Legacy and Tradition
Over 25 Years of Civic Leadership
Established in 1979, the Revson Fellowship program at Columbia was one of the first grants of the Charles H. Revson Foundation. Eli Evans, then President of the Revson Foundation, described the program as “modeled loosely on the Nieman Fellowships at Harvard University, helping Columbia University reach out to accomplished individuals of diverse academic backgrounds, and open its doors to emerging leadership in all sectors of the city.”
The program’s founding Director, Eli Ginzberg, a professor of Economics and Public Health, led the Fellowship for nearly a quarter century, until his death in 2002.
In 2003, Open Society Institute joined the Revson Foundation as a funder of the Fellowship, providing increased capacity for the program and its Fellows.
In July 2005, Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh, professor of Sociology and African-American Studies, was selected by a panel of alumni and external advisors to be Director of the Fellowship.
In fall 2006, with support from Lisa Goldberg, President of the Revson Foundation, Professor Venkatesh brought the program under the administrative umbrella of Columbia’s Institute of Research for Social and Economic Policy (ISERP). Through ISERP, Fellows enjoy enriched access to faculty, technical facilities and workshops that promote connections between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners.
Also in 2006, the Board of Trustees of the Revson Foundation approved a new grant to Columbia University to support the Revson Fellowship for the years 2006-2010.
Courses, camaraderie, community–the fellowship provided all three in an engaging fashion. I thought as a mid-career professional I would feel out of synch with the students but their perspectives challenged me and the professors, the books I would have never read on my own and the guest speakers refreshed and enlivened my thinking and work practices. The fellowship felt like a sabbatical–only it took place on-campus.
