Trilling and Van Doren Awards

Bernard E. Harcourt, the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and a professor of political science, is the winner of the 46th annual Lionel Trilling Book Award for Critique & Praxis: A Critical Philosophy of Illusions, Values, and Action. Harcourt is the founding director of the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought and the executive director of the College’s Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights; his book charts a vision for political and social transformation.

Denise Cruz, an associate professor of English and comparative literature, was honored with the 60th annual Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching, which recognizes a faculty member’s humanity, devotion to truth and inspiring leadership. Cruz was honored for her “innovative, meaningful, and, most importantly, human” adaptation to teaching during the pandemic.