Society of Columbia Graduates

History of the Society of Columbia Graduates

In 1897, Columbia moved from the Midtown Manhattan site that is now Rockefeller Center to the Morningside Heights site of the former Bloomingdale Hospital. Many distinguished alumni were fearful that traditions and values of old Columbia would be lost in the move to the new, modern, McKim, Mead & White designed campus. Those alumni formed the Interclass Society of the Early Eighties which in 1909, became the Society of Older Graduates of Columbia University. The original objectives of this latter group - which has evolved to become The Society of Columbia Graduates - were ". . . to encourage and maintain mutual understanding between Columbia and her graduates; and to uphold the influence and further the interests of Columbia University." By its second Annual Meeting, the Society had over two hundred members. The Society is believed to be the oldest continuously functioning alumni organization of Columbia University.

Membership in the Society was offered as an honor to select alumni with thirty years of service to Columbia. Over the course of the twentieth century, the period of years after graduation required for membership in this honor society was decreased from thirty years to twenty-five, and then to ten. In the era following the growth of robust alumni organizations, the criteria for membership in the Society continued to evolve. Each year, a Committee appointed by the Society's Board of Directors consults with the Deans of Columbia College and the School of Engineering as well as with Alumni Association Presidents and active Members of the Society to identify potential new candidates to be honored with membership in the Society. The object of their search is to find alumni who display a deep dedication to Columbia through their service as undergraduates, and as alumni, in Columbia's various associations and activities, including class reunions. The candidates are approved by the Board and invited to join the Society. Those who become Members pay a single, modest, lifetime fee. Attendance at events hosted by he Society are paid for separately by the members (and public) who attend them. The specific work of the Society is carried out by its Board Members and Officers, who are selected from the Society’s members. The Deans and the Presidents of the alumni associations are Honorary Members of the Society’s Board.

In 1949, the Society was inspired to henceforth embody Columbia's highest ideals by establishing The Great Teacher Awards. This became the principal endeavor of the Society. Beginning with Mark Van Doren and Edwin H. Armstrong in 1949, one (or more) Columbia College and Columbia Engineering Professors have been selected for recognition from each school every year. Candidates are recommended by the Deans and selected by the Society based on the professors’ abilities to stimulate, challenge and inspire undergraduate students; for their demonstrated interest in students and the ability to relate positively to students outside the classroom; and for their recognized standing in their respective academic disciplines. The Great Teacher Awards long had been presented during gala dinners in Low Library in the fall. In recent years, the awards are presented in the presence of the awardees' families, their faculty colleagues, and the Deans of the College and Engineering in Low Library during “All-Class Reunion Saturday” of reunion weekend each Spring.

(A complete list of every Columbia Great Teacher Award recipient, by year, is included separately. )

In 1992, to better symbolize the Society's core mission, the Society commissioned Professor Stanley Wyatt (CC ’43 and GSAS ’47) to create the sculpture of The Teaching Lion. It is the logo of the Society. The full-sized sculpture is located in the Robert M. Rosencrans Reading Room of Butler Library. GTA recipients each have their names inscribed on a bronze plaque below the Teaching Lion sculpture. A desktop sized version of this sculpture is awarded to each GTA recipient. A lapel pin sized version of the sculpture is awarded to each member of the Society, and to its honorary members.

For the complete history, click here.