Formation | 1961 |
---|---|
Type | Non-profit organization |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Chairman & CEO | Wayne R. Reynolds |
Vice Chairman | Catherine B. Reynolds |
Website | www |
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields[1] and gives them the opportunity to meet one another.[2] The academy also brings together the leaders with promising graduate students for mentorship.[3][4] It hosts an International Achievement Summit, which ends with an awards ceremony, during which new members are inducted into the academy.[1][5][6]
History
Founded in 1961 by Sports Illustrated and LIFE magazine photographer Brian Reynolds, the Academy of Achievement recognizes high achievers in public service, business, science and exploration, sports, and the arts.[4][7] Reynolds established the academy after realizing that the famous people he photographed from different fields did not usually get to meet one another. A 1989 San Francisco Chronicle article called the organization "little-publicized but immensely powerful". According to William DeVries, who helped develop the first artificial heart, "It is a social network. Like a club. Now I can call Chuck Yeager up, or Philip 'Bo' Knight, and they'll return my calls, ask me out places. I promised myself I would never ask the people here for money, but I know a lot of scientists who do."[2] Reynolds also wanted to bring together highly accomplished leaders with promising students, to inspire them.[8][9] At the 1990 summit in Chicago, for example, student delegates "rubbed shoulders" with Ronald Reagan, Maya Angelou and Michael Jordan,[10] and in 1995, students met with inductees including George H. W. Bush, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lady Bird Johnson, Robin Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Rosa Parks.[11]
Academy members and summit attendees have also included Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell, Maya Lin, Barbra Streisand, Mikhail Gorbachev, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas.[12] In 2005, The Washington Post called the summit "one of the world's most dazzling gatherings of international celebrities - Nobel Prize winners, heads of state, star athletes, titans of industry, scientists and entertainers."[13]
In 1985, Reynolds's son, Wayne Reynolds, took over the leadership, becoming the executive director of the academy.[2] In 1999, he was selected as the board chairman.[1][7][14] In the 1990s, Reynolds moved the organization's headquarters from Malibu, California, to Washington, D.C.[15]
In 2007, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation donated $9 million to the academy.[15][14][16][17]
Achievement Summit
The annual summit is attended by graduate students and young innovators from the U.S. and overseas, like Sergey Brin and Larry Page, computer science graduate students who later founded Google.[18][19] The summits were originally attended by high school students chosen for their academic achievement and extracurricular activities.[1] Preceding the awards dinner are three days of panels, presentations and informal dialogues between the students and inductees. Many inductees return multiple years to participate in the panels, programming and networking.[20]
On September 9, 1961, the academy hosted its first International Achievement Summit.[2] Held in Monterey, California,[21] it included a "Banquet of the Golden Plate" award ceremony, named for the gold-plate service used for special occasions by the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, which provided the service for the ceremony. Physicist Edward Teller was the keynote speaker, and warned of the United States' poor performance in the atomic arms race. Awardees at the inaugural ceremony included engineers Charles Stark Draper and Kelly Johnson, General Douglas MacArthur and film director William Wyler.[2][22] Other attendees included Nobel laureate Willard Libby (Chemistry, 1960) and future Nobel laureate Luis Walter Alvarez (Physics, 1968).[23] The first honorees were chosen by a national board of governors, but subsequent honorees have been selected by the Golden Plate Awards Council, which consists of Academy awardees.[21][22][24]
At the 13th annual summit, held in June 1974 in Salt Lake City, Academy member Leon Jaworski, the Special Prosecutor overseeing the Watergate investigations at the time, said in his keynote address that he expected to win a Supreme Court case to get subpoenaed tapes from President Richard Nixon.[25] Among the awardees at the summit were actor James Stewart, professional athlete John Havlicek,[26] and Nobel Laureate chemist Paul Flory.[27]
The 25th annual American Academy of Achievement Summit took place in 1986 in Washington, D.C.[28] The ceremony was addressed by former inductees Chuck Yeager and Erma Bombeck, and was attended by a group of 390 high school graduates assembled from across the U.S.[28] New members admitted to the academy at the event included boxer Muhammad Ali,[28] filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Nobel Prize laureate Isidor Isaac Rabi,[28] opera singer Leontyne Price,[28] and country singer Loretta Lynn,[28][29] the first country music artist ever admitted into the academy.[29]
The 2002 summit was held in Dublin, and was hosted by then-Taoiseach (prime minister) and inductee Bertie Ahern. Former President Bill Clinton held private talks during the summit with Irish nationalist politician John Hume that reportedly concerned the conflict in Northern Ireland as well as other international conflicts.[30] New inductees into the academy in 2002 included Clinton, U2 lead singer Bono,[31] and Afghan president Hamid Karzai.[30]
The 50th-anniversary American Academy of Achievement Summit was held in Washington D.C., in October 2012, and was attended by delegates from 29 countries.[32] The five-day event included a dinner at the Supreme Court of the United States, which four of the justices attended.[32] Newly inducted academy members who spoke at the meeting included then-United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Nobel laureates Roger Tsien and Adam Riess.[32][33] In 2012, Dalio received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, during the International Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C.[34][33][35]
The 2021 awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles on December 23. Among the awardees was Katalin Karikó,[36] a biochemist whose research with Drew Weissman underpins the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.[37]
Notable recipients of the Golden Plate Award
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Roberts, Roxanne (May 4, 2003). "You Have a Dream; Achievement Summiteers Bask in The Past and Presence of Greatness". The Washington Post.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nix, Shann (June 26, 1989). "Looking Up to the Stars: Where 50 top celebs dazzle 400 students" (PDF). San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Reilly, Jerome (June 8, 2002). "Clinton and Gorbachev at secret Dublin summit". independent. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- 1 2 Wallace, Mike (December 15, 2002). "Catherine B. Reynolds". 60 Minutes. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Warren, Ellen (June 14, 2004). "A meeting of the minds". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 Silverman, Rachel Emma (July 23, 1999). "The Glitziest Gathering Nobody Knows: Academy Honors Students and Celebrities". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- 1 2 O'Connor, Anahad (June 7, 2005). "Hy Peskin, 89, Photographer, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Nelson, Valerie J. (June 10, 2005). "Hy Peskin, 89; Sports Action Photographer Reinvented Himself as a Philanthropist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ "Awards Banquet Draws the 'Giants of Endeavor'" (PDF). Salt Lake Tribune. June 24, 1979.
