Vartan Gregorian Elected to European Academy of Sciences and Arts

Carnegie Corporation of New York announced today that Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg, Austria. The formal announcement was made at a special event held in Salzburg on March 5.

Gregorian's nomination for an extraordinary membership into the academy was based on his lifetime of achievement, contributions to the arts and humanities and his pursuit of goals as head of Carnegie Corporation that parallel those of the Academy, including promoting the dissemination of knowledge, understanding and tolerance as a means to bridge perceived differences among people and building a global community.

The European Academy of Sciences and Arts, officially established in 1990, is a transnational, interdisciplinary organization with a particular focus on European issues. It consists of seven classes: Humanities, Medicine, Arts, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences/Law/Economies, Technical/Environmental Sciences and World Religions. The Academy's 1,300 members, including seventeen Nobel Prize winners, are affiliated with these classes, which carry out scholarly projects, including intensive and detailed symposia. Gregorian will join the Humanities class.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim “to do real and permanent good in the world.” The Corporation’s capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $1.9 billon on September 30, 2004. The Corporation awards grants totaling approximately $80 million a year in the areas of education, international peace and security, international development and strengthening U.S. democracy.