George Washington University President Steven Knapp and Martha Finnemore, professor of political science and international affairs, were inducted as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) on Oct. 1. AAAS is one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research.
At a ceremony in Cambridge, Mass., Dr. Knapp, Dr. Finnemore and 210 other newly elected members were officially inducted into the society. The new members signed their names in the academy’s Book of Members, a tradition that dates to 1781.
“It is truly an honor to join Professor Finnemore and so many distinguished colleagues as a newly inducted fellow of this renowned institution,” Dr. Knapp said. “It is also humbling to reflect on the extent of the academy’s contributions, over more than two centuries, to our nation’s knowledge and welfare.”
A specialist in Romanticism, literary theory and the relation of literature to philosophy and religion, Dr. Knapp taught at the University of California, Berkeley, before serving as dean of arts and sciences and then provost at the Johns Hopkins University. He became president of GW in 2007.
Dr. Finnemore, whose research focuses on global governance, international organizations, ethics and social theory, is the author of several prize-winning books and a variety of articles.
“I am deeply grateful and honored that I have been elected to AAAS,” said Dr. Finnemore. “I am delighted that my colleagues are so supportive of me and could never have achieved this without them.”
Participants in the ceremony, among others, included singer-songwriter Paul Simon; Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family; and Sir Adam Roberts, president of the British Academy and one of the foremost experts on international strategic affairs.
AAAS was founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock and other scholar-patriots. Each year, AAAS elects men and women who have exceptional achievement in science, scholarship, business, public affairs or the arts. Distinguished members have included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill.
Today, there are more than 4,000 fellows, including more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 600 foreign honorary academy members. Members contribute to studies of science and technology policy, global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and education.