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Around the QuadsBarzun Receives Presidential Medal Of FreedomJacques Barzun ’27, former Columbia professor, dean and provost, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on July 23. A prolific author for both specialists and general readers, Barzun, 95, spent his entire professional career at Columbia, where he distinguished himself not only as an outstanding professor but also in a variety of administrative posts.
Born in France, Barzun immigrated to the United States in 1919. Upon graduation from the College, he was appointed a history instructor; he earned his Columbia doctorate in 1932, became full professor in 1945 and University Professor in 1967. From 1958–67, he served as dean of faculties and provost. Barzun, who became University Professor Emeritus in 1975, moved to San Antonio in 1997. “From his first book, published 71 years ago, to his latest, a best-seller published in 2000, Jacques Barzun has influenced generations of serious readers,” President George W. Bush remarked. “Few academics of the last century have equaled his output and his influence.” A founder of the discipline of cultural history, Barzun has written on myriad subjects. His books include Romanticism and the Modern Ego (1945), The House of Intellect (1959), The American University (1968), The Use and Abuse of Art (1974) and From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (2000), which President Bush referred to in his remarks. At Columbia, Barzun was a key player in the development of the College’s Core Curriculum: He helped create the Colloquium on Important Books, which he taught with Lionel Trilling ’25; he was a regular teacher of Contemporary Civilization; and later he helped establish Humanities A (now known as Literature Humanities), which he taught regularly. Barzun was one of 11 recipients of the 2003 Medal of Freedom. The others were author and chef Julia Child; baseball legend Roberto Clemente (posthumously); pianist Van Cliburn; former Czech president Vaclav Havel; actor Charlton Heston; physicist Edward Teller; Wendy’s restaurant founder Dave Thomas (posthumously); former Supreme Court Justice Byron White (posthumously); political scientist James Q. Wilson; and basketball coach John Wooden. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian award. Created in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, it recognizes individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States or to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
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