Columbia University School of the Arts Will Honor Sheila Nevins, Paul Libin, and Hugh Hayden This Month

Two industry icons, Sheila Nevins and Paul Libin, will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards by Columbia University School of the Arts on March 25, 2024. Also honored will be rising star, artist Hugh Hayden.

Sheila Nevins, the former President of HBO Documentary Films and Executive Producer for MTV Documentary Films division, is considered a genre-defining trailblazer and one of the most influential people in documentary filmmaking. “I'm not trying to entertain you; I'm trying to make you passionate.” Her productions have been recognized with 35 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, 42 Peabody Awards, and 26 Academy Awards. An Academy Award nominee herself, Nevins has won 31 individual Primetime Emmy Awards, more than any other person according to the Guinness Book of World Records. 

Paul Libin has shaped the landscape of American theater as president of Circle in the Square Theatre; and he has mounted more than 250 productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and on tour. Renowned for his visionary and innovative style, Libin, whose career has spanned six decades, earned eleven Tony Awards and is the recipient of the 2013 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He also served as President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for 24 years and was Chairperson of The Broadway League. In 2016, Paul Libin was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

Both honorees are alumni of the Morningside campuses. Sheila Nevins is a graduate of Barnard College and Paul Libin graduated from Columbia University where he studied the Dramatic Arts.

Receiving the Award for Excellence in the Creative Arts is Columbia University School of the Arts alumnus Hugh Hayden ’18. A rising star in the contemporary art world, the sculptor works mostly in wood and by hand, whereby he reconstructs vernacular objects in the American landscape, subverting their utility and meaning by giving them human qualities. Education is a subject of deep personal significance in his art. “Education is part of this road map to the American dream,” he said. His sculptures suggest the barriers to a path forward for many young people, whether from uneven distribution of resources in public schools or the burden of college student loans. His work is part of public collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, and more.

Katharina Otto-Bernstein (Chair of the School of the Arts Dean’s Council) and Barbara Whitman (Event Chair) will host the evening with Sarah Cole (Columbia University School of the Arts’ Interim Dean).  

Katharina Otto-Bernstein notes: “On March 25th we will honor three extraordinary visionaries from the Columbia family who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to American culture and beyond. It will be an inspirational evening for all of us to celebrate their accomplishments and the Columbia University School of the Arts.”

Barbara Whitman, theatrical producer, acknowledges the School of the Arts’ connection to the creative life of New York City: “We cherish our ties to the industry, to the fantastic talents of stage and screen, on Broadway, and in all the performing arts.” 

Interim Dean Sarah Cole, who will host the evening, notes, “At the upcoming Gala we not only honor those who have already achieved greatness in the arts, but we also celebrate our student artists and what is yet to come.” 

For ticket information contact Monica M. Marchese at (212) 854-7724, soa-party@columbia.edu or visit https://arts.columbia.edu/spring-gala.

For media, please contact Christine M. Biddle at 914-763-3710 or Christine@christinembiddle.com, or Carole Bellidora Westfall at 917-576-0171 or Carole@carolebellidora.com

All proceeds from the evening will go directly to funding scholarships and fellowships for students pursuing degrees in Film, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Writing at Columbia University School of the Arts.