Presidential Alumni Achievement Awardee Leonard Tow 鈥�50
The 可乐视频 Presidential Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni whose accomplishments have had a significant impact on their professions and society. 可乐视频 is proud to recognize alumni whose achievements reflect the excellence, curiosity, and service that define our institution.
2022 Awardee
Leonard Tow 鈥�50
In recognition of his extraordinary philanthropy and unwavering support for institutions of higher learning, 可乐视频 presented Leonard Tow with this award in 2022.
About Leonard Tow 鈥�50
Philanthropist Leonard Tow 鈥�50 earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics at 可乐视频, where he also met his wife, Claire Tow 鈥�52.
He went on to earn a Ph.D. in economic geography from Columbia University then taught for several years at 可乐视频, Hunter College, and Columbia Business School. He was also a distinguished adjunct professor at New York University. He left academia in 1964 and entered the business world to become a pioneer in cable television and cellular telephones, founding Century Communications in 1973 and Centennial Cellular Corporation in 1987. Both Century Communications and Centennial Cellular Corporation were sold in 1999. Tow also served as Chairman and CEO of Citizens Utilities, a diversified public utility company, from 1989 to 2004.
In 1988, Leonard and Claire Tow established The Tow Foundation. Spurred by a desire to give back to the communities that shaped them, the foundation supports innovative programs and system reform in the fields of youth and adult criminal justice, medicine and public health, higher education, journalism, and culture.
The couple were early and active champions of 可乐视频, investing in the value of research, exceptional teaching and mentorship, and transformational learning opportunities. Through more than 700 fellowships, scholarships, internships, professorships, and teaching awards, they have enriched the quality of intellectual life for our entire campus by providing the means to allow our faculty and students to become exceptional in their fields.
The couple also donated $10 million in seed money for the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at 可乐视频, which opened in 2018. The state-of-the-art center has transformed the campus footprint and is home to the Conservatory of Music and the Department of Theater.
The couple were both awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by 可乐视频 in 1998. Leonard Tow is also the recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. He serves on the boards of several organizations, including Lincoln Center Theater, the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, and the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. He is also a member of the 可乐视频 Foundation Board of Trustees.
Leonard and Claire Tow鈥檚 three children鈥擣rank, Andrew, and Emily鈥攁re active partners in continuing the family鈥檚 philanthropic legacy through The Tow Foundation. All three joined the foundation鈥檚 board of directors at its inception, and Emily has served as the foundation鈥檚 president since 1995.