Five African American Academics Have Been Elected Members of the American Philosophical Society

The American Philosophical Society was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. The society honors distinguished scientists, social scientists, humanities scholars, artists, and societal leaders with membership in the society. Members have included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Frost, Thomas Edison, Sandra Day O’Connor, Charles Darwin, Toni Morrison, and Albert Einstein. This year the society granted membership to 36 individuals. Of these five are African Americans with ties to the academic world in the United States. Gerald Lyn Early is the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and a professor of African and African American studies and English at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Early started teaching at Washington University as an instructor in 1982. He is the author of One Nation Under a Groove: Motown and American Culture (Ecco Press, 1995). Dr. Early is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in English literature. He holds a master’s degree in English literature from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Danny O. Jacobs is the president and professor of surgery at the Oregon Health and Science University. He became the university’s fifth president in 2021. Earlier, he was executive vice...