About Arts and Sciences
Faculty Recognition
- University Professors
- Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching
- Lionel Trilling Book Award
- Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award
University Professors
The rank of University Professor is the highest academic honor within Columbia University. Distinguished senior faculty are appointed University Professor in recognition of their exceptional scholarly merit and extraordinary service to the University.
| University Professors | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|
| Jagdish N. Bhagwati | Economics |
| Ronald C. Breslow | Chemistry; Biological Sciences |
| Rosalind E. Krauss | Art History and Archaeology |
| Tsung-Dao Lee | Physics |
| Robert A. Mundell | Economics |
| Simon M. Schama | History; Art History and Archaeology |
| Gayatri C. Spivak | English and Comparative Literature |
| Joseph E. Stiglitz | Economics; International and Public Affairs |
The Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching
Mark Van Doren (Ph.D. 1920, Faculty 1920–59, Emeritus, 1959–72) was a legendary classroom presence who inspired generations of Columbia students. He was a Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, novelist, playwright, critic, editor, and biographer, as well as a scholar and teacher. The Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching is awarded annually to a faculty member for his or her humanity, devotion to truth, and inspiring leadership.
| Year | Honorees | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Andrew J. Nathan | Political Science |
| 2007 | Samuel A. Moyn | History |
| 2006 | Elizabeth S. Blackmar | History |
| 2005 | Andreas A. Huyssen | Germanic Languages |
| 2004 | Gareth David Williams | Classics |
| 2003 | Robert G. O'Meally | English and Comparative Literature |
| 2002 | Caroline W. Bynum | History |
| 2001 | Kathy Hannah Eden | English and Comparative Literature; Classics |
| 2000 | Michael Stanislawski | History |
| 1999 | Henry Charles Pinkham | Mathematics |
| 1998 | Sidney Morgenbesser | Philosophy |
| 1997 | Steven Marcus | English and Comparative Literature |
| 1996 | Fritz R. Stern | History |
| 1995 | James Mirollo | English and Comparative Literature |
| 1994 | Michael Rosenthal | English and Comparative Literature |
| 1993 | Donald Hood | Psychology |
| 1992 | Richard F. Kuhns | Philosophy |
| 1991 | Joseph A. Rothschild | Political Science |
| 1990 | Walter P. Metzger | History |
| 1989 | Kenneth T. Jackson | History |
| 1988 | William Theodore de Bary | East Asian Languages and Cultures |
| 1987 | Carl F. Hovde | English and Comparative Literature |
| 1986 | Edward W. Tayler | English and Comparative Literature |
| 1985 | Ainslie T. Embree | History |
| 1984 | J. W. Smit | Germanic Languages |
| 1983 | Carol Gluck | History; East Asian Languages and Cultures |
| 1982 | Charles Hamilton | Political Science |
| 1981 | Henry F. Graff | History |
| 1980 | Robert L. Belknap | Slavic Languages |
| 1979 | C. Lowell Harriss | Economics |
| 1978 | Charles R. Dawson | Chemistry |
| 1977 | Robert F. Murphy | Anthropology |
| 1976 | Joseph P. Bauke | German |
| 1975 | Wallace A. Gray | English |
| 1974 | Karl-Ludwig Selig | Spanish |
| 1973 | George W. Flynn | Chemistry |
| 1972 | Alan F. Westin | Public Law |
| 1971 | James P. Shenton | History |
| 1970 | Charles Frankel | Philosophy and Public Affairs |
| 1969 | Ronald C. Breslow | Chemistry; Biological Sciences |
| 1968 | Howard M. Davis | Art History |
| 1967 | Frederick W. Dupee | English |
| 1966 | Lionel Trilling | English |
| 1965 | Dwight C. Miner | History |
| 1964 | Moses Hadas | Greek |
| 1963 | George Nobbe | English |
| 1962 | Frank Tannenbaum | (Director of University Seminars) |
The Lionel Trilling Book Award
Lionel Trilling (Columbia College 1925, Ph.D. 1938, Faculty 1927–74) was one of the most public of the twentieth century's public intellectuals. He became nationally known for both his scholarship and his literary criticism, which appealed to a wide audience. At Columbia, Trilling was also recognized as a gifted and dedicated teacher with a special commitment to undergraduate education.
