The Hamilton Medal is the highest honor awarded to a member of the Columbia College community and recognizes distinguished service to the College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.
“Along with his professional accomplishments, Andy has distinguished himself through steadfast support of education, athletics and the arts — particularly here at Columbia, where his leadership and generosity have had a transformative impact on the lives of so many,” says Dean Josef Sorett. “He sets an example of service and civic responsibility that is truly an inspiration to us all.”
Born in Queens, Barth graduated summa cum laude from the College and received a Merit Fellowship to attend the Business School. He began his career as an equity analyst, joining the Capital Group organization in 1985.
Barth was a U.S. equity research director and a global research director, and served on the Capital Group Companies Management Committee for five years (2006–10) and on the Capital Group Companies Fixed Income Management Committee for six years (2009–14). Now retired, Barth concluded his career with portfolio management responsibilities in investment grade credit fixed-income accounts.
A varsity wrestler while at the College, Barth was on three Ivy League Championship teams in addition to being named an All-Ivy wrestler and serving as a captain his senior year. He later competed for the New York Athletic Club and achieved state, regional and international honors in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Barth played a key role on the 2013 committee that successfully worked to preserve wrestling as an Olympic sport. He received USA Wrestling’s Man of the Year award for 2014; was the Team Leader for the U.S. Men’s Freestyle Wrestling Team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro; and has been inducted into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He endowed Columbia’s head wrestling coach position in 2005, and was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.
Barth was twice elected to the Board of Governors of the San Marino Unified School District, from 1997 through 2005, serving three years as president. He is proud of the effort to put in place the foundation that earned San Marino the highest academic performance index ranking of all unified school districts in the State of California.
Other civic duties include serving or having served on the Board of Trustees of the American Ballet Theater, the American Friends of the Louvre, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, the California Science Center Foundation, the Huntington Museum, Library and Gardens, Pomona College, the US Olympic and Paralympic Foundation and the Board of Overseers for the Columbia Business School and Beat the Streets - Los Angeles.
Among other honors, Barth received a John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement in 2011, the International Medical Corporation Global Humanitarian Award in 2011 and the Career Transitions for Dancers Outstanding Contributions to Dance Award in 2010.
In addition to other donations, Barth and his wife, Avery, have endowed a scholarship in their name at the College and a scholarship in honor of Barth’s parents at the Business School.
The couple lives in San Marino, Calif.; they have four children.
The 77th annual Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner will take place on Thursday, Nov. 20, in Low Rotunda