Lenfest Distinguished Faculty

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, and Principal Investigator, Zuckerman Institute

For groundbreaking contributions to the study of sensory perception and touch and pain signals, the development of innovative measurement methods and experimental techniques, his dedication to providing mentoring and research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, and his leadership in serving local, national, and international scientific research communities.

Jessica Collins

Associate Professor of Philosophy

For long and sustained contributions to the intellectual life of the Department of Philosophy, the joyful and infectious passion for knowledge she imparts upon her students and colleagues, her breadth of teaching and exceptional mentorship, and her unwavering service to the department and the University for over three decades.

Lynn Nottage

Professor of Theatre, School of the Arts

For genre-defying plays of vital significance to American theatre that have been recognized by the world’s most prestigious honors, her transformational role as a teacher of playwriting through her signature course on theatre and American Spectacle, and her invaluable support to students by serving as a bridge in their transition from the academy to the profession.

Kerstin Perez

Lavine Family Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences

For pioneering work on novel techniques to understand the nature and origins of dark matter, her longstanding devotion to science education and outreach, in particular her commitment to undergraduate student recruitment and retention in STEM fields through both classroom practices and mentoring, and her leadership in setting strategic science priorities during an uncertain period.

Adam Reich

Professor of Sociology

For exemplary instruction of introductory courses in Sociology, his support and advocacy on behalf of students in curricular and extracurricular matters, his mentorship of junior faculty colleagues, his long record of service across the Arts and Sciences, and his scholarship on U.S. criminal justice systems, health care, and labor markets.

Elizabeth Scharffenberger

Senior Lecturer in Classics

For vital contributions to the Department of Classics through her skillful stewardship of its curricula and programs, her exceptional teaching and scholarship of Ancient Greek language and literature, and her deep empathy and care in advising and mentoring her students.

Dennis Yi Tenen

Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

For innovative scholarship in the areas of computational humanities, the history and theory of media, and literary theory and methods, his varied and original pedagogy in the classroom, his commitment to student mentorship and hands-on learning, and his leadership in crafting partnerships that extend beyond the Arts and Sciences.

Michael Woodford

John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy

For internationally recognized, field-defining scholarship in the areas of macroeconomic theory, monetary policy, and the blending of economic analysis, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, his successful stewardship of the Department of Economics as chair, and his mentorship of generations of students, academics, and leaders.

Dima Amso

Professor of Psychology – Department of Psychology

For dedication to building community among faculty that is inclusive, pragmatic, empathetic, and focused on where faculty can be most effective in shaping the institution – qualities that have defined her service as Chair of the Policy and Planning Committee and her path-breaking scholarship.

Claudia Breger

Villard Professor of German and Comparative Literature – Chair, Department of Germanic Languages

For transformative work to strengthen community, mentorship, support, and care for the faculty, students, and staff of the Department of Germanic Languages, with a particular emphasis on recognizing and supporting language lecturers and their important contributions to their fields and the University.

Sunil Gulati

Michael K. Dakolias Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Economics – Department of Economics

For building bridges across the multiple divides in our current moment, with total devotion to being present with and for students in all elements of their Columbia life, and for his profound ongoing investment in their learning, well-being and success, well beyond graduation.

Alice Heicklen

Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Biological Sciences – Department of Biological Sciences

For tireless support of undergraduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences through her innovative teaching and courses, leadership of the summer undergraduate research fellowship program, rigorous training of student teaching assistants, and broader efforts to build community within the biology major.

Ioannis Karatzas

Eugene Higgins Professor of Applied Probability – Department of Mathematics

For profound contributions through his lifetime of teaching and research in the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, his field-defining scholarship in the area of Probability Theory and its applications, his keen ability to make complex concepts accessible and inspiring to his students, and his patience, dedication, and care as a mentor, instructor, and colleague.

Seth Kimmel

Associate Professor of Latin American and Iberian Cultures – Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures

For skill in bringing together diverse groups of students to expand their intellectual horizons in an environment built around empathy and mutual respect, cultivating a strong sense of community in his classrooms, unwavering dedication to undergraduate and graduate mentorship, and leveraging New York City as a living laboratory for exploration and learning.

