SIPA Honors Distinguished Guests, Raises Fellowship Funds

An audience of 300 luminaries, faculty, alumni, students, and special guests gathered at the historic Plaza Hotel in New York on April 2 for SIPA’s 14th Annual Global Leadership Awards Gala.

The event honors individuals who, through their work in public policy and administration, have made innovative or otherwise extraordinary contributions to the global public interest, with a focus this year on economic development and sustainability in particular. These leaders exemplify what SIPA can do for individuals and for the world: provide students with the international perspective, academic background, and practical experience to solve the most pressing global challenges.

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger introduced SIPA Dean Merit E. Janow, who presented awards to this year’s honorees: Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation; and Joan Spero MIA ’68, a Trustee Emerita and senior research scholar at Columbia University.

Highlights of the program included remarks from SIPA students Jessi Jou Tseng MPA ’14 and Joe Lemaron Sadallah MIA ’15. The event raised a record amount of $450,000, which will be used for student fellowships.   So that’s good news for our incoming first year students.