President Shapiro Elected to Academy of Arts and Sciences

Barnard President Judith Shapiro has been elected to the Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with 203 other established scholars, scientists, artists,and civic and corporate leaders, the academy announced on April 30.

Shapiro, who is stepping down after 14 years as Barnard's president at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year, said she is excited about the nomination.

"I feel greatly honored. I already have many friends and colleagues who are in the academy and I've been receiving lovely letters of congratulation from them. I was delighted to learn that my fellow electee is [New York City] Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg. I am very much hoping that we can carpool together for meetings," Shapiro said.

"It gives me great pleasure to welcome these outstanding leaders in their fields to the academy," Emilio Bizzi, the academy's president, stated in a press release. "Fellows are selected through a highly competitive process that recognizes individuals who have made pre-eminent contributions to their disciplines and to society at large."

Former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and filmmaker Spike Lee were also elected to the academy. Shapiro joins other Columbia notables who are in the academy. Both University President Lee Bollinger and DeWitt Clinton Professor of History Eric Foner, CC '63 and Ph.D. '69, are already members.

The academy is an independent policy research center that studies emerging problems within society, according to its Web site. Science, global security, social policy, the humanities, and education are topics that the academy is currently focusing its research on.

"What's really nice about the AAAS is that it's a place to have an intellectual interchange with people in fields different from your own," Shapiro said.

"Everyone at Barnard is immensely proud of her, and this is a huge honor. If you look at this list of academy members, its a who's who of the most gifted and accomplished minds in the world. President Shapiro will fit right in," said Joanne Kwong, head of media relations for Barnard.

"I'm proud that someone from Barnard can make it into such a distinguished crowd of influential people like Al Gore and Mayor Bloomberg. I think it's sad that she's resigning, but its understandable-maybe she needs a change to continue to pursue other projects," Emily Kogut, BC '10, said.

Shapiro and the rest of this year's class will be inducted at the academy's annual ceremony, to be held on October 6 at its headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.