Liacouras
Elected to The Academy of Athens
May
6, 2003
The
Academy of Athens has elected Peter James Liacouras, Temple University
Chancellor and University Professor of Law, as an “abroad-residing” Member
of the Academy in the Section of “Moral and Political Sciences.”
His unanimous
election by the Plenum of the Academy of Athens was held on November 28, 2002,
ratified by a Presidential Decree published in the official Government Gazette
of February 12, 2003 (A.S. 29), and officially announced on March 19, 2003, by
the president of the Academy, Professor Gregory Skalkeas.
The Plenum was
set Tuesday, May 6, 2003, for the formal investiture, and Professor Liacouras
responded in an address titled “Reflections on American Higher Education.”
THE ACADEMY OF ATHENS
The Academy of Athens is the
highest scientific institution in Greece. It
was established in 1926 and is considered to be the heir of Plato’s Academy.
The main purpose of the Academy is to promote the sciences, humanities
and arts. It is an independent
body. It assists the government by
communicating, through the Ministry of Education, its views on important
national scientific and cultural issues. The
Academy is the only institution in Greece which, through its membership in
various international bodies such as the International Council for Science,
l’Union académique internationale, and others, may represent the country in
these organizations.
The Academy has three
Classes or Sections: a) Natural and
Applied Sciences, b) Humanities and Fine Arts, c) Moral and Political Sciences.
The Academy elects its Regular Members whose tenure is for life.
Their number varies from year to year, but cannot exceed 65 (25 for each
of the sections (a) and (b) and 15 for section (c)).
As part of its activities, the Academy honours eminent individuals by
electing them as Fellows of the Academy or as Corresponding Members. It bestows awards to scientists and intellectuals for
distinguished contributions in their field.
The Academy publishes its Transaction (Praktika), Monographs as well as
scholarly books and journals.
Academy of Athens
28 Panepistimiou
Athens, Greece