Clockwise from top left: Howard Endelman CC’87, Melissa de la Cruz CC’93, Christopher McGowan CC’92 and Amanda Peet CC’94.
The College has announced that four alumni will be honored with a 2026 John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement: Melissa de la Cruz CC’93, New York Times bestselling author; Howard Endelman CC’87, the Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men’s Tennis, Columbia University; Christopher McGowan CC’92, managing partner, CJM Ventures; and Amanda Peet CC’94, actor, author and producer.
This year’s awards dinner, the 46th annual, will take place on Wednesday, March 4, at Cipriani 42nd Street. Begun in 1979, it is one of the College’s signature events and raises support for the John Jay Scholars Program.
The Honorees
De la Cruz is a bestselling author of critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for readers of all ages. Her books have been published in more than 30 countries, and she is the principal and founder of Melissa de la Cruz Studio at the Walt Disney Co. She is known for her work on the YA Descendants series, about the children of Disney villains. Her novel The Isle of the Lost — the prequel to the Disney Channel original movie Descendants — spent more than 50 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
In addition to other books, de la Cruz is the author of the Blue Bloods vampire series; The Beauchamp Family series, which became a Lifetime television show, Witches of East End; and The Alex & Eliza Trilogy, following the love story of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler. As a screenwriter, she has penned Hallmark movies including Christmas in Angel Falls; Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe (based on her novel); and Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen. All three were the top-rated movies on the Hallmark Channel in the season they debuted. In addition, de la Cruz is the co-director of YALLFest (Charleston, S.C.) and YALLWest (Santa Monica, Calif.), the largest young adult book festivals in the country.
As head coach for men’s tennis, Endelman has been a cornerstone of the team for decades. Endelman himself played for the Lions; he was a two-year team captain who helped lead the program to two Ivy League championships. He later competed professionally on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour at both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. He was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
After he stopped playing professionally, Endelman earned his J.D. at Boston College and transitioned to a career as a lawyer and business executive. He returned to Morningside Heights in 2010, as associate head coach for men’s tennis. He became head coach in 2019.
Endelman’s passion for mentorship, deep understanding of the game and lifelong connection to the University have combined to sustain Columbia’s position as one of the top collegiate tennis programs nationally. Under his leadership, Endelman’s teams became the first in Ivy League history to reach the Final Eight in the NCAA team championships, a feat achieved in both 2024 and 2025. They have also won eight of the last 10 Ivy League titles, and are led by two-time reigning NCAA men’s singles champion Michael Zheng CC’26.
With a foundation in math from the College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, McGowan has had a more than 30-year private-equity career. His work in the field began at AEA Investors in New York City and evolved into a leadership role at Madison Dearborn Partners in Chicago, where he co-led the basic practice and oversaw more than $2 billion in equity investments. Later, he founded his own growth-equity firm, CJM Ventures, focused on ambitious businesses in Chicago and London — a move that underscored his commitment to venture creation and value building.
McGowan is also dedicated to teaching and mentorship. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he also serves as an investor-in-residence and faculty adviser to the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He and his wife, Sandy Wang CC’92, share a deep commitment to education and community; they have held leadership roles at their children’s schools, and McGowan serves on the boards of Stuyvesant H.S., the YMCA of Greater New York and other educational nonprofits. He is a member of the Columbia College Board of Visitors.
Peet’s breakout role as an actress was in The Whole Nine Yards (2000), where she starred opposite Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. Other film credits include Igby Goes Down (2002), Something’s Gotta Give (2003) with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, Syriana (2005) and Please Give (2010). She will next be seen in Fantasy Life, co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Bob Balaban, Judd Hirsch and Matthew Shear. At SXSW 2025 the film won the Audience Award, as well as the Special Jury Award for Peet’s performance. She can most recently be seen in Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, opposite Jon Hamm. She will return as Mel in the second season, set to release in April.
Peet’s other TV credits include Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, The Romanoffs, Brockmire, Togetherness (created by the Duplass Brothers) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Her debut play, The Commons of Pensacola, was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and starred Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker. Her most recent play, Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, ran in 2018 at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In addition to acting and playwriting, Peet also created the Netflix series The Chair, starring Sandra Oh.