- ↑ Williams, Janet M. (July 19, 1990). "Local teen rubs elbows with nation's leaders at dinner". Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- 1 2 3 Plaisance, Patrick Lee (June 3, 1995). "Celebrities, Top Students Gather in CW". Newport News Daily Press.
- 1 2 Montgomery, David (April 9, 2002). "D.C. philanthropists Catherine and Wayne Reynolds pledge millions". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Schudel, Matt (June 5, 2005). "Brian Blaine Reynolds, Also Known as Hy Peskin, Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- 1 2 Schudel, Matt (June 5, 2005). "Brian Blaine Reynolds, Also Known as Hy Peskin, Dies; Accomplished Sports Photographer Founded Academy of Achievement". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- 1 2 Montgomery, David (April 4, 2009). "D.C. philanthropists Catherine and Wayne Reynolds pledge millions". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ Boyle, Katherine (March 29, 2013). "Wayne Reynolds makes a lavish push for a bold plan for the Corcoran". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013.
- ↑ Paley, Amit R.; Strauss, Valerie (July 16, 2007). "Student Loan Nonprofit a Boon for CEO". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ↑ Feloni, Richard. "Google cofounder Sergey Brin says these 2 books most influenced him". Business Insider. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Statt, Nick (December 4, 2019). "THE RISE, DISAPPEARANCE, AND RETIREMENT OF GOOGLE CO-FOUNDERS LARRY PAGE AND SERGEY BRIN". The Verge. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ↑ Journal, Rachel Emma Silverman Staff Reporter of The Wall Street. "The Glitziest Gathering Nobody Knows: Academy Honors Students and Celebrities". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- 1 2 "Dazzling Decorations, Fine Food: Golden Plate Planned for 1962: First Annual Event Wins High Praise". Monterey Peninsula Herald. September 11, 1961.
- 1 2 "Banquet will honor 50 for Achievement". The Milwaukee Sentinel. September 7, 1961.
- ↑ "Achievement Awards Dinner Set". Oakland Tribune. July 12, 1961.
- ↑ Pellesen, Gayle (June 27, 1977). "Golden Platers". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Jaworski Doubts Watergate Delaying Nation's Business". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Associated Press. June 30, 1974.
- ↑ "'Achievers' get tribute at banquet". The Arizona Republic. United Press International. June 30, 1974.
- ↑ "Alan Muskett Going To Gold Plate Event". The Missoulan. May 14, 1974.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Trebbe, Ann L.; Salmon-Heyneman, Jana (June 30, 1986). "The Great and the Near-Great Top Teen-Agers Advised by Adult Achievers". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- 1 2 Oermann, Robert K. (July 13, 1986). "Awards queen Loretta Lynn mines more golden memories". The Tennessean Sun.
- 1 2 3 Colgan, Paul (June 9, 2002). "Clinton leads elite at secret Irish summit". The Sunday Times.
- ↑ Pope, Conor (June 7, 2002). "Bono gets golden plate from Washington academy". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 Roig-Franzia, Manuel (October 28, 2021). "'Achievement summit' brings intellectual rebels together in D.C." The Washington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- 1 2 3 "2012 Summit Highlights". American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- 1 2 "Golden Plate Awardees: Business". American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- 1 2 "Ray Dalio Biography and Interview. Photo: Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, receives the Golden Plate Award of the Academy of Achievement from Awards Council member David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group". American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ↑ "Katalin Karikó Receives Golden Plate Award 2021". Hungary Today. MTI. December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ↑ Kolata, Gina (April 8, 2021). "Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ↑ Hendrickson, Paul (July 13, 1982). "Getting Along Famously". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "All Honorees". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Our History". American Academy of Achievement. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- 1 2 Devitt, Terry (January 15, 1999). "Thomson receives Golden Plate award". University of Wisconsin-Madison News. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- 1 2 Burrus, John (June 27, 1976). "Success Leads to New Achievements". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
- 1 2 Gutierrez, Bridget (May 5, 2001). "Generation's excellence draws a four-star salute". San Antonio Express-News.
