News_

Sydney professor elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

26 April 2018
Professor Pippa Norris from the Department of Government and International Relations has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Social Sciences.
Professor Pippa Norris

Professor Norris with the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies. Professor Norris is pictured with broadcaster Jon Snow and Sir Ivor Crewe, Master of University College, Oxford, at the PSA Awards. Image: Political Studies Association

Established in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Science is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States and lists 200 Nobel Prize laureates and 100 Pulitzer Prize winners amongst its members.

Professor Pippa Norris will join a roll call of the world’s most influential thinkers including Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr, Winston Churchill, Willa Cather, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela and Galina Ulanova.

The Academy’s decision to elect Professor Norris “signifies the high regard in which [she] is held by leaders in [her] field and members throughout the nation” and identifies her as one of the world’s most accomplished scholars.

“It's unexpected news and a tremendous honor to join such distinguished colleagues in the Academy,” said Professor Norris.

“I greatly look forward to participating in the events and activities, including the fellowship ceremony in the fall.”

World-leading political scientist

Dividing her time between the University of Sydney and Harvard University, Professor Norris is an ARC Laureate fellow, the Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Director of the Electoral Integrity Project. According to Google Scholar, she is the fourth most cited political scientist in the world.

The University of Sydney Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Duncan Ivison, noted Professor Norris’ continued and wide-ranging career achievements.

Professor Pippa Norris is one of the world’s pre-eminent political scientists and winner of just about every major award in her discipline so it’s no surprise that she should be elected to this prestigious fellowship.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Duncan Ivison

“I am delighted she now joins the rarefied air of the American Academy of Arts and Science. Even more importantly, her work on electoral integrity, and more recently on the very sustainability of democracy in the face of resurgent authoritarianism around the globe, is helping us make sense of and hopefully address some of the greatest political challenges of our time.”

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor Annamarie Jagose, highlighted the importance of Professor Norris’ research at the university.

“Professor Norris has made a significant contribution to the political sciences, and to our understanding of democracy both here and internationally,” she said.

“We are proud of her continued association with the University of Sydney and congratulate her on this achievement.”

Professor Norris will be formally inducted at the House of the Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 5 October 2018.

Related articles