Calvert Hall College High School alumnus, Samuel J. Palmisano ‘69, who is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of IBM, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy is one of the world’s most prestigious honorary societies and a center for independent policy research. It also provides a forum for scholars, members of the learned professions, and government and business leaders to work together on behalf of the democratic interests of the country.
“I am delighted to join the Officers and Fellows of the Academy and to become part of such a distinguished American institution, with an important tradition and history of accomplishment in areas I care about so deeply,” said Palmisano.
“While a student, Sam excelled in the classroom, making the honor roll each of his four years, and was a four-year participant in the football program,” recalls Calvert Hall Principal Louis Heidrick. “I remember him as a very personable young man who was truly a scholar-athlete.”
Since its founding in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock and other scholar-patriots, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has elected leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein, and Winston Churchill. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Palmisano will be inducted at a ceremony on October 9, at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.