On September 23, 2024, the Academy of Arts and Sciences inducted Jhumpa Lahiri ’89, Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program, as a newly elected member. The ceremony was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and she was chosen as the “class speaker” for her group, Humanities and Arts.
Founded in 1780, the Academy is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies, formed to help the United States face new challenges with a sense of shared purpose, knowledge, and ideas. Today, the group continues to advance its mission of engaging across disciplines and divides to address serious challenges and advance the common good in a variety of areas, including leadership, academia, arts, and research. Lahiri is one of the Academy’s 250 newly elected members for 2024, each recognized for their excellence and exceptional achievements in their field of expertise. Other members elected alongside Lahiri include Apple CEO Tim Cook and actor, director, and producer George Clooney.
Lahiri rose to prominence with her Pulitzer Prize-winning debut Interpreter of Maladies, followed by The Namesake, which was later adapted into a film by Mira Nair. Her other notable literary works include Unaccustomed Earth, winner of the Frank O'Connor Prize, The Lowland, a Booker and National Book Award finalist, and Translating Myself and Others, a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Lahiri has also authored several books in Italian and received accolades including the National Humanities Medal and Italy’s Commendatore title.