 Her scholarly contributions have been widely recognized.She was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 2001, in recognition of her combining “the classicist’s careful attention to texts and language with the political theorist’s sophisticated and informed engagement.” An elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Allen is a past chair of the Mellon Foundation board of trustees and a past chair of the Pulitzer Prize board, and has served as a trustee of both Amherst College and Princeton University.In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Allen has become an integral University citizen since her return to Harvard.