The Lionel Trilling Book Award was created to honor his memory. The award is given annually by the Columbia College Academic Awards Committee to the author of the book, published by a faculty member in the previous calendar year, that is deemed to best exhibit the standards of intellect and scholarship found in Lionel Trilling’s work.
Winners of the Lionel Trilling Book Award include:
| Year | Honorees | Book Title | Arts and Sciences Department(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Joseph A. Massad | Desiring Arabs | Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 2007 | Sheldon Pollock | The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture and Power in Premodern India | Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 2006 | Andrew Delbanco | Melville: His World and Work | English and Comparative Literature | |
| 2005 | Alan D. E. Cameron | Greek Mythography in the Roman World | Classics | |
| 2004 | Philip Kitcher | In Mendel's Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology | Philosophy | |
| 2003 | William V. Harris | Restraining Rage: The Ideology of Anger Control in Classical Antiquity | History | |
| 2002 | Nicholas B. Dirks | Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India | Anthropology; History | |
| 2001 | Jonathan K. Crary | Suspension of Perception: Attention, Spectacle, and Modern Culture | Art History and Archaeology | |
| 2000 | Hamid Dabashi | Truth and Narrative: The Untimely Thoughts of 'Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani | Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 2000 | Brian Greene | The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory | Mathematics; Physics | |
| 1999 | Robert C. Lieberman | Shifting the Color Line: Race and the American Welfare State | International and Public Affairs; Political Science | |
| 1998 | Robert Jervis | System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life | Political Science | |
| 1997 | Ira I. Katznelson | Liberalism's Crooked Circle: Letters to Adam Michnik | Political Science; History | |
| 1996 | Ann Douglas | Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s | English and Comparative Literature | |
| 1996 | Simon M. Schama | Landscape and Memory | History; Art History and Archaeology | |
| 1995 | Robert E. Pollack | Signs of Life: The Language and Meanings of DNA | Biological Sciences | |
| 1994 | Edward W. Said | Culture and Imperialism | English and Comparative Literature | |
| 1994 | Diana Trilling | The Beginning of the Journey: The Marriage of Lionel and Diana Trilling | (Special award) | |
| 1993 | Karl Kroeber | Retelling/Rereading: The Fate of Storytelling in Modern Times | English and Comparative Literature | |
| 1992 | Caroline Walker Bynum | Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion | History | |
| 1991 | David Cannadine | The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy | History | |
| 1990 | Andrew Delbanco | The Puritan Ordeal | English and Comparative Literature | |
| 1989 | Eric Foner | Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 | History | |
| 1988 | Robert F. Murphy | The Body Silent: The Different World of the Disabled | Anthropology | |
| 1987 | Carol Gluck | Japan’s Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period | History; East Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 1986 | (No award) | |||
| 1985 | (No award) | |||
| 1984 | W. T. H. Jackson (Posthumous) | The Hero and the King: An Epic Theme | History | |
| 1983 | William Theodore de Bary | Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind-and-Heart | East Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 1982 | Arthur C. Danto | The Transfiguration of the Commonplace: A Philosophy of Art | Philosophy | |
| 1981 | Peter R. Pouncey | Necessities of War: A Study of Thucydides’ Pessimism | Classics | |
| 1980 | Istvan Deak | The Lawful Revolution: Louis Kossuth and the Hungarians, 1848-1849 | History | |
| 1979 | (No award) | |||
| 1978 | Morton Smith | Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God | History | |
| 1977 | Fritz R. Stern | Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichröder, and the Building of the German Empire | History | |
| 1976 | Edward W. Said | Beginnings: Intention and Method | English and Comparative Literature |
Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award
The Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award was created in 2005 when Columbia Trustee Gerry Lenfest '58LAW donated $12 million to the University to establish a new category of awards honoring exceptional teaching in the Arts and Sciences. The awards are given annually to faculty of unusual merit across a range of professorial activities — including scholarship, University citizenship, and professional involvement — with a primary emphasis on the instruction and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.
