Two Princeton University faculty members were among the 32 new members recently elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS), the nation’s oldest scholarly organization.

Anne Case, who holds a joint appointment at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Economics, was elected to APS’ social sciences class. Case, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and International Affairs, is the director of the Research Program in Development Studies. She has written extensively on health over the life course. Her landmark research on U.S. morbidity and mortality with Sir Angus Deaton continues to attract attention.

Also newly elected is Orley Ashenfelter, Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics and associate faculty member at the Program in Law and Public Affairs, based at the Woodrow Wilson School, and Princeton’s Industrial Relations Section. Ashenfelter’s areas of specialization include labor economics, econometrics, and law and economics. His current research includes the cross-country measurement of wage rates, and many other issues related to the economics of labor markets.

APS was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” The society’s current activities reflect the founder’s spirit of inquiry, provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas, and convey the conviction of its members that intellectual inquiry and critical thought are inherently in the public interest.