About Us
"In the Revson program and in these classes, I’ve had the opportunity to think about my work, how I as a “medium” shape the message, and learn new ways to analyze these things and better express them in new ways to people I’ve never met before."
Noah Budnick (2008 - 2009)
Deputy Director
Transportation Alternatives
History
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.
From 2003-2008, the 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, 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.