William Damon and Linda Darling Hammond, both professors at Stanford Graduate School of Education, were recently elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The two are among the list of 204 scholars, artists, scientists and innovators in the April 23 release from the Academy about its latest class. "It is a privilege to honor these men and women for their extraordinary individual accomplishments," said Don Randel, chair of the academy's board of directors. "The knowledge and expertise of our members give the academy a unique capacity — and responsibility — to provide practical policy solutions to the pressing challenges of the day. We look forward to engaging our new members in this work."

Damon is the director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, in addition to being professor of education at the Graduate School of Education. He is the author of 18 books and numerous book chapters and articles on education and human development, especially character development. His work has been influential for research and theory in academic developmental psychology and in the broader society, especially around questions of childrearing and schooling. His 1995 book, Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools helped create a societal push to increase standards for achievement and service and was the recipient of the prestigious Parents’ Choice® award. Damon’s other books written for general audiences include The Moral Child, Some Do Care, The Youth Charter and Good Work.

A former president of the American Educational Research Association, Darling-Hammond is Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, where she has launched the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. Among her more than 400 publications are Getting Teacher Evaluation Right: What Really Matters for Effectiveness and Improvement, which was published last year; The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, the winner of the 2011 Grawemeyer Award in Education; and The Right to Learn, recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Book Award for 1998. Among recent recognitions, she is recipient of the 2011 Brock International Prize in Education, and the 2009 McGraw Hill Prize for Innovation in Education. From 1994-2001, she served as executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a blue-ribbon panel whose 1996 report, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future, led to sweeping policy changes affecting teaching in the United States. She serves as chair of the California Commission for Teacher Credentialing.

The Academy is one of the country's oldest and most prestigious honorary learned societies, and a leading center for independent policy research. Among its more than 4,600 members and 600 foreign fellows are some of the world's most accomplished leaders from academia, business, social policy, energy, global security, the humanities and the arts. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.

Along with Damon and Darling-Hammond, nine other members of the Stanford University faculty were elected to this year’s class of new Academy members.