University President Teresa Sullivan was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Saturday at a ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Founded in 1780, the Academy is one of the nation’s oldest honorary societies and independent policy research groups. Members of the Academy have included George Washington, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sullivan said she is honored to be a part of “such esteemed company.”
“When I reflect on the Academy’s Class of 2015 and all of the inductees over the past 235 years, as well as the personal achievements that these inductees represent, I am struck by the magnitude of the honor,” Sullivan said in an email statement.
The Academy’s Class of 2015 also includes astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and University alumna Janet Napolitano, who is president of the University of California system.
The Academy conducts research in a multitude of disciplines in order to enact change in complex problems, University Deputy Spokesperson Matthew Charles said in an email statement. Members contribute to publications and studies conducted by the Academy.
Before her selection, Sullivan was nominated and selected by current Academy members.
According to Dave Nuscher, the Academy’s chief communications officer, members are selected based on excellence in their respective fields and “the high likelihood that they are willing to provide service to the academy in its interdisciplinary research work.”
Sullivan’s experience in the field of higher education administration includes her work on the Cornerstone Plan — the strategic plan for the University as it enters its third century — and the completion of the University’s $3 billion capital campaign in 2013.
Sullivan became president of the University in 2010 after serving as the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan. She is also a scholar in labor force demography.
As a member of the Academy, Sullivan will have several responsibilities and opportunities “to strengthen the work of the Academy,” Nuscher said.
Sullivan will be asked to nominate members in the future and to be part of the selection process. She may also participate in Academy research, and potentially “serve as another set of eyes” on research not directly related to education, Nuscher said.
Through her induction, Sullivan joins the 32 other University faculty or former faculty who are members of the Academy, including former University president John Casteen, former Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and award-winning historian Edward Ayers and Thomas Jefferson.
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