It is named for Founding Father of the United States John Jay, Columbia College Class of 1764.
[3][4] Among the recipients are eight Pulitzer Prize winners, five Nobel Prize laureates, five Tony Award winners, five billionaires, four Academy Awards winners, three Golden Globe Awards winners, two United States Attorneys General, a President of Estonia, a Chairman of the Federal Reserve, an administrator of the National Aerospace Development Administration, a United States Secretary of Defense, a Senator of the United States, and numerous other accomplished businessmen, journalists, politicians, athletes, playwrights, and literary figures.
1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016[5] 2017[6] 2018 2019 2022 2023 A dinner, during which the award would be bestowed upon the recipients, is usually held to raise scholarship and support money for the John Jay National Scholars Program.
[2] The dinner was cancelled in 1989, when alumni awardee Frank Lorenzo, then Chairman of Eastern Air Lines, was widely criticized for his treatment of Eastern Air Lines' striking machinists and for his controversial managing techniques.
[7][8][9][10] In 2004, the award was given to American real estate businessman Peter Kalikow, who was serving as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was the former owner and publisher of the New York Post.