Since his father was an alumnus of Columbia’s medical school, Michael Rothfeld, CC ’69, knew he wanted to attend Columbia College—even though his own college board exams initially suggested that his dream might be out of reach.
“The scores basically predicted that if I were born a rat, I would have had less than a 30 percent chance of navigating a maze in a psych lab,” he joked, before noting that he proceeded to apply to Columbia under “early decision for alumni sons.”
Rothfeld, a director of the Columbia Alumni Association was honored with the Alexander Hamilton Medal Thursday night in Low Rotunda, where he credited the University with aiding both his personal and professional successes.
Around 150 attendees gathered to pay tribute to the trustee, who discussed his family’s four-generation legacy at Columbia—as well as his connection to fellow redhead Alexander Hamilton.
Rothfeld has spent many years in Morningside, first graduating from Columbia College in 1969, then earning M.B.A. and M.S. degrees from the Graduate Schools of Business and Journalism, as well as holding a fellowship for a year at the School of International and Public Affairs. He’s a private equity investor as well as a theater producer and served as a member of the first cultural delegation to the People’s Republic of China from the U.S. in 1979. Rothfeld was also nominated for a Tony Award for his work in the revival of Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man.”
University President Lee Bollinger said he has enjoyed working with Rothfeld as a trustee.
“On many, many occasions … especially after some controversy, I would receive these very, very long and warm emails from Michael that were very supportive,” Bollinger said. “And it always ends in, ‘Do not respond.’”
“It is an enormous pleasure to say tonight, ‘We will respond, and you will receive the Hamilton Medal, no matter what’.”
For Rothfeld, the award was personal. Generations of his family have attended different schools at the University, and it was a Columbia colleague that introduced him to his wife, Ella Foshay, GSAS ’71.
Rothfeld also recalled how his red hair connected him to his classmates and even the auburn Alexander Hamilton himself—he had been reminded of this during his time at Columbia when he was approached by a group called RASP, or Redheads are Special People.
Diversity, he said, has been an important commitment for him, explaining that first-generation university students comprise 16 percent of the incoming CC class, which he said further highlighted the importance of promoting financial aid. The dinner itself had already raised $840,000 for the school.
“The number of trustees who supported the dinner and came out is significantly greater than you normally see,” Marc Mazur, CC ’81 and an attendee, said.
“I think it’s clear that the two constants in my life have been my family and Columbia,” Rothfeld said. “They’ve intersected in really wonderful ways.”
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