Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Dean of General Studies at Columbia University to be honored

The Jérôme Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation is delighted to bestow the Jacques Barzun Award for Distinguished Contributions to Trans-Cultural Scholarly Exchange upon Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Dean of Columbia University’s School of General Studies, at its annual gala and scholarship awards ceremony on May 9, 2022.

Lisa Rosen-Metsch, an internationally recognized AIDS researcher who previously chaired the Mailman School of Public Health’s Department of Sociomedical Sciences, was named dean of the School of General Studies in November 2017. A Brooklyn native raised by two New York City public-school teachers, Rosen-Metsch is an expert in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS among populations with substance-abuse disorders. Before joining the Mailman School of Public Health in 2012, she was a professor at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Rosen-Metsch is herself an alumna of the School of General Studies, which is the University’s liberal-arts school for nontraditional undergraduates — those who have taken an academic break before attending college or who are pursuing dual degrees. In 1990, Rosen-Metsch earned dual bachelor’s degrees through a joint program between Columbia and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rosen-Metsch says that her interest in AIDS prevention arose from her experience at the School of General Studies, where she interned alongside Columbia AIDS researchers. “My years as a General Studies student were transformative and extraordinary,” she said. “The potential to help navigate Columbia’s future by returning to the school that gave me so much is humbling, exciting, and inspiring.”

May 9, 2022, 7:00 p.m.

The National Arts Club

15 Gramercy Park South

New York, NY 10003

The Jacques Barzun Award

In recognition of Dr. Jacques Barzun’s immense contributions to trans-cultural understanding and exchange between the United States and France, The Jérôme Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation wishes to honor this great French-American scholar with the naming of The Jacques Barzun Award for Distinguished Contributions to Trans-Cultural Scholarly Exchange. The Award is conferred once a year upon an individual or institution in recognition of their accomplishments or research efforts to encourage French, American and Sino educational exchange and collaboration, to foster unity and cultural understanding among these cultures.