Two University of Virginia professors, one teaching at the School of Law and the other retired from the philosophy department, have been selected for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the highest academic honors faculty can attain.
The academy last week announced the elections of law professor G. Mitu Gulati and Cora Diamond, who retired in 2002 as a professor in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, plus 248 other new members. The new inductees also include 2009 UVA alumnus and New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, actor and director George Clooney and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Gulati, whose work focuses on how to help countries in financial distress, is the Perre Bowen Professor of Law and the John V. Ray Research Professor of Law. He has written more than 200 scholarly articles, edited or written 10 books and is the cohost of the “Clauses & Controversies” podcast. He writes on a wide range of topics, from issues in mergers and acquisitions contracts, municipal debt, judging, the Supreme Court and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global financial system.
Law School Dean Risa Goluboff called Gulati a “true public intellectual.”
“Mitu’s vast and incisive body of legal scholarship has contributed enormously to contemporary thinking on international finance, sovereign debt and contract law,” she said. “Not only that, but he regularly offers his expertise and advice to governments facing challenging financial situations in real time. He is the one they call.”
Diamond, University Professor Emerita and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Law, retired from UVA in 2002, concluding a 32-year career on Grounds. An acclaimed scholar of the 20th-century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Diamond remains an influential figure in contemporary philosophy. In the 2008 book she cowrote, “Philosophy and Animal Life,” Diamond helped to introduce a new way of thinking about animal rights, challenging analytical philosophy and accusing it of deflecting the responsibility of human beings toward animals.
“Professor Diamond remains one of the liveliest minds in the world in the area of moral philosophy,” Christa Acampora, the College’s dean, said. “She has had a profound influence on the understanding of the moral status of animals, philosophy of language and the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. This recognition by the academy is truly well-deserved, and it is an honor that redounds to the University as a whole.”
The academy, founded in 1780, has inducted 61 UVA-affiliated faculty members. The induction ceremonies for new members will take place in Cambridge, Massachusetts in September.
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Article Information
May 7, 2024
