The Philolexian Foundation

The Philolexian Foundation was established in 2001 as the alumni-run, 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports the Philolexian Society of Columbia University. It exists to do three things:

First, to keep the alumni community together. This takes many forms. The Foundation keeps the parchment scrolls; it tries (with predictable difficulty) to keep up with the voluminous published output of its members; and it celebrates Philolexian achievements where it can. And, once a year, the Foundation brings them all together at the Annual Dinner for one more debate, in the hope that the assembled Geezers may there rediscover the camaraderie of their youth.

Second, to support the student Society. The Society's traditions and weekly meetings (see The Society) are run entirely by undergraduates; the Foundation's role is the underwriting one — raising the money that lets them do more, more often, and better, and supporting the Society's longstanding quest to secure a permanent campus home.

Third, to step in and ensure the continuation of the Society should it ever fall to an Allen-Ginsberg-level of implosion. (Ask us — we have stories. They are told in dark rooms in hushed voices about what happened that night.)

The Foundation operates at arm's length from the student Society. It does not run the Society's internal affairs, does not select the Moderator, and does not adjudicate most awards (which are run by the relevant student boards or, in the case of the English Department's Philolexian Prize, by Columbia's English faculty). The standing exception is the Philolexian Award for Distinguished Literary Achievement and Improvement of Public Discourse — the Foundation selects its recipient each year, in consultation with the student Society. Otherwise, the Foundation's job is gloriously unglamorous: keep the money, keep the records, and make sure there is still a Philolexian Society one hundred years from now.

The Board

The Foundation is governed by an eleven-person board: ten Philolexian alumni and one student representative (the current Moderator of the Society), who serve staggered terms. Members are listed alphabetically below.

Operational details

Any current member of the Philolexian Society may vote for the Foundation's board, and any Philolexian alumnus may inspect the Foundation's financials at any time — please ask the Treasurer, who, as one of the very few accountants in a sea of creative types, is on most days quite lonely, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss the books.

Support the Foundation