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FEATURES

College Honors Five Alumni With John Jay Awards

Photos by Chris Taggart

Five of the College’s most accomplished alumni – Dean P. Baquet, Martin J. Cicco ’78, Alexis Donnelly Glick ’94, Richard M. Ruzika ’81 and Jonathan D. Schiller ’69 – were honored with John Jay awards for distinguished professional achievement in a black-tie celebration held by the Columbia College Alumni Association at Cipriani 42nd Street on March 1.

“Tonight we honor five of Columbia’s finest, who have illuminated with their lives some of the darkness around us,” said Dean Austin Quigley, who spoke of the record number of applications received for the Class of 2010 and the College’s increased selectivity. President Lee C. Bollinger also addressed the guests, who numbered more than 500, and reaffirmed the College’s central place in his vision of Columbia as “one of the top-tier universities in the world.”

Serving as dinner co-chairs were David Boies, Bill Campbell ’62, Robert Edward Donnelly, Marc Mazur ’81 and Jonathan Sobel ’88. Marc Pimentel ’06 spoke on behalf of the John Jay Scholars, distinguished students who benefit from a special academic enhancement program designed to promote intellectual growth, leadership development and global awareness. Other students introduced each of the award recipients.

Dean Austin Quigley (right) and President Lee C. Bollinger (second from right) join the five honorees (from left): Martin J. Cicco ’78, Dean P. Baquet, Jonathan D. Schiller ’69, Alexis Donnelly Glick ’94 and Richard M. Ruzika ’81.

Bob Berne ’60 (left), president of the Alumni Association, joins Quigley and his wife, Patricia Denison, at Cipriani 42nd Street, a restored former bank building that hosted the Jay dinner for the first time.

Some of the 30 students who attended the dinner. Several John Jay Scholars introduced the award recipients.

Marc Pimentel ’06 (above left) spoke on behalf of the John Jay Scholars, while (above right, from left) Peter Kang ’05, Reggie Gossett ’06 and Megan Greenwall ’06 Barnard were among the many young alumni and students in attendance.

Dennis Langer ’71 (above left), vice-chair of the College Board of Visitors, joined Geoffrey Colvin ’74, vice president of the Alumni Association and chair of the College Fund, and his wife, Marcia. (above right) University Trustee George Van Amson ’74 (left) and Javier Loya ’91 (center), recipients of John Jay Awards in 2000 and 2004, respectively, met Columbia’s new head football coach, Norries Wilson.

What They Said
	Dean P. Baquet “Had I not gone to Columbia I would have been fine, but my world would have been much smaller. Columbia yanked me into a wider, bigger world, and this is the world I live in now, editing a great newspaper [The Los Angeles Times].”
	Martin J. Cicco ’78 “Who I am today has a tremendous amount to do with Columbia. I will always be indebted to the preparation my Columbia experience provided for me, but most of all, I value the friendships I made here.”
	Alexis Donnelly Glick ’94 “One of the greatest days of my life was getting the acceptance from Columbia. I knew it would change my life. Walking through the gates taught me to be a dreamer.”
	Richard M. Ruzika ’81 “For me, Columbia was love at first sight, and 29 years later, it’s still amazing to me,” he said.
	Jonathan D. Schiller ’69 “Thank you for the remarkable civic lesson [the 1968 anti-war March on Washington] and athletic experience [winning the Holiday Festival basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden], all within a span of 90 days.”
The five honorees and their spouses (from top): Baquet and his wife, Dylan Landis; Cicco and his wife, Marisa; Glick and her husband, Oren; Ruzika and his wife, Ruthanne; and Schiller and his wife, Marla Prather.

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