On October 18, 2014, NYU Florence professor Bruce Edelstein was inducted as an Honorary Member into the Florentine Accademia delle Arti del Disegno. The Accademia awards the title of Accademico d’Onore, or honorary member, to those it considers notable in culture and the arts, including internationally renowned artists and Nobel and Pritzker prize winners. The Accademia is the oldest academy in the world, founded by Giorgio Vasari and his contemporaries in 1563, with Michelangelo as its honorary head. The Accademia’s mission is to support every form of artistic endeavor, encourage and promote the study of the arts and their history, and insure the conservation of cultural heritage.