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American
Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects Two Barnard Scholars to
Membership
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Rae
Silver
Mary
Mothersill
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New
York, NY, May 6, 2003--Rae Silver, the Helene L. and Mark
N. Kaplan Professor of Natural and Physical Sciences, and
Mary Mothersill, professor of philosophy emeritus, have been
elected Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
-- the first Barnard College scholars to receive the honor.
They join a distinguished group that includes 150 Nobel Laureates
and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Silver, who joined Barnard’s psychology department in
1976, and then became the Helene L. and Mark N. Kaplan Professor
of Natural and Physical Sciences in 1990, specializes in physiological
psychology with an interest in anatomy and behavioral endocrinology.
Her work focuses on hormonal control of reproductive behavior
and on circadian rhythms in behavior. One line of inquiry
involves the use of brain transplantation techniques to study
the function of the neural clock in hamsters.
Mothersill, a philosopher of aesthetics and art, taught at
Barnard from 1964 until her retirement in 1993, serving as
chair of the philosophy department for much of that time.
Her 1984 book Beauty Restored was described by the
Academy as "one of the best discussions of the topics
in analytical philosophy-- rigorous, erudite, historically
and artistically informed, combining the best of Hume and
Kant in a modern synthesis." She is also the past president
of the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division).
"It gives me great pleasure to welcome these outstanding
and influential individuals to the nation’s oldest and
most illustrious learned society. Election to the American
Academy is an honor that acknowledges the best of all scholarly
fields and professions. Newly elected Fellows are selected
through a highly competitive process that recognizes those
who have made preeminent contributions to their disciplines,"
said Academy President Patricia Meyer Spacks. Leslie C. Berlowitz,
the Academy’s Executive Officer, added, "The American
Academy is unique among academies for its breadth and scope.
Throughout its history, the Academy has gathered individuals
with diverse perspectives to participate in studies and projects
focusing on advancing intellectual thought and constructive
action. In the past year, the Academy has focused on issues
from advancing the humanities relevance in American society
to analyzing the cost of war in Iraq. We know that this year’s
Fellows will continue in the Academy’s tradition of cherishing
knowledge."
Silver and Mothersill are among a distinguished group of 187
Fellows and 29 Foreign Honorary Members elected this year,
including Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations;
journalist Walter Cronkite; philanthropist William H. Gates,
Sr., co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; novelist
Michael Cunningham; recording industry pioneer Ray Dolby;
artist Cindy Sherman; and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Donald
Glaser. New Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members are nominated
and elected by current members of the Academy. Members are
divided into five distinct classes: mathematics and physics;
biological sciences; social sciences; humanities and arts;
and public affairs and business. The unique structure of the
American Academy allows Members to conduct interdisciplinary
studies that draw on the range of academic and intellectual
disciplines.
The Academy, founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin,
John Hancock, and other scholar-patriots, includes influential
leaders of each generation, from George Washington and Ben
Franklin in the 18th century, to Daniel Webster and Ralph
Waldo Emerson in the 19th, and Albert Einstein and Winston
Churchill in the 20th.
A full list of new Members is available on the Academy website
at http://www.amacad.org/news/new2003.htm.
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