Honors & Prizes

The following is only a selection of websites and documents available online which can help you learn about the history of the University. You can find the original paper copies and additional resources by searching in the library's online catalog CLIO.


Honorary Degree Recipients Honorary Degree Recipients, 1920.

Columbia University Honorary Degree List 
Created by the staff of the University Archives, this MS Excel document lists all of the individuals who have received honorary degrees from Columbia since the 18th century. There is also a tab which lists those who have been awarded the University Medal for Excellence. The list is updated annually, after Commencement. To learn more about the honors and prizes, please visit the Office of the Secretary's website.
 

Columbia University Roll of Honor
Created in conjunction with the installation of a commemorative plaque in Butler Library, this website is intended to be a memorial acknowledging the sacrifice and contributions of each Columbia war casualty as an individual. The Honor Roll of names on this site will be amended as more information surfaces about Columbians engaged in past, present, and future military conflicts of the nation.
 

Bancroft Prizes Web Site
This is an informational web site for The Bancroft Prizes. Under the terms of the will of the late Frederic Bancroft, these prizes are awarded annually by Columbia University in the City of New York to the authors of distinguished works in either or both of the following categories: American History (including biography) and Diplomacy. This site includes a link to a list of all past winners of this distinguished award.
 

Edward M. Kennedy Prize
This is the official site of the Kennedy Prize for drama inspired by American History. The prize is given annually through Columbia University 'to a new play or musical of merit that enlists theater’s power to explore the past of the United States, to participate meaningfully in the great issues of our day through the public conversation, grounded in historical understanding, that is essential to the functioning of a democracy." Previous winners include Robert Schenkkan's All the Way, Dan O'Brien's The Body of an American, Dominique Morrisseau's Detroit '67, Suzan-Lori Parks's Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton.
 

Pulitzer Prizes Web Site
This is the official website for The Pulitzer Prizes, which have been honoring excellence in Journalism and the Arts since 1917. The site contains the complete list of Pulitzer Prize winners from 1917 (the first year the Prizes were awarded) to the present. The site also lists Nominated Finalists from 1980 (the first year finalists were announced) through the present, the full text of winning entries in the Journalism categories from 1995 through the present, and selected material from winners in the Letters, Drama and Music and Special Awards and Citations categories. Also included are biographies of winners from 1995 through the present and information on Board members and Nominating Jurors.


Faculty Awards

The Academic Awards Committee of the Columbia College Student Council presents two awards each year to Columbia faculty members. The Lionel Trilling Book Award "is given to a member of Columbia’s faculty whose book was published in the previous year and upholds a level of excellence commensurate with the work of Lionel Trilling CC '25, GSAS '38." The list of past Trilling winners is available here. The Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching recognizes "a faculty member’s humanity, devotion to truth and inspiring leadership." The list of past Van Doren winners is available here. Finally, the Presidential Teaching Awards recognizes excellence in teaching by faculty members (full- or part-time appointments) and graduate students.