Douglas Massey

On May 7th, 2009, AAPSS President Douglas S. Massey inducted five 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: Mahzarin Banaji, Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University; Alan S. Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University; Morris P. Fiorina, Wendt Family Professor of Political Science and senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University; Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; and Lawrence W. Sherman, Director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and Wolfson Professor of Criminology at the University of Cambridge.

In inducting the new Fellows, Professor Massey noted that they also shared “a belief in the value of bringing the power of the intellectual realm --and the weight of data, research, and evidence--to bear on society’s most vexing policy issues.  We have come together to honor a set of individuals who have made particular contributions in that arena—using the power of their intellects and cutting-edge research to fight poverty, to attack crime and gun violence on our city streets; and to propose an entirely new approach to foreign policy beyond the use of military force. They have helped chart a course for the American economy in the midst of turmoil, to understand the way the unconscious fuels dangerous prejudices and stereotypes, and to improve the ability of elected leaders to understand and better reflect their constituents’ preferences.”

At the installation dinner, which was held at the Newseum in Washington, DC, the new Fellows spoke about how they felt their research had influenced public policy in ways that they welcomed. To read, or listen to, their acceptance speeches, click on the photos below.

Mahzarin Banaji	Alan Blinder	Morris Fiorina
Joseph Nye	Lawrence Sherman