Jill Walker Rettberg inducted to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

On May 5th, 2025, Jill Walker Rettberg was inducted into the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters at the Academy's annual meeting held at the Grand Hotel in Oslo.

"It was especially lovely being welcomed to the Academy by two of my academic role models over the last decades: Per Buvik and Kjersti Fløttum," says Jill. "Both have been generous mentors to me over the years. So hearing them tell me they're proud of me felt very special."

The ceremony was introduced by a speech from the Academy's president, Annelin Eriksen, a UiB Professor in social anthropology, who emphasized the critical role of research in fostering a democratic society. 

"It's not that students have changed," Eriksen remarked. "It is the learning environment and society's increasing demands for utility. By focusing so much on the immediate use of university educations and research in industry and innovation, we have forgotten how universities develop us as human beings who are reflective, who think critically, who question old assumptions and test the limits of our knowledge."

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, founded in 1857, continues to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway, with Jill now among its 933 esteemed members. Two other new members from UiB were inducted, Linda Gröning and Eystein Sverre Husebye.