Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science board of directors.
Jamieson’s work focuses on campaign communication, the science of communication, and methods for preventing the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation. She co-founded FactCheck.org, a website that reviews the accuracy of political statements, as well as its subsidiary SciCheck, which corrects false or misleading scientific claims.
The AAAS is the largest general scientific society in the world and publisher of the Science Family of Journals. The association seeks to advance scientific achievement and engage scientists with policymakers and the public.
AAAS members elected Jamieson and Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis of the University of Florida to the Board for a four-year term. Willie May of Morgan State University will serve as the president-elect.
“We are thrilled to welcome Willie, Kathleen, and Betty to the AAAS Board. Their expertise will be invaluable as we advance scientific excellence, expand who can participate in the STEMM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine] ecosystem, address mis- and disinformation, and provide historical context on the scientific enterprise to inform strategic thinking,” Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of the AAAS, said in the AAAS announcement.
In 2020, the National Academy of Sciences awarded Jamieson the Public Welfare Medal, its highest medal of honor, for her “non-partisan crusade to ensure the integrity of facts in public discourse and development of the science of scientific communication to promote public understanding of complex issues.”
In 2022, Jamieson was one of ten Penn faculty members recognized as AAAS Honorary Fellows for their achievements in a range of scientific fields, from engineering to medicine to psychology.
“Understanding how communication functions in society is pivotal to the scientific enterprise and the future of the STEMM workforce,” Jamieson said in the AAAS announcement. “As long as science and scientists retain their commitment to the norms of transparency and self-critique, science will remain our most reliable source of knowledge and innovation. And I find that fact inspiring.”
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