Jerry McManus

Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences – Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

For deep commitment to creating an inclusive, welcoming, and engaging classroom environment, dedication to mentoring scholars at all stages of their careers, impactful research in paleoclimate, geochemistry, and oceanography, and service as chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences during the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenging periods.

Justin Phillips

Eaton Professor of Political Science – Chair, Department of Political Science

For spearheading initiatives to strengthen the Department of Political Science as chair and extend its status as one of the pre-eminent departments in the world, leading collaborative efforts to improve the student experience in large undergraduate majors, and contributions to shared faculty governance through his service on Arts and Sciences faculty committees.

David Blei
Professor of Statistics and Computer Science - Departments of Statistics and Computer Science

For his groundbreaking scholarship in the areas of machine learning and artificial intelligence, around which he has built a flourishing research group at Columbia and a thriving intellectual community across the city, and for his tireless mentorship and teaching of students in the Departments of Statistics and Computer Science.

Anne Bogart
Concentration Head, Directing Professor, Theatre - School of the Arts

For her singular contributions to the School of the Arts and the broader New York and international theatre community as a celebrated director, author, mentor, and educator, including her thirty years of visionary teaching in Columbia’s theatre program and artistic direction of the world-renowned Saratoga International Theater Institute.

Donald Green
Burgess Professor of Political Science - Department of Political Science

For his indelible influence on the fields of experimental political science and the study of American politics, his innovative instruction on the design of field and survey experiments, and his deep investment in the personal and professional well-being and development of his students at all levels.

Gil Hochberg
Ransford Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, and Middle East Studies - Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies

For her René Welleck Prize-winning monograph, Becoming Palestine: Toward an Archival Imagination of the Future, and her leadership in fostering constructive student and faculty conversations on Israel and Gaza as chair of the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies.

Karl Jacoby
Allan Nevins Professor of American History - Department of History

For his deep commitment to teaching and mentoring, his curricular advancements in areas such as the history of the borderlands, Indigenous peoples, ethnicity and racialization, and the environment, and his role in strengthening the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race as its co-director.

Kathryn Johnston
Professor of Astronomy - Department of Astronomy

For her impactful research on the dynamic interactions of stars in and around our galaxy and the field of galactic archaeology, her efforts to create new joint research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and new pathways into STEM for underrepresented students, and her leadership in redesigning the graduate Astronomy curriculum.

Agnieszka Legutko
Senior Lecturer in Yiddish - Department of Germanic Languages

For her exceptional record of teaching and mentoring students through dynamic and interactive classes and field engagements, her innovative course design that integrates digital tools into the study of Yiddish language and culture, and her contributions to the ongoing success and expansion of the Yiddish language program at Columbia.

Nim Tottenham
Professor of Psychology - Department of Psychology

For her breakthrough discoveries in the field of developmental affective neuroscience and human emotional learning and development, her support of junior faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, and women and underrepresented groups, and her unwavering devotion to the development of her students at all phases of their careers.

Name: Kellie Jones
Title: Hans Hofmann Professor of Modern Art
Department: Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies

Name: Navin Kartik
Title: Professor of Economics
Department: Department of Economics

Name: Jonathan Kingslake
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Name: Jennifer Lee
Title: Julian Clarence Levi Professor Social Sciences
Department: Department of Sociology

Name: Jeffrey Milarsky
Title: Senior Lecturer in Music
Department: Department of Music

Name: Jonathan Owen
Title: Associate Professor of Chemistry
Department: Department of Chemistry

Name: Rakesh Ranjan
Title: Senior Lecturer and Language Coordinator
Department: Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS)

Name: Jennifer Wenzel
Title: Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
Department: Department of English and Comparative Literature and MESAAS

Name: Seth Cluett
Title: Lecturer in Music, Computer Music and Sound Studies
Department: Music

Name: Lila Davachi
Title: Professor of Psychology
Department: Psychology

Name: Jeremy Dodd
Title: Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Physics
Department: Physics

Name: Susan Elmes
Title: Andrew Barth Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Economics
Department: Economics