| Year | Honorees | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-2009 | Francesco de Angelis | Art History and Archaeology |
| Christopher Brown | History | |
| Brent Edwards | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Darcy Kelley | Biological Sciences | |
| Philip Kitcher | Philosophy | |
| Kevin Ochsner | Psychology | |
| Nadia Urbinati | Political Science | |
| 2007-2008 | Lila Abu-Lughod | Anthropology |
| Zainab Bahrani | Art History and Archaeology | |
| Nicholas Dames | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Peter deMenocal | Earth and Environmental Sciences | |
| Sharon Marcus | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Amber Miller | Physics | |
| Shahid Naeem | Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology | |
| Colin Nuckolls | Chemistry | |
| Pablo Piccato | History | |
| Sudhir Venkatesh | Sociology | |
| Katja Vogt | Philosophy | |
| 2006-2007 | Virginia W. Cornish | Chemistry |
| Geraldine Downey | Psychology | |
| Robert E. Harrist, Jr. | Art History and Archaeology | |
| Rashid Khalidi | History | |
| Philip Kim | Physics | |
| Samuel A. Moyn | History | |
| Robert G. O’Meally | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Elizabeth A. Povinelli | Anthropology | |
| Xavier Sala-I-Martin | Economics | |
| Wei Shang | East Asian Languages and Cultures | |
| 2005-2006 | Janet M. Conrad | Physics |
| Jonathan K. Crary | Art History and Archaeology | |
| Jenny M. Davidson | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Gil Eyal | Sociology | |
| Pierre Force | French and Romance Philology | |
| Farah Jasmine Griffin | English and Comparative Literature | |
| Matthew L. Jones | History | |
| James L. Leighton | Chemistry | |
| Eric Jean-Paul Urban | Mathematics | |
| Gareth David Williams | Classics |
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize, administered by the Nobel Foundation, based in Stockholm, Sweden, recognizes achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics, and for peace. The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards given for intellectual achievement in the world.
| Year | Nobel Laureates | Prize | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Nicholas Murray Butler | Peace | n/a (University President) |
| 2008 | Martin Chalfie | Chemistry | Biological Sciences |
| 1955 | Polykarp Kusch | Physics | Physics |
| 1957 | Tsung-Dao Lee | Physics | Physics |
| 1999 | Robert A. Mundell | Economic Sciences | Economics |
| 2006 | Orhan Pamuk | Literature | Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures; Arts |
| 2006 | Edmund S. Phelps | Economic Sciences | Economics |
| 1944 | Isidor Isaac Rabi | Physics | Physics |
| 1975 | James Rainwater | Physics | Physics |
| 2001 | Joseph E. Stiglitz | Economic Sciences | Economics; International and Public Affairs |
| 1998 | Horst L. Störmer | Physics | Physics |
| 1934 | Harold C. Urey | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| 1996 | William Vickrey | Economic Sciences | Economics |
| 1949 | Hideki Yukawa | Physics | Physics |
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.
| NAS Members | NAS Section | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce J. Berne | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Ronald C. Breslow | Chemistry | Chemistry; Biological Sciences |
| Wallace S. Broecker | Geophysics | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Louis E. Brus | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Martin Chalfie | Genetics | Biological Sciences |
| Kenneth B. Eisenthal | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| George W. Flynn | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Norma V. Graham | Psychology | Psychology |
| Richard S. Hamilton | Mathematics | Mathematics |
| James E. Hansen | Geophysics | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Tsung-Dao Lee | Physics | Physics |
| Ann E. McDermott | Biophysics and Computational Biology | Chemistry; Biological Sciences |
| Walter Mischel | Psychology | Psychology |
| John Morgan | TBA | Mathematics |
| Paul E. Olsen | Geology | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Edmund S. Phelps | Economic Sciences | Economics |
| Carol L. Prives | Medical Genetics, Hematology, and Oncology | Biological Sciences |
| Walter Clarkson Pitman III | Geology | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Malvin A. Ruderman | Physics | Physics |
| Frank Sciulli | TBA | Physics |
| Edward E. Smith | Psychology | Psychology |
| Joseph E. Stiglitz | Economic Sciences | Economics; International and Public Affairs |
| Horst L. Störmer | Applied Physical Sciences | Physics |
| Charles H. Tilly | Social and Political Sciences | Sociology |
| Nicholas J. Turro | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| David Walker | Geology | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Harrison C. White | Social and Political Sciences | Sociology |
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) is an international learned society whose members are of exceptional achievement, drawn from science, scholarship, business, public affairs, and the arts.
