg
(Harvard) traced the history of the Academy seal,
Stated Meetings and Communications. Adding her greetings, Executive
Officer Leslie Berlowitz provided new Fellows with an overview of the
Academy today. She described the three major project areas:
Science, Security and International Cooperation;
Humanities and Culture; and Children,
Higher Education and Social Policy. Academy projects focus on "complex,
long-range issues that have no easy solutions," she explained, "and they
address these challenges by bringing together scholars and policymakers who
combine theoretical analysis with practical recommendations for action."
Several Fellows gave new members a glimpse into a range of current
Academy studies and projects. Patricia Meyer Spacks (University of Virginia)
spoke about the rationale for a multipronged Academy project that will
"confront the central challenges facing the humanities" by developing and
communicating a better understanding of the vital role they play in American
life (see story). Population biologist Joel Cohen
(Rockefeller and Columbia Universities) discussed a proposed project that would
investigate the premise that "educating well all children from the age of 6 to
16 would add value to their lives and do much to address the interacting
problems of population, economics, the environment and culture (see
story)." Matthew Meselson (Harvard) briefed new members about Academy
work on international law and biological and chemical arms
control. "Biological weapons are truly different from earlier weapons
systems because they can directly change what it means to be human," he
suggested. The presentations were followed by a lively discussion with new
Fellows.
After these briefings, inductees attended a late afternoon concert
by the Boston Trio, the Academy's chamber ensemble in residence. Fellow Jerrold
Meinwald (Cornell University) accompanied the Trio, on flute, for a performance
of Bach's Trio Sonata in D minor.
During the evening Induction Ceremony, each of the 110 new Fellows
came to the stage to sign the Member's Book and be greeted by officers of the
Academy. Current Fellows representing each of the five Classes also welcomed
the inductees. Greeters for each class were, for Class I, Charles
Peskin (New York University); for Class II, Joel Cohen (Rockefeller and
Columbia Universities); for Class III, Orlando Patterson (Harvard University);
for Class IV, Patricia Meyer Spacks (University of Virginia); and for Class V,
Richard Meserve (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission).
At the 1837th Stated Meeting that followed the ceremony,
representatives of each Class addressed fellow inductees, current Academy
members, and guests about the challenges facing the world and the Academy.
Their presentations showcased the enormous intellectual range that
characterizes this class of new Fellows—and the membership of the Academy
as a whole:
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Wendy Freedman, Carnegie Institution of Washington, representing Mathematics
and the Physical Sciences (Class I), spoke about the enormous changes that have
taken place in our understanding of cosmology, and the profound cosmological
questions that remain unanswered at the dawn of a new century;
-
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ecologist Hal Caswell, from the Biological
Sciences (Class II), painted a stark picture of the sharply increasing rate of
species extinction;
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From the Social Sciences (Class III), Yale Law Professor, and Assistant
Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Harold Hongju Koh
traced the recent "globalization of human freedom" and suggested that the
Academy can draw on its broad-based membership to support the new institutions
that are being built to strengthen democracy in countries throughout the world;
-
Speaking for the Humanities and Arts (Class IV), novelist Allan Gurganus
delivered a playful sermon in which he reminded audience members that we are
all animals, "a "little shaggy," and that in the "mind-body split, the mind is,
well, a passenger."
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Rockefeller Foundation President Gordon Conway, representing Public Affairs,
Business, and Administration (Class V), drew from his experience supporting
overseas development in poor nations to explain that sustained economic growth
requires "partnerships between the government, the private sector, and
nongovernmental organizations." He added that "the Academy is especially
effective at creating partnerships."
At the conclusion of this Stated Meeting, poets and new Fellows
Heather McHugh (University of Washington, Seattle) and Paul Muldoon (Princeton
University) read from their works, Qua Qua Qua and Anonymous: Myself and
Pangur, respectively.
For more information please call Phyllis Bendell at (617) 576-5047 or
email her at pbendell@amacad.org.
Back to the November 2000 Newsletter
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