- 1 2 Salibian, Sandra (October 18, 2017). "Valentino Garavani to Be Honored With American Academy of Achievement Award". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ↑ Feloni, Richard (February 24, 2016). "Google cofounder Sergey Brin says these 2 books most influenced him". Business Insider. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ "Banquet Draws 'Giants of Endeavor". The Salt Lake Tribune. June 24, 1979.
- ↑ "Walter Mondale met privately over breakfast Saturday with his…". UPI Archives. United Press International. July 7, 1974. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pellesen, Gayle (June 27, 1977). "Golden Platers". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ↑ Mulcahy, Clodagh (June 3, 2002). "The day I met Bill Clinton for a chat about the world". The Irish Times.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Our History". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ↑ "Joan Didion". Academy of Achievement.
- ↑ Djerassi, Carl (Winter 1990). "The Big Drop". The Hudson Review. 42 (4): 565–576. doi:10.2307/3852366. JSTOR 3852366.
- ↑ "Awards Banquet Draws 'Giants of Endeavor'". Salt Lake Tribune. June 24, 1979.
- ↑ Oermann, Robert K. (July 13, 1986). "Awards queen Loretta Lynn mines more golden memories". The Tennessean.
- ↑ Morrison, Jane Ann (June 29, 1992). "Academy honors achievers". Las Vegas Review Journal.
- ↑ "William H. Gates III". American Academy of Achievement. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ↑ Novotny, Jean (June 27, 1987). "Top guns Academy salutes world-changers". Arizona Republic.
- ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ↑ Wade, Larry (July 14, 1983). "American Academy of Achievement fills Coronado with famous names". Coronado Journal.
- ↑ Silverman, Rachel Emma (July 23, 1999). "Fame: The Glitziest Gathering Nobody Knows - Obscure Academy Honors Students and Celebrities". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Perez, Robert (May 30, 1991). "Teen to Meet the Rich and Famous". Orlando Sentinel.
- ↑ Wade, Larry (July 14, 1983). "A name dropper's paradise: American Academy of Achievement fills Coronado with famous names". Coronado Eagle and Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ↑ Ramšak, Polona (July 12, 2021). "Ishiguro's Japanese-English Identity and His Reception Internationally and in Slovenia". Acta Neophilologica. 54 (1–2): 106–107. doi:10.4312/an.54.1-2.99-114. S2CID 245101598. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- 1 2 Hendrickson, Paul (July 13, 1982). "Getting Along Famously". The Washington Post.
- 1 2 Roig-Franzia, Manuel (October 28, 2012). "'Achievement summit' brings intellectual rebels together in D.C." The Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- 1 2 Bertelson, Christine (June 16, 1992). "Nourishing A Poetic Hunger". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ↑ Whitcraft, Chris (June 27, 1970). "Dollars and Sense: Mortgage Bank Unit Does Fine". Austin American-Statesman. p. 7.
- ↑ "Richard E. Leakey". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- 1 2 Bailey, Susan (July 3, 1996). "The Achievers". Idaho Mountain Express.
- 1 2 Grove, Lloyd; Morgan, Hudson (June 3, 2005). "Big-time players, but few seats for this matinee". New York Daily News.
- ↑ Pearson, Dan (June 6, 1973). "Mt. Everest Conqueror Gets Kick Out of Escalator". The Morning Call (Allentown, PA). p. 49.
- ↑ Miller, Hack (June 18, 1973). "The Kaslers and Torgays". Deseret News. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ↑ Novotny, Jean (June 27, 1989). "Top guns: Academy salutes world-changers". The Arizona Republic.
- ↑ Morrison, Jane Ann (June 29, 1992). "Academy honors achievers". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 1b.
- ↑ "All Honorees".
- ↑ Posnanski, Joe (June 10, 2013). "Story behind photo of Hogan's 1-iron shot at Merion". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ↑ Ali, Sarwat (February 28, 2021). "Man vs machine". The News on Sunday. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ↑ Shocket, Kathy Shayna (June 19, 2000). "Students, celebs mix at Achievers Party". Arizona Republic.
- ↑ Conconi, Chuck (March 12, 1986). "Personalities". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ↑ Jones, Rebecca (June 30, 1985). "Whiz kids rub elbows with right stuff". Rocky Mountain News.
- ↑ "Wayne Thiebaud". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ↑ "John Wayne Honored". The Dallas Morning News. June 25, 1970.
- ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". American Academy of Achievement.
- ↑ "Merit Scholar Honored". The Herald Journal. June 30, 1976.
- ↑ "'Father of TV' Won't Watch It". San Angelo Standard-Times. June 17, 1967.