Distinguished Service Citation
Matthew Tolmach
Class of 1986
Awarded 2016

The Da Vinci Code. The Social Network. The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Matt Tolmach has been a key force behind these blockbuster films and many, many more. His brilliant career as a producer and movie studio executive includes having overseen three of the most successful years ever at the helm of Columbia/Sony Pictures. Since 2010, after leaving to start his own film production company, he has led Matt Tolmach Productions, a company with a track record of bringing well-received stories to the screen, including the evolving Spider-Man franchise.

Matt makes Beloit College proud for many reasons. From the time he was a student, he demonstrated strong leadership qualities, whether serving as co-editor of the Round Table, navigating Shakespeare’s plays with Tom McBride, or launching wickedly accurate goals on the lacrosse field.

His circle of friends recognize Matt as a leader of their merry band, someone who is decisive, honest, and loyal, but most of all: fun. He is that devoted Beloit friend whose energy and humor draws people together no matter how much is happening in his professional life. Fortunately for Beloit, he is also a friend to the college, using his powers of persuasion to communicate the college’s value every chance he gets. Even while overseeing countless movies in various stages of production, he recently convened a group that weighed in on some of Beloit’s Admissions materials. The group offered valuable guidance on what became one of the top videos ever viewed by prospective students on Beloit’s YouTube channel.

His favorite professor, Tom McBride, observed that Matt is what Saul Bellow once called “a first-class noticer,” someone who was always acutely aware of everything from Shakespeare to his Beloit social life and who was “critiquing them while also being hyper-interested in them,” says McBride. “This blend of alertness and critique, or immense curiosity but critical thinking, has served him in his career.”

The Beloit College Alumni Association applauds Matt Tolmach’s success and his creative, generous spirit and is pleased to recognize him with its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Citation.