Eric H. Holder Jr. CC'73, LAW'76 was presented the 2015 Alexander Hamilton Medal on November 19 at the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, an annual black-tie event. The medal, the highest honor paid to a member of the Columbia College community, is awarded annually by the Columbia College Alumni Association for distinguished service to the College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.
Holder served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from February 2009 to April 2015. He is the third-longest serving attorney general in U.S. history and the first African-American to hold that office. Internationally recognized leader across a broad range of regulatory enforcement, criminal justice and national security issues, he was named by Time magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People,” which noted that he had “worked tirelessly to ensure equal justice.”
Holder said at the dinner that his life has been shaped by his time at the College. “My sense of myself and how I fit in the world was substantially impacted by all that Columbia allowed or appropriately forced me to confront,” he said. “My desire to be involved in the life of this country was stoked by experiences I had inside classrooms here, but also outside the gates of Morningside Heights in Harlem, and in a city in which I was born and raised, but I really got to know as a student here. My determination to play a role in making our nation more fair, more just, was really amplified by my experiences on this campus. Columbia College, I think, is the foundation of my professional life.”
Along with President Lee C. Bollinger and Dean James J. Valentini, speakers at the dinner in honor of Holder included Douglas R. Wolf CC’88, president of the Columbia College Alumni Association; Jonathan D. Schiller CC’69, LAW’73, chair of the University Board of Trustees; A’Leila Budles JRN’76, vice chair of the University Board of Trustees; Lanny A. Breuer CC’80, SIPA’84, LAW’85, a partner at Covington & Burling; and Lisa L. Carnoy CC’89, vice chair of the University Board of Trustees.
The proceeds from the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner directly benefit College students by supporting the priorities of Columbia College, including the Core Curriculum and financial aid.
For more information about the 2015 Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, visit college.columbia.edu/alumni/events/alexander-hamilton-award-dinner.