| AAAS Members | AAAS Class | Arts and Sciences Department(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Teodolinda Barolini | Literary Criticism (including Philology) |
Italian |
| Peter S. Bearman | Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, and Demography | Sociology |
| Bruce J. Berne | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Jagdish N. Bhagwati | Economics | Economics |
| Ronald C. Breslow | Chemistry | Chemistry; Biological Sciences |
| Alan Brinkley | History | History |
| Mark A. Cane | Astronomy (including Astrophysics) and Earth Sciences | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Martin Chalfie | Cellular and Developmental Biology, Microbiology, and Immunology (including Genetics) | Biological Sciences |
| Antoine Marcel Compagnon | Literary Criticism (including Philology) |
French and Romance Philology |
| Lynn A. Cooper | Social and Developmental Psychology and Education | Psychology |
| William Theodore De Bary | Literary Criticism (including Philology) | East Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Victoria De Grazia | History | History |
| Andrew Delbanco | Literary Criticism (including Philology) |
English and Comparative Literature |
| Ann Douglas | History | English and Comparative Literature |
| Michael W. Doyle | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | International and Public Affairs; Political Science |
| Jon Elster | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science |
| Robert S. Erikson | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science |
| George W. Flynn | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Eric Foner | History | History |
| David A. Freedberg | History | Art History and Archaeology |
| Richard A. Friesner | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Carol Gluck | History | History; East Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Dorian Goldfeld | Mathematics | Mathematics |
| Norma V. Graham | Neurosciences, Cognitive Sciences, and Behavioral Biology | Psychology |
| Richard S. Hamilton | Mathematics | Mathematics |
| William V. Harris | History | History |
| Edward Tory Higgins | Social and Developmental Psychology and Education | Psychology |
| Kenneth T. Jackson | History | History |
| Robert Jervis | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science |
| Thomas J. Katz | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Ira I. Katznelson | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science; History |
| Alice Kessler-Harris | History | History |
| Rashid Khalidi | History | History |
| Philip Kitcher | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Philosophy |
| Robert M. Krauss | Social and Developmental Psychology and Education | Psychology |
| Tsung-Dao Lee | Physics | Physics |
| Robert H. Legvold | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science |
| James L. Manley | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Biological Sciences |
| Walter Mischel | Social and Developmental Psychology and Education | Psychology |
| Alfred H. Mueller | Physics | Physics |
| Robert A. Mundell | Economics | Economics |
| Orhan Pamuk | Literature (Fiction, Poetry, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Playwriting, Screenwriting) | Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Gustavo F. Pérez-Firmat | Literary Criticism (including Philology) | Spanish and Portuguese |
| Edmund S. Phelps | Economics | Economics |
| Ross Posnock | Literary Criticism (including Philology) | English and Comparative Literature |
| Kenneth Prewitt | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | International and Public Affairs |
| Carol L. Prives | Cellular and Developmental Biology, Microbiology, and Immunology (including Genetics) | Biological Sciences |
| Wayne L. Proudfoot | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Religion |
| Paul G. Richards | Astronomy (including Astrophysics) and Earth Sciences | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| David Rosand | Visual and Performing Arts–Criticism and Practice (including Art, Architecture, Sculpture, Music, Theater, Film, Dance) | Art History and Archaeology |
| Malvin A. Ruderman | Physics | Physics |
| Jeffrey D. Sachs | Economics | Economics; International and Public Affairs |
| Simon M. Schama | History | History; Art History and Archaeology |
| Rae Silver | Neurosciences, Cognitive Sciences, and Behavioral Biology | Psychology |
| Edward E. Smith | Social and Developmental Psychology and Education | Psychology |
| Jack Lewis Snyder | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | Political Science |
| Robert E. Somerville | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Religion; History |
| Alfred C. Stepan | Political Science, International Relations, and Public Policy | International and Public Affairs |
| Horst L. Störmer | Physics | Physics |
| Charles H. Tilly | Anthropology, Archaeology, Sociology, Demography, and Geography | Sociology |
| Nicholas J. Turro | Chemistry | Chemistry |
| David Walker | Astronomy (including Astrophysics) and Earth Sciences | Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Harrison C. White | Anthropology, Archaeology, Sociology, Demography, and Geography | Sociology |
| William J. Willis | Physics | Physics |
| Michael Woodford | Economics | Economics |