Announcing Columbia’s 2024 Honorary Degree Recipients

On May 15, 2024, Columbia will recognize five exceptional individuals with honorary degrees at its annual university-wide graduation ceremonies. The honorands will receive their awards on Low Plaza on Columbia’s Morningside campus in New York City, in front of the graduates and their friends and family.

Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire, Zvi Galil, Barney S. Graham, and Darren Walker will receive honorary doctorates. Robert Reffkin will be awarded the University Medal for Excellence, given each year to a distinguished Columbia alum.

They will receive their degrees from Minouche Shafik, marking her first Commencement as the Columbia’s president. This year, the University will be hosting two Commencement ceremonies on the same day to include as many in the festivities as possible. The presentation of the honorary degrees will take place over the course of the two events.

Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire, Doctor of Science

A leading immunologist and vaccinologist, Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire is assistant professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Freeman Hrabowski Scholar. During her tenure at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), she was scientific lead of a team that developed a vaccine to combat COVID-19. Alongside Moderna, her team developed mRNA-1273, the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world to enter clinical trial. The highly effective vaccine was authorized for emergency use in less than one year. In addition to Moderna’s vaccine, Corbett-Helaire patented technology is used in many vaccines currently used around the world, including Pfizer’s, Novavax’s, and Johnson & Johnson’s.

Corbett-Helaire has over 15 years of experience studying dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and coronaviruses. In all, she boasts a patent portfolio, which also includes universal coronavirus and influenza vaccines and novel therapeutic antibodies. Currently, Corbett-Helaire’s laboratory studies host immune responses to coronaviruses and other emerging and re-emerging viruses to propel novel vaccine and antibody therapy development. Combining her research goals with her talent for mentorship, Corbett-Helaire invests much of her time in underserved communities as an advocator of STEM education and vaccine awareness.

In 2008, she received a BS in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in Sociology, from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County. She then obtained her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 2014 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her honors include the Fulbright Prize, Sabin Vaccine Institute Rising Star Award, and Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award.

Zvi Galil, Doctor of Letters

Zvi Galil is the former dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing (2010-2019) and former president of Tel Aviv University (2007-2009). He is also a longtime member of the Columbia community, having joined the faculty in 1982, serving as chair of the Computer Science department (1989-1994), and then as dean of Columbia Engineering (1995-2007). His research is in the areas of algorithms (particularly string matching and graph algorithms), complexity, and cryptography.

As dean of Columbia Engineering, Galil oversaw the naming of the school, the creation of the Biomedical Engineering department, and significant growth of the faculty, students, and distance learning program. In 2008, Columbia University established the Zvi Galil award for student life. In 2009, Columbia Society of Graduates awarded him the Great Teacher Award. 

At Georgia Tech, Galil led the faculty in the creation of the College of Computing’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) program. OMSCS has become the largest online master’s program in computer science in the United States. Lately he has been serving as the Frederick G. Storey Chair in Computing and Executive Advisor to Online Programs at Georgia Tech.

Galil earned BS and MS degrees in Applied Mathematics from Tel Aviv University and his PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University before rejoining Tel Aviv University as a member of the faculty. He served as chair of the Computer Science department from 1979-1982. Additional recognitions include an honorary Doctor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and the Zvi Galil PEACE Chair, established by the advisory board of the College of Computing.

Barney S. Graham, Doctor of Science

Barney S. Graham is an immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician with an extensive background in basic and translational research applied to vaccine development. He joined the NIAID Vaccine Research Center at NIH as a founding member in 2000 and retired as Deputy Director in 2021. He is now an independent consultant and Professor of Medicine and Microbiology, Biochemistry, & Immunology and Director of the David Satcher Global Health Equity Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. 

Graham is an author on more than 500 scientific publications and a thought leader on emerging viral diseases and pandemic preparedness. He is best known for his research on RSV pathogenesis, structure-based vaccine design, application of mRNA delivery technology, and rapid COVID-19 vaccine development. He was involved in the advanced evaluation of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for HIV, Ebola, and Chikungunya, and he has developed novel vaccines for RSV, influenza, Zika, paramyxoviruses, and coronaviruses. He is an inventor on vaccines and monoclonal antibodies approved for human use for the prevention or treatment of RSV, COVID-19, and Ebola.

Before joining the NIAID Vaccine Research Center at NIH, Graham obtained an undergraduate degree from Rice University, a medical degree from the University of Kansas, and completed internal medicine residency, chief residencies, ID fellowship, and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous awards, including the Robert M. Chanock Award, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, and the National Academy of Sciences John J. Carty Award.

Robert Reffkin, University Medal for Excellence

Robert Reffkin founded Compass in 2012, drawing inspiration from his mother, Ruth, a longtime real estate agent. Under his leadership, Compass ascended to rank among the top real estate brokerage companies in the United States, achieving half a trillion dollars in real estate sales. Reffkin holds both a BA and MBA from Columbia University, and his professional background includes roles at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, along with a tenure as a White House Fellow.

Beyond his business endeavors, Reffkin has run 50 marathons in 50 states, raising $1 million for charities–including the nonprofit America Needs You, which he founded to empower young people from underprivileged backgrounds, assisting them in becoming the first in their families to attend college. He is also donating all his proceeds from his recent book, No One Succeeds Alone, to nonprofits that help young people realize their dreams.

Darren Walker, Doctor of Laws

Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, a $16 billion international social justice philanthropy. Under his leadership, the Ford Foundation became the first nonprofit in U.S. history to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabilize nonprofit organizations in the wake of COVID-19.

Before joining Ford, Walker was vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation, overseeing global and domestic programs. In the 1990s, he was COO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Harlem’s largest community development organization. Walker co-founded both the US Impact Investing Alliance and the Presidents’ Council of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum

Educated exclusively in public schools, Walker was a member of the first Head Start class in 1965 and received BA, BS, and JD degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on many boards, including those of the National Gallery of Art, Carnegie Hall, the High Line, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ralph Lauren, Bloomberg Inc., and PepsiCo.

Walker is the recipient of 16 honorary degrees, including Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal. In 2022, he was awarded France’s highest cultural honor, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, for leadership in the arts. In 2023, he was appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II to the Order of the British Empire for services to U.K./U.S. relations.