Name: Dorothea Lasky
Title: Associate Professor
Department: School of the Arts/Writing

Name: Graciela Montaldo
Title: Professor of Latin American and Iberian Cultures
Department: Latin American and Iberian Cultures

Name: Amy Starecheski
Title: Lecturer in the Discipline of Sociology
Department: Sociology

Name: Alan Stewart
Title: Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Department: English & Comparative Literature

Name: Frank Guridy
Title: Associate Professor of History and of African American and African Diaspora Studies
Department: History

Name: Ivana Hughes
Title: Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Chemistry
Department: Frontiers of Science/Chemistry

Name: Susan Mendelsohn
Title: Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of English and Comparative Literature
Department: ENCL/UWP

Name: Brinkley Messick
Title: Professor of Anthropology and of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies;Director, Middle East Institute
Department: Anthropology/MESAAS

Name: Deborah Paredez
Title: Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Writing in the Faculty of the Arts
Department: School of the Arts/Writing

Name: Xavier Roy
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Chemistry

Name: Chris Washburne
Title: Professor of Music
Department: Music

Name: Tian Zheng
Title: Professor
Department: Statistics

Name: Maria Abascal
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Sociology

Name: Vanessa Agard-Jones
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Anthropology

Name: Niall Bolger
Title: Professor
Department: Psychology

Name: Denise Cruz
Title: Professor
Department: English & Comparative Literature

Name: Madeline Dobie
Title: Professor
Department: French

Name: Duncan Menge
Title: Associate Professor
Department: Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology

Name: Rhiannon Stephens
Title: Associate Professor
Department: History

Name: Madeline Zelin
Title: Dean Lung Professor of Chinese Studies
Department: EALAC

Taoufik Ben-Amor, Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies

Matthew Hart, ENCL

Kimuli Kasara, Political Science

Benjamin Marcus, School of the Arts

Serena Ng, Economics

Pier Mattia Tommasino, Italian

Gray Tuttle, East Asian Languages and Cultures

Maria Uriarte, Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology

Courtney Bender, Religion

Eleanor B. Johnson, English & Comparative Literature

Branden Joseph, Art History & Archaeology

Molly F. Przeworski, Biological Sciences

Shelley A. Saltzman, American Language Program

Neslie Senocak, History

Josef Sorett, Religion

Marc Van de Mieroop, History

2016-2017

Elisheva Carlebach, History

James Curley, Psychology

Valentina Ismirlieva, Slavic Languages

Matthew McKelway, Art History & Archaeology

Samuel Roberts, History/Sociomedical Sciences

Rachel Rosen, Physics

Dustin Rubenstein, Ecology Evolution Environ Bio

Oliver Simons, Germanic Languages

2015-2016

Marcel Agűeros, Astronomy

Gil Anidjar, Religion

Susan Boynton, Music

Terence D’Altroy, Anthropology

Timothy Donnelly, School of the Arts/Writing

Michael Golston, English & Comparative Literature

Barbel Honisch, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Dana Pe’er, Biological Sciences

2014-2015

Brian Cole, Physics

Patricia Dailey, English and Comparative Literature

Souleymane Bachir Diagne, French and Romance Philology

Bradford Garton, Music

Stathis Gourgouris, Classics

Rebecca Kobrin, History

Liza Knapp, Slavic Languages

Feng Li, East Asian Languages and Cultures

Molly Murray, English and Comparative Literature

Carol Rovane, Philosophy

Dorothea von Mücke,Germanic Languages

2013-2014

Elizabeth Blackmar, History

Virginia Page Fortna, Political Science

Erik Gray, English and Comparative Literature

Peter Kelemen, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Art History and Archaeology

Christine Philliou, History

Valerie Purdie-Vaughns, Psychology

Joanna Stalnaker, French and Romance Philology

Brent Stockwell, Biology

Rafael Yuste, Biology

Faculty Excellence and Awards

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2025-2026

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2024-2025

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2023-2024

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2022-2023

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2021-2022

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2020-2021

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2019-2020

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2018-2019

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2017-2018

Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Awardees 2013-2017

2016-2017

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