Wellesley College President named to society

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (cq) recently elected more than 200 fellows and foreign honorary members to its society of leaders in the sciences, humanities and the arts, business, public affairs, and nonprofit sector. Wellesley College President H. Kim Bottomly, an immunobiologist who lives in Wellesley, was among those selected.

“I am deeply honored by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ election to its 2009 Class of Fellows, which includes some of the most remarkable men and women in their fields,” Bottomly wrote in an e-mail. “I look forward to working with the academy’s scholars and leaders on the important issues of our times.”

Bottomly joins fellow honorees Mario Capecchi, who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contributions to gene targeting; Civil War historian James McPherson; U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; and National Public Radio journalist Susan Stamberg.

Nineteen foreign honorary members – representing Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, and Israel – include 1993 Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela (cq) and U2 lead singer and humanitarian Bono.

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences addresses emerging problems through interdisciplinary, long-term policy research. The class of 2009 will be inducted on Oct. 10 at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge.