Andrew W Solomon

Andrew Solomon is a writer and lecturer on psychology, politics, and the arts; winner of the National Book Award; and an activist in LGBT rights, mental health, and the arts. Andrew Solomon, Ph.D., is a writer and lecturer on politics, culture and psychology, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University Medical Center, and President of PEN American Center. A native New Yorker, Andrew Solomon attended the Horace Mann School, graduating cum laude in 1981. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1985, graduating magna cum laude, and later earned a Master’s degree in English at Jesus College, Cambridge. In August 2013, Solomon was awarded a Ph.D. degree in Psychology by Jesus College, Cambridge, Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies, working on maternal identity under the supervision of Prof. Juliet Mitchell. Solomon is an activist in LGBT rights, mental health, education, and the arts. He is founder of the Solomon Research Fellowships in LGBT Studies at Yale University; a Special Advisor on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Mental Health to the Yale School of Psychiatry; a member of the boards of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; and a participant in the Proud2Be Project. In addition to his position with Columbia University, Solomon is a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College. He is a member of the boards of directors of the University of Michigan Depression Center and Columbia Psychiatry; a member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia Medical School; and a member of the advisory board of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. In March 2015, Solomon was elected President of PEN American Center; he has been a member of the organization since 1994. He also serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the World Monuments Fund; the artists’ community Yaddo; and The Alex Fund, which supports the education of Romani children. He is a member of the Library Council at the New York Public Library; a fellow of Berkeley College at Yale University; and a member of the New York Institute for the Humanities and the Council on Foreign Relations. Solomon lives with his husband, John Habich Solomon, and son, George Solomon, in New York and London and is a dual national. He also has a daughter with a close college friend. Habich Solomon is the biological father of two children with lesbian friends in Minneapolis; those children are also part of the family.