---
title: Two Professors Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
date: 2022-05-03T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/two-professors-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences"
section: Articles
---
# Two Professors Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

*May 3, 2022* — by [Laura Ours](/author/laura-ours), [Katie Bemb](/author/abby-robinson)


> Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins, Geologist Richard Walker to Be Inducted for Research Into Inequality, Early Solar System

*Testudo Students SC 10102019 6651 1920x1080 — Two UMD professors—Richard Walker of the Department of Geology and Patricia Hill Collins of the Department of Sociology—were elected to National Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other luminaries of the early days of the United States.*

Two University of Maryland professors will join the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](https://www.amacad.org/), one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.

Patricia Hill Collins, Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Sociology, and Richard Walker, a Distinguished University Professor of Geology, are among the 242-year-old academy’s 261 new members from academia, business, government and public affairs. Their election brings the total number of UMD faculty who are members of national academies to 60, including 23 in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“Dr. Collins is one of the leading scholars on issues related to race and gender inequalities and has won many awards over a long and productive academic career, demonstrating the profile of an internationally acclaimed sociologist,” said Interim Dean Wayne McIntosh of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. “To be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is a very fitting capstone.”


*Patricia Hill Collins headshot*


*Richard Walker headshot*




**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Geological, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/geology), [Sociology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/sociology)


**Units:** [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)