Alumni Awards

About the SIPA Alumni Awards

As graduates of the world’s most global public policy school, SIPA's 25,000 alumni are making an impact on communities large and small throughout the 160 countries in which they live and work. The SIPA Alumni Association honors alumni for their achievements and extraordinary contributions to improving their communities - locally, nationally, and globally - and for service to SIPA. In honoring such alumni, the SIPA Alumni Association considers many factors that are unique to a school with such a diverse and international student body, and strongly encourages SIPA alumni and supporters from across the globe to submit nominations of individuals they believe merit such recognition.

The SIPA Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually or as otherwise determined by the Board of the SIPA Alumni Association (the “Board”) to honor alumni who have graduated at least 10 years previously and have demonstrated both distinguished achievement in their chosen field and service to SIPA.

The SIPA Emerging Leader Award is presented annually or as otherwise determined by the Board to honor alumni who have graduated in the preceeding10 years and have demonstrated both distinguished achievement in their chosen field and service to SIPA.

Nominations for 2024 Alumni Awards are Open

Deadline for nominations: September 22, 2023

Please note that: (i) self-nominations are not accepted; nor should a candidate be informed of his or her nomination, (ii) alumni who have graduated within 10 years of the nomination deadline are eligible for the Emerging Leader Award except for graduates of SIPA’s Executive MPA program who are instead eligible for the SIPA Distinguished Alumni Award, and (iii) members of the Alumni Association Awards Committee are not eligible to receive awards while serving on the Committee. 

Nomination instructions:

1. When submitting the nomination form using the link below, please provide as much information as possible including your nominee's name, SIPA degree and graduation year, professional title and employer, and contact details (home and professional).
2. Please also provide a brief statement of the reasons why you are nominating this SIPA graduate for the award. To the extent possible, please include the nominee’s achievements and experience in their chosen field, including leadership roles, awards, or recognition, as well as professional, civic, or community engagement, and engagement with Columbia SIPA as a graduate.
3. Nominations are strengthened by letters of support from those who are familiar with the nominee’s achievements in their chosen field and/or service to SIPA.  These letters can be addressed to the SIPA Alumni Association Awards Committee and sent directly to SIPA’s Office of Alumni Affairs at [email protected].
4. All nomination forms and letters of support should be submitted by the nomination deadline of September 22, 2023.
5. For any questions about the nomination process or submitting letters of support, please contact Susan Storms, Director of Alumni Relations, at (212) 854-8598 or [email protected].

Submit a nomination