On May 8th, 2008, AAPSS President Douglas S. Massey inducted six scholars as Fellows of the Academy, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to social science and their sustained efforts to communicate their research beyond their disciplines. They included: Geoffrey Cowan, Professor of Communication, University of Southern California, Ernst Fehr, Director of the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics University of Zurich, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Terrie Moffitt, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University and Professor of Social Behavior and Development, King’s College London, Elinor Ostrom, Professor of Political Science, and Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, and Samuel Preston, Professor of Demography, University of Pennsylvania.
In inducting the new Fellows, Professor Massey spoke of the important role the social and political sciences have to play in setting the public agenda and improving public policy. “Tonight we are honoring individuals who have not only accomplished impressive intellectual breakthroughs–but who have done so with their eyes firmly focused on advancing the public good,” he noted.
At the installation dinner, which was held at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, each of the new Fellows spoke about how they felt their research had influenced public policy in ways that they welcomed.
