Sonny Rollins Elected
Member of the
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
April 21, 2010 
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 Tenor
saxophonist Sonny Rollins is one of
229 leaders in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts, business, and
public affairs who have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, it was announced on Monday. A center for independent
policy research, the Academy is among the nation's oldest and most prestigious
honorary societies and celebrates the 230th anniversary of its founding this
year.
A complete
list of the 2010 class of new members is available at http://www.amacad.org/news/a2z10.pdf.
"It is a
tremendous privilege and honor to be made a Fellow of the American Academy
of Arts & Sciences," says Rollins. "Not only for me, but for what I
represent -- the great American music called jazz."
In the
humanities and arts, other new members include Francis Ford Coppola, Denzel
Washington, Suzanne Farrell, and
Thomas Hampson. The scholars,
scientists, writers, artists, and civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders in
the 2010 class include winners of the Nobel, Pulitzer, and Shaw Prizes;
MacArthur and Guggenheim fellows; and Grammy, Tony, and Oscar Award winners.
Rollins was
nominated for this honor by the Minneapolis-based Academy member Dr. Apostolos
P. Georgopoulos, a neuroscientist, amateur saxophonist, and longtime Rollins
fan. "It's a terrific tribute to a legend," says Georgopoulos, "and a jewel in
the Academy's crown."
The new
class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 9, at the Academy's
headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Since
its founding in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and other
scholar-patriots, the Academy has elected leading "thinkers and doers" from
each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th
century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th, and Albert
Einstein and Winston Churchill in the 20th. The current membership includes
more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.
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