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Meyerson joins notable Fellows from around the world
On October 6th, Morton Meyerson, former chairman and CEO of Perot Systems from 1992 to 1998, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as a member of the 2007 Class of Fellows, in the category of Business, Corporate and Philanthropic Leadership. The Academy was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other United States scholar-patriots and was fashioned after the learned societies of Europe; particularly the Royal Society of London and the Académie des Sciences of France. The Academy has elected as Fellows and Foreign Honorary members the finest minds and most influential leaders from each generation including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill. The current membership includes more than 170 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.
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“The Academy, although rich in history, is really focused on addressing critical issues facing the world today, and I am honored to be a member,” said
Mr. Meyerson. “The induction event, from orientation to the ceremony itself, was insightful and inspiring and I look forward to becoming more involved. I plan to explore participating in Committees which focus on issues that resonate with me, such as bringing ethics back into American business and considering Democracy of the Internet and its implications.”
This year’s class, which included 203 new Fellows and 24 Foreign Honorary members, was inducted at a ceremony held at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Represented among the newly elected class are scholars, scientists, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders from 27 states, 13 countries and 70 universities.
As part of the induction event, Mr. Meyerson had the opportunity to hear several presentations and panel discussions on issues being explored by Academy Fellows. The following are, in his opinion, a few of the most interesting and impressive: Cell-to-Cell Communication in Bacteria, by Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University The Global Nuclear Future – Panel Discussion Universal Primary and Secondary Education – Panel Discussion Leadership and Professional Responsibility (Ethics discussion) The Possibility of Robots Having Feelings and Souls, by Dr. Rodney Brooks, Professor of Robotics at MIT |
Included among this year’s new American Fellows are former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.; former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; New York Mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg; Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt; New York Times investigative correspondent James Risen; filmmaker Spike Lee; astronomer Donald Brownlee; robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks; supercomputer expert David Shaw; pianist Emanuel Ax; historian Nell Painter; and international public health leader Allan Rosenfield.
Foreign Honorary Members in this year’s class come from Europe, Asia, Canada, and the Middle East, and include Italian glassblower Lino Tagliapietra; Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate Avram Hershko; French literary scholar Tzvetan Todorov; Pritzker Prize-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas; and Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella.
"We are all very proud that Mort has been recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences," said Peter Altabef. "Those of us who have worked closely with Mort through the years know that he has always been committed to a variety of cultural, scientific and community activities. I have no doubt that Mort will be an active and powerful contributor to the Academy."
The Academy has many distinguished former members from around the world. Some notable international members have been Thomas Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, William Gladstone, John Singleton Copley, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Neils Bohr, Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru and Albert Schweitzer. Honorary members from abroad include Claude Levi-Strauss, Kazuo Ishigoro, Stephen Hawking, and Abba Eban. |
Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members are nominated and elected to the Academy by current members. A broad-based membership, comprised of scholars and practitioners from mathematics, physics, biological sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts, public affairs and business, gives the Academy a unique capacity to conduct a wide range of interdisciplinary studies and public policy research.
To learn more about the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to see a full list of this year’s Fellows, please click here.
Mr. Meyerson retired from the corporate world in 1998. He currently spends the majority of his time raising money for and operating his non-profit foundation, The Morton H. Meyerson Family Tzedakah Fund and spending time with his family. When asked what stands out the most when reflecting on his time with Perot Systems, Mr. Meyerson said, “The quality of the people in the company was outstanding and from what I can tell still is. The professionalism and ethics are beyond reproach. This high standard isn’t found in many companies and I remember my time at Perot Systems as a time of challenge and vast reward. The team was always more important than the individual and that ideal still resonates with me today.”