Former KSG dean is elected to National Academy of Sciences

Robert D. Putnam, Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy, has been named a new member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of his distinguished achievements in original research. The announcement was made Tuesday, May 1, during the 138th annual meeting of the Academy in Washington, D.C.

Putnam, a former dean at the Kennedy School of Government, is founder and director of the “Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America,” dedicated to the development of broad-scale actions to fortify the nation’s civic involvement. He sits on the Advisory Council on Environmentally Sustainable Development at the World Bank and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.

Putnam is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is president-elect of the American Political Science Foundation for 2001-02. He is author or co-author of 10 books, including “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” (Simon & Schuster, 2000), which is a study of civic engagement in the United States.

“I am pleased by my selection to such a prestigious organization,” Putnam said of his membership in the NAS. “I consider it a great honor.”

The National Academy of Sciences, which was established in 1863, is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological research. Among its members selected over the years are a number of Nobel Prize winners, including Albert Einstein, James Watson, and Sherwood Rowland.

More NAS members and foreign associates are affiliated with Harvard University than with any other university in the world.