GSAS Alumni Awards

GSAS Alumni Awards

GSAS holds in highest regard intellectual inquiry that exerts a profound impact not only in academia, but in the larger world as well. The Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement and the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award celebrate GSAS graduates who have contributed significantly to the academic community and to society while upholding the highest intellectual values in everything they do throughout their careers. They are exemplars who inspire all who aspire to have a lasting impact on the world.

Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

The Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement recognizes accomplished recipients for their profound impact not only on academia, but on the world at large. This award has been presented annually since 1997, and in each year since 1998, it has been presented to one doctoral graduate and one master’s graduate.

Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

The Outstanding Recent Alumni Award honors individuals who have graduated within the past fifteen years and have excelled in the early stages of their careers, exemplifying what GSAS alumni can achieve. Since 2015, this award has been presented annually to one doctoral graduate and one master’s graduate.

The Campbell Award

The Campbell Award is presented to a graduating student at each school of Columbia University who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by the late Bill Campbell '62CC, '64TC, Chair Emeritus, University Trustee, and Columbia Alumni Association co-founder. This award has been presented annually since 2016.

2020 Recipients

Caroline Alexander (’91PhD, Classics)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Camilo José Vergara (’77MA, Sociology)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Nina Ansary (’13PhD, History)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Andrew Freedman (’09MA, Climate and Society)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Brent Scowcroft (‘67PhD, International Relations)
Dean’s Award for Lifetime Achievement

Viviana Rivera-Burgos (’20PhD, Political Science)
Campbell Award

Past Recipients

2019

George D. Yancopoulos (’86PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

John A. Glusman (’80MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Matthew Salganik (’07PhD, Sociology)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Amanda Seales (’05MA, African American Studies)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Sarah Arkebauer (’19PhD, English and Comparative Literature)
Campbell Award

2018

Daniel Kurtzer (’76PhD, Political Science)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Madeleine Grynsztejn (’85MA, Art History and Archaeology)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Christine Ann Denny (’12PhD, Biological Sciences)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Elan Kriegel (’10MA, Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Devon Tyrone Wade (’18PhD, Sociology)
Campbell Award

2017

Francisco Ayala (’64PhD, Biological Sciences)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Ursula K. Le Guin (’52MA, French and Romance Philology)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Warren Bass (’02PhD, History)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Andrea Batista Schlesinger (’13MA, International and World History)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Foad Torshizi (’17PhD, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Culture)
Campbell Award

2016

Evelyn Witkin (’47PhD, Biological Studies)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Christopher J. Dixon (’99MA, Philosophy)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Larissa Buchholz (’13PhD, Sociology)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Jeffrey Chen (’11MA, Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Angelica Patterson (’15MPhil, Earth & Environmental Sciences)
Campbell Award

2015

Robert Grubbs (’68PhD, Chemistry)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Jacques G. Pepin (’72MA, French and Romance Philology)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Emily Rauscher (’10PhD, Astronomy)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Shiyang Li (’06MA, East Asian Languages and Culture)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

2014

Wallace Broecker (’58PhD, Geological Science)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

2013

Jacqueline Barton (’79PhD, Chemistry)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Robert John Carow (’94PhD, Economics)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Michael L. Lomax (’72MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2012

Eric Foner (’69PhD, History)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Paul M. Thompson (’77PhD, Sociomedical Science)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Paul B. Auster (’70MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2011

John T. Matteson (’99PhD, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Peter Straub (’66MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2010

Madeleine Albright (’76PhD, Political Science)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Ric Burns (’83MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Louis A. Parks (’95MA, Ancient Studies)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Service

2009

Frank Macchiarola (’72PhD, Political Science)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

Sybil S. Shainwald (’72MA, Political Science)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2008

Norman F. Ramsey (’40PhD, Physics)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Peter Lieberson (’40MA, Music)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2007

James Emanuel (’80PhD, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

2006

Leon Lederman (’51PhD, Physics)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

The Hon. Rosa DeLauro (’66MA, Political Science)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2005

Max Frankel (’53MA, Political Science)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2004

Paul LeClerc (’69PhD, French and Romance Philology)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Ronald Stack (’83MA, Political Science)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2003

Louis Menand (’80PhD, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

William Goldman (’56MA, English and Comparative Literature)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2002

William S. Knowles (’42PhD, Chemistry)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Dale Chakarian Turza (’74MA, Art History and Archaeology)
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement

2001

Eduardo Macagno (’68PhD, Physics)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

John Kander (’54MA, Music)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

2000

Judith Rodin (’71PhD, Psychology)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Anna Kisselgoff (’63MA, History)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

1999

Melvin Schwartz (’58PhD, Physics)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

William T. Golden (’79MA, Biological Sciences)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

1998

Harriet Zuckerman (’65PhD, Sociology)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

1997

R. Gordon Hoxie (’50PhD, History)
Dean's Award for Distinguished Achievement

Annual Alumni Awards Dinner

The annual GSAS Alumni Awards Dinner celebrates the recipients of the honors described above.

We invite you to read more about the GSAS Alumni Awards Dinners held in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Make a Nomination

The Awards Committee of the GSAS Alumni Association Board of Directors is responsible for curating a pool of worthy candidates for the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement and the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award. Additionally, the committee makes nominations to the Dean for these awards.

To nominate a deserving GSAS graduate for one of our annual awards, please write to the GSAS Office of Alumni Relations at gsas-alumni [at] columbia.edu.