Quigley Honored at Hamilton Dinner

Surrounded by dolphins and overshadowed by a giant blue whale, Columbia College Dean Austin Quigley accepted the Alexander Hamilton Medal, the college’s highest honor, at the American Museum of Natural History Thursday night.

Quigley, who will step down as dean at the end of the year after 14 years in the post, was clearly much beloved among the college alumni who bestowed the annual award on him for “truly distinguished service.” The 600-person event raised over $2 million for the college.

A parade of speakers lauded Quigley’s affability as well as his fundraising prowess and success at winning over students. The college also paid tribute to Quigley by showing a video featuring alumni, faculty, and students reflecting on Quigley and presenting him with a sculpture of a lion commissioned by Greg Wyatt, CC ’71. Several speakers cited the statistics that during Quigley’s tenure, the college has more than doubled the number of annual applications as well as yearly fundraising.

“Columbia College has never in 254 years of existence been stronger, and that’s due to Austin,” Columbia Trustee Richard Witten, CC ’75, said. Witten also announced the establishment of the Austin E. Quigley Endowment for Student Success, a permanent fund for student advising. Twenty-six million dollars have already been pledged by a leadership group, but Witten said that the fund will ultimately total $50 million.

Quigley ascribed his success as dean to two qualities which are, he said, abundant in “British deans”—formality and eccentricity.

“People tend to focus on the formality but in fact, it’s the eccentricity that’s important,” he said, drawing a comparison between the constant challenges faced by the college and the fickle nature of the natural world depicted by the American Museum of Natural History.

“This is in fact the world’s greatest museum to eccentricity,” he said.

A laundry list of notable administrators, faculty, and alumni attended the event, including University President Lee Bollinger, Provost Alan Brinkley, former Barnard President Judith Shapiro, and ABC reporter Claire Shipman, CC ’86, who also emceed the event.

The most dramatic moment of the evening was an impromtu speech by major donor John Kluge, CC ’37, who reflected on how Quigley has made the college administration more accessible than it was in his days as a student.

“[Former Columbia President] Nicholas Murray Butler was a great man, but he would only commune with God, the King of England, and Mussolini,” said Kluge in the most successful of the many jokes peddled by the event’s speakers.

“Thank god that has changed,” he added.

jacob.schneider@columbiaspectator.com