Five UChicago faculty members were recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The five professors—Joshua Frieman, Theaster Gates, Ali Hortaçsu, David Nirenberg, and Michael Sells—are among 213 scholars, artists, philanthropists, and business leaders elected to the American Academy this year.

The American Academy, founded in 1780, is one of the nation’s oldest academic associations and independent policy research centers. The Academy runs studies, publications, and programs on many subjects while providing advice on policy to leaders in government and academia.

Frieman is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics in the College and a member of the theoretical astrophysics group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Gates is the director of Arts + Public Life at the Arts Incubator for UChicago, as well as a professor of visual arts. Hortaçscu is the Ralph and Mary Otis Isham Professor of Economics. Nirenberg is the Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences in the College and a professor of Medieval history and Middle East studies. Sells is a professor of Islamic History and Literature in the Divinity School and the Department of Comparative Literature.

In 2015, 12 new inductees to the American Academy came from UChicago, either as professors or alumni. In 2014, there were 26 inductees with ties to UChicago, including three trustees.

The new class of American Academy members will be inducted on October 8 in a ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts.