Apr 23, 2009 - Claremont, Calif. - Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences—one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and a center for independent policy research. She is joined by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U2 lead singer and advocate for humanitarian causes Bono, and actors Dustin Hoffman and James Earl Jones, among others.

The 2009 class of fellows and foreign honorary members includes 231 leaders in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, business, public affairs and the nonprofit sector. The group, which covers 28 states and 11 countries, ranges in age from 33 to 83, and represents universities, museums, national laboratories, private research institutes, businesses and foundations. Elected individuals also include Nobel laureates and recipients of the Pulitzer and Pritzker prizes; MacArthur Fellowships; Academy, Grammy, and Tony awards; and the National Medal of Arts.

"I am stunned to be on the same list as people like Nelson Mandela, Judith Dench, Michael Chabon and Lene Hau," said Klawe. "It is a true honor to be part of such a prestigious organization and among such accomplished people, both past and present."

Scientists among the new fellows include: co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology Mario Capecchi, recognized for his contributions to gene targeting; physicist Lene Hau, whose experimental work succeeded in stopping a beam of light; pathologist Peter Nowell, who revolutionized our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer; and many others.

In the humanities and arts, new members include, among others: Civil War historian James McPherson and singer and songwriter Emmylou Harris.

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III and California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George are among those elected in law. They join members of the academy who serve as justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and several state supreme courts, along with other leading jurists and legal scholars.

In public affairs and business, the academy elected National Public Radio journalist Susan Stamberg and Chiron Corporation founder Edward Penhoet, among others.

The Academy elected 19 foreign honorary members from Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and Israel. They include, among others: 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela, who guided the reconciliation of South Africa in the post-Apartheid era; British actress Judith Dench; and the president of the German Academy of Sciences, Volker ter Meulen.

Klawe was one of seven fellows elected in the computer sciences. Other higher education presidents elected as fellows include H. Kim Bottomly (Wellesley College); John Casteen III (University of Virginia); Ronald Daniels (Johns Hopkins University); Joseph Polisi (The Julliard School) and James Wagner (Emory University).

The academy, established in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock and other scholar-patriots, undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems.

Current projects focus on science, technology and global security; social policy and American institutions; the humanities and culture; and education.

The academy’s membership of scholars and practitioners from many disciplines and professions gives it a unique capacity to conduct a wide range of interdisciplinary, long-term policy research.

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 10 at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Since its founding, the academy has elected as members the finest minds and most influential leaders from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the 20th. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

For a complete list of the 2009 class of fellows and foreign honorary members, click here.