Melani Cammett and Taeku Lee have been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining a distinguished class of nearly 250 new members.
Their election recognizes their outstanding contributions to political science and public policy, as well as their commitment to advancing research that informs contemporary challenges.
Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs in the Department of Government, is renowned for her scholarship on identity politics, conflict, and development in the Middle East and other contexts. She is currently working on a book project that explores how people live together after violence, focusing on Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland.
She is also Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard.
Melani said: “I was deeply honored to learn this news and I am all the more invigorated to continue my research on politics and social relations after “ethnic” violence. It is a privilege to be part of such an esteemed group and I look forward to contributing to and working with colleagues in the Academy.”
Taeku Lee, Bae Family Professor of Government, is a leading voice on racial and ethnic politics, public opinion and political behavior, identity and inequality, and deliberative and participatory democracy. He recently published Race and Inequality in American Politics: An Imperfect Union (with Zoltan Hajnal and Vincent Hutchings) and his next book, Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How It Could Save Democracy (with Pepper Culpepper) is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Press.
He also serves as President of the American Political Science Association and has recently been named faculty dean of Dunster House.
Taeku added: “This is an immense and humbling honor. The Academy is a singular institution in America whose work is so vital today. Like Melani, I very much look forward to joining and collaborating with esteemed colleagues in the Academy.”
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convenes leaders from across disciplines to address significant societal issues through independent, nonpartisan research. Election to the Academy is one of the nation’s highest honors, celebrating individuals whose work has advanced the common good and enriched intellectual life.
Cammett and Lee’s inclusion reflects both the breadth and impact of their scholarship. As Academy members, they will join efforts to shape interdisciplinary approaches to global and national policy challenges through engaged dialogue, study, and collaboration.