Philolexian Awards:

The Thomas J. Vinciguerra Award
The Thomas J. Vinciguerra Award is a prize presented to a graduating Philo senior who best exemplifies the spirit and commitment to the society evinced by its namesake, a 1985 graduate of the College who re-founded Philo after a long dormancy and is currently designated its Avatar. Established in 2002 by an anonymous alumnus, with contributions from all interested parties, the award is presented at the end of each academic year to the senior deemed most worthy by the full philo members of the junors class.

The Kilmer Laureate
The submissions to the Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest are judged by members of the Columbia University faculty on their various merits and at the end of the night a winner is declared and crowned the unofficial Philo poet laureate. This distinction has been known to bring with it fame, fortune, whiter teeth, straighter hair, and lucrative endorsement opportunities.

The Philolexian Centennial Washington Prize Oratory Contest
Among Columbia's oldest prizes, the Washington Prize was endowed to the society by alumnus J. Ackerman Coles (CC 1864) on the occaision of it's centennial celebration. The prize, a bronze replica of Jean-Antoine Houdon's bust of George Washington to be imported from France, was to be awarded once every four years to the member of the society deemed to have delivered the finest oration on a patriotic theme. The society now administers the competition, open to all Columbia College, General Studies, and SEAS undergraudates, in conjunction with the Office of the Dean. The last comeptition was held in 2009.

The Philolexian Prize
Established in 1852 by the alumni of the society at the society's semi-centennial, the Philolexian Prize was originally awarded in three categories, Oratory, Debate, and Essay to 8 recipients. In the early twentieth century the prize was awarded in Poetry, Prose and Essay. During Philo's mid-century dormancy the award became lost in the Columbia administrative jungle and ended up in the hand's of the English department. The awards were eventually combined into a general "Philolexian Prize" which, since the 1950's, has been awarded annually by Columbia University's English department.

The Philolexian Society
This Page