Richard E. Witten
Richard Witten ’75CC is currently Special Adviser to University President Lee C. Bollinger. Witten is also the Founder and Senior Managing Director of Columbia Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design, an umbrella organization within Columbia to encourage and support entrepreneurship and innovation across all of the University’s schools, institutes, and alumni and student organizations. He is a Vice Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chair of the Advisory Council for the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia, and a member of the President’s Council for Columbia World Projects. Witten is a Vice Chair Emeritus of the University Board of Trustees and Chair Emeritus of the College’s Board of Visitors. He was presented with the Alexander Hamilton Award in 2005. Witten earned a JD from Harvard Law School and went on to a 22-year career as a General Partner of Goldman Sachs. In addition to his many Columbia University affiliations, he also serves as the Chair of the Board of New York City Center and as a Trustee of the Harlem Children’s Zone. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Westchester and New York City, and are the proud parents of three children, and even prouder grandparents of eight.