Pippa Norris, the Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics, has been elected as a new member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She joins a prestigious group of 213 individuals from a wide range of disciplines who were elected in 25 categories. New members include former President Barack Obama, author/journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, and United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Harvard faculty members Jeff Frieden and Gita Gopinath are also among the newly elected members.

“It's unexpected news and a tremendous honor to join such distinguished colleagues in the academy,” said Norris. “I greatly look forward to participating in the events and activities, including the fellowship ceremony in the fall.”

A comparative political scientist, Norris focuses her work on democracy and democratization, public opinion and elections, political communications, and gender politics. She directs the Electoral Integrity Project, established in 2012 with a team based at Sydney and Harvard. Her major honors include the 2014 Karl Deutsch Award, awarded by the International Political Science Association “to honor a prominent scholar engaged in cross-disciplinary research.” Her contribution to political science was recognized with the prestigious Johan Skytte Prize which she was awarded (with Ronald Inglehart) in 2011.

Norris and the other new members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences during ceremonies in Cambridge in early October.