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Alexander Hamilton Medal

Named in honor of one of our nation’s Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1778), the Alexander Hamilton Medal is the highest honor one can receive from Columbia College Alumni Association. It is awarded to members of the community for both distinguished service to the College and exceptional accomplishment in any field of endeavor.

Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner

Eileen Barroso

The medals are presented each November at a black-tie dinner in Low Library Rotunda, the proceeds of which directly benefit College students by supporting the priorities of Columbia College, including the Core Curriculum and financial aid.

Recipients include alumni, faculty, artists, politicians and more, from Nicholas Murray Butler (Class of 1882), Richard Rodgers CC'23 and Oscar Hammerstein II CC, to Lawrence A. Wien CC 1925 and former Attorney General of the United States, Eric H. Holder Jr. CC’73, LAW’76. See the full list below.

2022 Recipient: Claire C. Shipman CC’86, SIPA’94

SEE EVENT DETAILS

Recipients

2020 – present

2010 – Present

2000 – 2009

  • 2000 • William V. Campbell CC’62
  • 2001 • Philip L. Milstein CC’71
  • 2002 • George Rupp
  • 2003 • Emanuel Ax CC’70
  • 2004 • Robert K. Kraft CC’63
  • 2005 • Richard E. Witten CC’75
  • 2006 • Robert Berne CC’60
  • 2007 • Mark E. Kingdon CC’71
  • 2008 • Austin E. Quigley
  • 2009 • Conrad H. Lung CC’72

1990 – 1999

  • 1990 • Harold Brown CC’45
  • 1991 • John W. Kluge CC’37
  • 1992 • Max Frankel CC’52
  • 1993 • Michael I. Sovern CC’53
  • 1994 • Tenured Teachers of the Core accepted by Jacques Barzun CC’27
  • 1995 • Columbia College Nobel Laureates in the Sciences since 1961: Leon N. Cooper CC’51; Roald Hoffman CC’59; Norman F. Ramsey Jr. CC’35; Melvin Schwartz CC’53; Clarice Schwinger on behalf of the late Julian S. Schwinger CC’36
  • 1996 • George J. Ames CC’37
  • 1997 • Alfred Lerner CC’55
  • 1998 • Roone Arledge CC’52
  • 1999 • Richard Axel CC’67; Wm. Theodore de Bary CC’41; James P. Shenton CC’49

1980 – 1989

  • 1980 • Herman Wouk CC’34
  • 1981 • Lawrence A. Wien CC’25
  • 1982 • Arthur O. Sulzberger CC’51
  • 1983 • Franklin A. Thomas CC’56
  • 1984 • Thomas M. Macioce CC’39
  • 1985 • Past Deans of Columbia College: Lawrence H. Chamberlain; David B. Truman; Carl F. Hovde CC’50; Peter R. Pouncey; Arnold P. Collery
  • 1986 • Joseph L. Mankiewicz CC’28
  • 1987 • Robert Giroux CC’36
  • 1988 • Morris A. Schapiro CC’23
  • 1989 • Robert E. Pollack CC’61; Michael Rosenthal

1970 – 1979

  • 1970 • Andrew W. Cordier
  • 1971 • Lionel Trilling CC’25 (presented in 1972)
  • 1973 • Emanuel Celler CC 1910
  • 1974 • Nicholas D. McKnight CC’21
  • 1975 • Meyer Schapiro CC’24
  • 1976 • Arthur B. Krim CC’30
  • 1977 • George E. Jonas CC 1919
  • 1978 • George T. Delacorte CC 1913
  • 1979 • William J. McGill

1960 – 1969

  • 1960 • Ward Melville CC 1909
  • 1961 • The Columbia College Nobel Laureates; Edward Calvin Kendall CC 1908; Polykarp Kusch; Willis Eugene Lamb Jr.; Joshua Lederberg CC’44; Herman Joseph Muller CC 1910; John Howard Northrop CC 1912; Isidor Isaac Rabi; Harold Clayton Urey
  • 1962 • John Allen Krout
  • 1963 • Dwight David Eisenhower
  • 1964 • William Towson Taylor CC’21
  • 1965 • Peter Grimm CC 1911
  • 1966 • Alfred A. Knopf CC 1912
  • 1967 • Benjamin J. Buttenwieser CC 1919
  • 1968 • Allan Nevins
  • 1969 • Arthur F. Burns CC’25; Joseph Wood Krutch

1947 – 1959

  • 1947 • Nicholas Murray Butler CC 1882
  • 1948 • Frank Diehl Fackenthal CC 1906
  • 1949 • Vi Kyuin Wellington Koo CC 1909
  • 1950 • William Joseph Donovan CC 1905
  • 1951 • Harry James Carman
  • 1952 • Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes CC 1904
  • 1953 • Arthur Hays Sulzberger CC 1913
  • 1954 • Frank Smithwick Hogan CC’24
  • 1955 • Frederick Coykendall CC 1895; Marcellus Hartley Dodge CC 1903
  • 1956 • Richard Rodgers CC’23; Oscar Hammerstein II CC 1916
  • 1957 • Grayson Kirk
  • 1958 • Edmund Astley Prentis CC 1906
  • 1959 • Mark Van Doren
Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull -- Teaser

Alexander Hamilton CC 1778

Alexander Hamilton CC 1778 was born circa January 11, 1755 (or 1757) in St. Kitts and Nevis, the illegitimate child of James Hamilton, a Scottish trader, and Rachel Fawcett Lavien. After his father abandoned the family, Hamilton began working at 11, becoming an accounting clerk in St. Croix.

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