Alice C. Harris, professor emerita of linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was named a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2026, according to a May 5 announcement. Harris is among 252 leaders in academia, arts, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy, research and science who were elected this year.
Harris’s work focuses on historical linguistics, morphology, languages of the Caucasus and psycholinguistics related to understudied languages. She has written five books and numerous articles on these topics.
“Congratulations to Professor Emerita Alice Harris on her election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in recognition of her many contributions to the field of Linguistics at UMass Amherst and beyond,” said Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, UMass Amherst provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “She is truly an innovator for the common good, breaking ground as one of the first Americans allowed to do research in parts of the Soviet Union and promoting global efforts to document endangered languages.”
Harris was named a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2020. Her other honors include an Erskine Fellowship from University of Canterbury in New Zealand (1999), a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2004-05), Outstanding Alumna Award from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (2004), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2009-10).
The newest members are grouped into thirty-one sections within five classes; Harris joins as part of Literature and Language Studies under Humanities and Arts. “We celebrate the achievement of each new member and the collective breadth and depth of their excellence – this is a fitting commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Academy President Laurie Patton. “The founding of the nation and the Academy are rooted in the inextricable links between a vibrant democracy, the free pursuit of knowledge, and the expansion of public good.”
The American Academy was chartered in 1780 with a mission to recognize accomplished individuals who can address major challenges facing society. The first members included George Washington who said: “Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” Induction ceremonies will take place this October in Cambridge.