Geologist James W. Head III, playwright Paula Vogel, and poet Rosmarie Waldrop have been inducted as fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a distinction of excellence in science, scholarship, business, public affairs and the arts. Head and Vogel are professors at Brown; Waldrop is a visiting scholar.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. —The American Academy of Arts and Sciences inducted three members of the Brown University community into its honor society today (Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006). The AAAS fellows include the world’s leading thinkers in scholarship and science, public affairs and business, and the arts.

Among the 175 fellows and 20 foreign honorary members inducted to the American Academy’s 226th class are Presidents William Jefferson Clinton and George H.W. Bush; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, actor and director Martin Scorsese, choreographer Meredith Monk; Henri Loyrette, president and director of the Louvre Museum in Paris; New York Stock Exchange Chairman Marshall Carter; Nobel and Pulitzer Prize laureates, and MacArthur and Guggenheim fellows.

Members of the Brown community in the 226th Class of Fellows:

• James William Head III is the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown. His work is instrumental in the transformation of planets from astronomical objects to geological objects and in documentation and understanding of planetary volcanism, tectonism, climate change and the role of those forces in planetary history.
• Paula Vogel is the Adele Kellenberg Seaver ’49 Professor of Creative Writing. Her play How I Learned to Drive won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Her other plays include the Obie-award winning The Baltimore Waltz, as well as Desdemona, The Mineola Twins and The Oldest Profession.
• Rosmarie Waldrop is a philosophical poet and visiting scholar in the Literary Arts Program. She continues to work at the cutting edge of avant-garde poetry and has produced more than 30 books of poetry. She is also an acclaimed translator and co-editor and publisher of Burning Deck Press, one of the most influential small press publishers of innovative poetry in the United States.

“The Academy takes great pride in honoring the accomplishments of these outstanding and influential individuals,” said new Academy President Emilio Bizzi, who officiated at the proceedings. “Throughout its history, Fellows of the Academy have been dedicated to advancing intellectual thought and constructive action in America and the world. We are confident that our newest group of Fellows will help us fulfill that mission in significant ways.”

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. Members are elected through a highly competitive process that recognizes individuals who have made preeminent contributions to their disciplines and to society at large.

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