The Justice

Prof. Jonathan Sarna

Prof. James Haber

Prof. Gish Jen

Profs. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), James Haber (BIOL) and Gish Jen (ENG) were among those named in an April 20 announcement of this years list of figures to be inducted into the Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The professors share this year's list with such names as author Thomas Pynchon, actors Dustin Hoffman and James Earl Jones and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The professors will be inducted along with the other honorees at a ceremony Oct. 10 at the Academy of Arts and Sciences headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Founded by James Bowdoin, John Adams and John Hancock during the American Revolution, the Academy of Arts and Sciences annually names honorees in the realms of academic disciplines, the arts, business and public affairs. Based in Cambridge, Mass., the Academy functions as a hub for cutting-edge research, organizing conferences and funding collaborative study projects among its members.

In addition to her role as a visiting professor of creative writing at Brandeis, Jen was also published in Best American Short Stories of the Century. Jen could not be reached for comment by press time.

Jen was quoted in a Brandeis NOW press release saying, "I am thrilled and honored-and I am hoping, too, that I will be able to make a contribution to their many important and timely projects."

Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis. Haber is head of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center. Both Sarna and Haber, despite their initiate status, expressed eagerness to participate in the Academy's conference and research activities.

Sarna sees the Academy's selections as a big victory for Brandeis. "It's remarkable that a small university like Brandeis can bring in a single year three members to the Academy," he told the Justice.

Sarna also sees his own selection as a triumph for his field. "There are a very small number of Judaic scholars in the American Academy. My hope is that this is a signal to include others in the work of the Academy."

These three are not the first Brandeis professors to achieve such recognition. Nineteen others, including University President Jehuda Reinharz, Irene Pepperberg (PSYC), famed for her work with Alex the parrot, and Profs. Greg Petsko (CHEM) and David Hackett Fischer (HIST), have been elected to the Academy in the course of Brandeis' 61-year history.

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