60th Anniversary Gala

Betty Lee Stern—art consultant, collector, and philanthropist—and her late husband, Dr. Aaron Stern, a renowned psychoanalyst, business leader, and professor, established the Betty Lee Stern Prize for Artists at Columbia University. Awarded annually to an exceptional MFA student in the School of the Arts Program, the Prize is designed to provide emerging artists with the freedom to pursue their careers without financial burden. Nurturing and mentoring young artists has always been Betty Lee’s deepest passion. As a longtime member of the Dean’s Council, and now joined by daughters Jenny Klein and Lauren Rosenkranz, the family has been dedicated to advancing and supporting Columbia’s School of the Arts for over two decades.

Anne Bogart is a theater and opera director and a Professor at Columbia University where she runs the Graduate Directing Program. She is the author of six books: A Director Prepares; The Viewpoints Book; And Then, You Act; Conversations with Anne, What’s the Story, and The Art of Resonance. Recent theater productions include: Carousel; Existentialism; Eastland; and The Beautiful Lady.  Operas include: Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle: Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde: Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale; Handel’s Alcina; Dvorak’s Dimitrij; Verdi’s Macbeth; Bellini’s Normaand; Bizet’s Carmen.

2025/26 will be Bogart’s final year on the Columbia University School of the Arts faculty, where she has taught directing for more than 30 years.

David Henry Hwang is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, television writer, librettist, and theater professor whose works have been seen on Broadway and other stages throughout the world. His stage works include the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Chinglish, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, and the musicals Soft Power, Aida, Flower Drum Song and Disney’s Tarzan. Hwang’s operas include Ainadamar; An American Soldier; and The Monkey King. Hwang is a Tony, OBIE and Grammy Award winner and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

2025/26 will be Hwang’s final year on the Columbia University School of the Arts faculty, where he has taught playwriting for over a decade.

Santino Fontana began his career playing Hamlet at the Guthrie at 23. In 2019, he won the Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his performance in Tootsie. He is widely known for lending his voice to the villainous ‘Prince Hans’ in Disney’s Academy Award winning animated feature, Frozen. He was also seen in Universal Studio’s Sisters, opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. His independent film work includes the comedy Lost And Found In Cleveland opposite Martin Sheen and Dennis Haysbert, the romantic comedy Off The Menu, and psychological thriller Impossible Monsters.

On television, Santino was recently seen in Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie opposite Niecy Nash. He was also seen on the Emmy-winning, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as fan favorite, ‘Greg’ and NBC’s drama series Shades of Blue, opposite Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta, simultaneously.  Other television credits include Fosse/Verdon, Mozart in the Jungle, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie, Gifted Man, Made In Jersey, Evil, and Royal Pains, as well as the popular web series, Submissions Only.

He’s received the Tony, two Drama Desks, an Outer Critics Circle, a Lortel, an Obie, and the Clarence Derwent Award for his work in both plays and musicals. Broadway credits include Tootsie, Cinderella, Hello, Dolly! opposite Bernadette Peters, Act One opposite Tony Shalhoub, The Importance of Being Earnest (Clarence Derwent Award), A View from the Bridge, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drama Desk Award), Billy Elliot, and Sunday in the Park with George. Off-Broadway credits include Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet (Lortel, Obie) and the original revival cast of The Fantasticks. He also starred as ‘John Adams’ in 1776 opposite John Larroquette, ‘Elliot Rosewater’ in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater opposite James Earl Jones, and ‘Niko’ in Zorba opposite John Turturro, all for New York City Center Encores!

Patti Murin is a versatile and captivating performer best known for her work on Broadway, television, and as a prolific audiobook narrator.

On stage, Patti originated the role of Princess Anna in Disney’s Frozen on Broadway, winning over audiences with her charm, humor, and powerful vocals. Her other notable stage credits include Wicked, Lysistrata Jones, and Xanadu. In the world of television, Patti has become a familiar face in Hallmark Channel movies, starring in fan favorites such as In Merry Measure, Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, Love on Iceland, Holiday for Heroes, and Mystic Christmas. Other credits include recurring roles on Chicago Med and Royal Pains.

In addition to her screen and stage work, Patti has built a thriving career as an audiobook narrator, lending her expressive voice to dozens of popular titles across genres. She has brought life to bestselling novels by authors such as Christina Lauren, Jodi Picoult, Rachel Hawkins, and Katherine Center, earning praise for her ability to fully inhabit complex characters and deliver emotionally rich performances.

Patti is also a devoted mom to two young daughters, and she openly shares her journey of balancing parenthood with a career in the arts.