# Columbia's trustees *Private governing board of Columbia University, which administers the Pulitzer Prize* Columbia's trustees are the private board that governs Columbia University in New York City. The university's official corporate name is Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.[^1] The university administers the [[Pulitzer Prize]] and awards it each year.[^2] The Pulitzer Prizes' own published account records that in 1921 the trustees overrode the prize jury's recommendation of [[Sinclair Lewis]]'s novel *[[Main Street]]*. The stated ground was that the book did not meet a "wholesome" requirement.[^3] In 1926 Lewis refused the Pulitzer, awarded for *Arrowsmith*. He cited "the Main Street burglary" and objected that the criteria judged books "not according to their actual literary merit but in obedience to whatever code of Good Form may chance to be popular at the moment."[^3] ## Who The board's history begins with King's College, which George II chartered by royal charter on October 31, 1754.[^4] On May 1, 1784, the state [[Legislature]] passed an act granting privileges to the former King's College. The act set up a [[Board of Regents]] to revive the college.[^4] The institution took the name Columbia College in 1784. Three years later, in 1787, it came under a private board of trustees. Two former students led that board: Alexander Hamilton and [[John Jay]].[^2] The university describes itself as independent, privately supported, nonsectarian and not-for-profit. Teachers College is affiliated with the university but is financially independent and has its own board of trustees.[^1] ## What The Pulitzer Prizes published their own account of the 1921 decision. In that account the prize's jury recommended *Main Street*, and Columbia's trustees overrode the recommendation on "wholesome" grounds.[^3] The same account records Lewis's answer five years later. He declined the prize and called the earlier decision "the Main Street burglary."[^3] ## When - October 31, 1754: King's College is founded by royal charter.[^4] - 1784: the college is renamed Columbia College. On May 1, 1784, the Legislature passes its act creating a board of regents.[^2][^4] - 1787: the college is placed under a private board of trustees.[^2] - 1896: the campus moves to its present site, and the institution is renamed Columbia University.[^2] - 1921: the trustees override the Pulitzer jury's recommendation of *Main Street*.[^3] - 1926: Lewis refuses the Pulitzer for *Arrowsmith*.[^3] ## Where The university is in New York City. Since 1896 its main campus has been in Morningside Heights, Upper Manhattan, where it covers more than six city blocks (32 acres).[^2][^5] ## Why The only reason the record gives for the 1921 override is the "wholesome" requirement, as reported in the Pulitzer Prizes' account.[^3] The pack does not include the trustees' own minutes or any statement from the trustees. Beyond that stated ground, the record does not establish why they acted.[^3] ## How The account describes two steps. The prize jury made a recommendation, and Columbia's trustees then set it aside.[^3] Lewis's objection in 1926 was to the prize criteria themselves, not only to the 1921 result.[^3] ## How many As of December 2021, the university's alumni, faculty and staff included 125 Pulitzer Prize recipients.[^2] ## In the at-issue record At-issue entry AI-Stearns-042 (package Stearns) pairs the 1921 override with Lewis's 1926 refusal. The entry rests on a single source, from pulitzer.org.[^3] The project anchors this entry to a March 2025 presidential action, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*.[^6] The pack does not carry the text of that document. Any link between it and the 1921 decision is the project's pairing, not something the record establishes.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Columbia University*, Academics section (revision 1381888868, retrieved 2026-10-27) — official corporate name; independent, nonsectarian, not-for-profit status; Teachers College's separate board of trustees. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Columbia University*, lead section (revision 1381888868, retrieved 2026-10-27) — administration of the Pulitzer Prize; 1784 renaming; 1787 private board headed by Hamilton and Jay; 1896 move and renaming; 125 Pulitzer recipients as of December 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University [^3]: The Pulitzer Prizes, *Sinclair Lewis, Main Street, burglary and rejection notice* (undated in the pack) — the prize's own account of the 1921 jury recommendation overridden by Columbia's trustees on "wholesome" grounds, and of Lewis's 1926 refusal of the Pulitzer for *Arrowsmith*. https://www.pulitzer.org/article/sinclair-lewis-main-street-burglary-and-rejection-notice [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Columbia University*, History section (revision 1381888868, retrieved 2026-10-27) — royal charter of October 31, 1754; the Legislature's act of May 1, 1784, and the board of regents it created. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Columbia University*, Campus section (revision 1381888868, retrieved 2026-10-27) — main campus in Morningside Heights, more than six city blocks (32 acres). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University [^6]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (presidential action, March 2025) — the document the project anchors at-issue entry AI-Stearns-042 to; its text is not in the pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/