Recognition and Awards

Faculty Recognition

• University Professors
• Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching
• Lionel Trilling Book Award
• Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award
• Nobel Prize
• National Academy of Sciences
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences

University Professors - Active

The rank of University Professor is the highest academic honor within Columbia University. Distinguished senior faculty are appointed as a University Professor in recognition of their exceptional scholarly merit and extraordinary service to the University.

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.

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:

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.

Visit Faculty Distinction website 

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.

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.

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.