Professor of Neurology Paula Dore-Duffy, Ph.D., was recently chosen to be the 2013-2014 president of the Wayne State University Academy of Scholars.

Following organization tradition, the Bloomfield Hills resident previously served as vice president of the organization for 2012-2013.

Dr. Dore-Duffy was elected to the AOS in 2008.

"It is, really, being inducted that is the honor, as only 77 people have been elected since the inception in the 1970s," she said.

As president, Dr. Dore-Duffy will oversee the AOS's regular functions and work to increase the organization's role in helping to increase perception of the University as well as increase the visibility through a variety of initiatives, including additional student scholarships, undergraduate mentoring, increased presence at WSU athletic and academic events, and several seminars a year hosted by academy members that will be open to the university at large.

The AOS also gives two junior faculty awards yearly at its annual banquet. This year's recipients are Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Alana Conti, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Stephen Crisomalis, Ph.D. New member Paul Karchin, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics, will be inducted at the event as well, set for Oct. 14.

A month later, the AOS will present two awards at WSU's Undergraduate Research Day on Nov. 15, at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center.

The organization will give the Bonner Book Award on Dec. 12 to James Ravin and Michael Marmor, ophthalmologists and authors of "The Artist's Eyes: Vision and the History of Art," a 2009 book that examines the role of vision and eye disease in art. The award is named after Dr. Thomas N. Bonner, past president of WSU and the AOS. The $2,500 prize is provided through a donation from the Bonner family.

The academy's founding purpose is to raise the scholastic prestige of the university by bringing together the most prominent academic experts on campus to create a community of scholars from among its most celebrated scholars. The AOS promotes achievement in scholarship by recognition and provision of incentives to attract young scholars of promise, bringing in distinguished scholars from other institutions and sponsoring meetings that stimulate interdisciplinary intellectual activity.

Members are selected from the most outstanding and widely recognized faculty members at the university, and appointment to the AOS is the highest recognition that may be bestowed upon fellow faculty members by their colleagues.