Richard Axel, CC'67

Three distinguished alumni and faculty members, Richard Axel, CC'67, Wm. Theodore de Bary, CC'41 and James Shenton, CC'49, were awarded Alexander Hamilton Medals at a gala dinner in the Rotunda of Low Library on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

The Alexander Hamilton Medal is presented each year by the Columbia College Alumni Association to an alumnus/a or faculty member for distinguished service and accomplishment in any field of endeavor. The Alexander Hamilton Medal, first presented in 1947 to Nicholas Murray Butler, CC 1882, is the highest tribute awarded to a member of the Columbia College community.

Axel, a pioneer in the application of molecular biology to the study of human perception, was named University Professor in April, 1999. He is credited with fundamental discoveries in biochemistry, genetics and molecular neurobiology, most recently for research on how olfactory information is received and processed by the brain. Axel joined the Columbia faculty in 1974 and was Higgins Professor of Biochemisty and Molecular Biophysics and professor of pathology until his appointment as University Professor, Columbia's highest academic honor.

Wm. Theodore de Bary, CC'41

De Bary is John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus. An expert in Confucianism and Asian culture, he was instrumental in creating the Asian Humanities and Civilizations programs at Columbia after World War II and still teaches the courses. Founder of Columbia's Heyman Center for the Humanities and director since its inception, he has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and President of the Association for Asian Studies.

Among the many distinctions and awards de Bary has earned while at Columbia are the John Jay Award, the Great Teachers Award, the Lionel Trilling Book Award and the Mark Van Doren Prize.

Shenton, Professor of History Emeritus, has taught at Columbia for more than 50 years. He is a noted scholar of American history, especially of ethnicity and immigration in the United States. Shenton has been a staple of the Contemporary Civilization program and directed the history department's summer session for many years. During his tenure at Columbia, he has been honored with the John Jay Award, Mark Van Doren Award, Great Teacher Award and Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, among many other accolades.

James Shenton, CC'49

Co-chairmen of the dinner committee are Philip L. Milstein CC'71 and Gerald Sherwin CC'55.