Deans Husbands Fealing, Isbell Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Posted April 23, 2021

Two of Georgia Tech’s deans have been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On April 22, the academy announced that Kaye Husbands Fealing, dean and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and Charles Isbell, dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair of the College of Computing, are part of the 2021 class of New Fellows and International Honorary Members. Susan Lozier, dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair of the College of Sciences, was elected to the 2020 class, making three of the Institute’s eight deans members of the academy.

Dean Husbands Fealing was named to the list of those in Leadership, Policy, and Communications under Public Affairs and Public Policy. Dean Isbell was named to the list of those in Mathematical and Physical Sciences in the Computer Sciences category. They are part of a class of 252 new members. The academy was established in 1780 by U.S. founding leaders who believed the new republic should honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good.

“We are fortunate to have some of the world’s most outstanding faculty at Georgia Tech, leaders who are also developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition,” said Steve McLaughlin, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “I congratulate Dean Husbands Fealing and Dean Isbell as they join the honorary society and also work with other national and global leaders across disciplines to address significant challenges.”

Husbands Fealing said, “I am grateful to be recognized for work in the areas of public affairs and public policy. Working on decision-making foundations and implementation strategies in science, technology, and innovation policy has been rewarding, especially when we are able to see science in service of communities. I appreciate the support of my colleagues at Georgia Tech, and I look forward to advancing scientific collaboration and expanding access to STEM research for future generations of students, particularly those of diverse backgrounds.”

Isbell said he is honored and humbled to be named as a member and “thankful for all the opportunities I have been afforded going all the way back to my undergrad days here at Tech. I will make sure to take this election as another opportunity, and do my best to pay it forward.”

The artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors elected this year include neurosurgeon and medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta of CNN and Emory University, and media entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey of Harpo Inc. and Oprah Winfrey Network.

“We are honoring the excellence of these individuals, celebrating what they have achieved so far, and imagining what they will continue to accomplish,” said David Oxtoby, president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. “The past year has been replete with evidence of how things can get worse; this is an opportunity to illuminate the importance of art, ideas, knowledge, and leadership that can make a better world.”