News

In a message to the campus community, President Lee Bollinger announced that, “following twelve years of exceptional leadership of the University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs, Executive Vice President Maxine Griffith is transitioning into a new role at the University. Maxine will serve as a special advisor to me, with a focus on Columbia World Projects and its engagement with issues around government, city planning, and urban design.” Griffith will also teach at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation as an adjunct professor of urban planning.    

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which was established in 2016 with a $60 million operating endowment from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Columbia University, is not only a vital and much-needed support for news organizations across the country, but also a fundamental service to all citizens concerned about threats facing freedom of speech, a core pillar of American democracy.

Bridging the gap between hospital and community, last May Columbia Nursing’s faculty practice, ColumbiaDoctors Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Group, launched their new house calls service, which allows the Nurse Practitioner Group to offer primary care services directly in the homes of patients who need it the most. It is for those who have difficulty leaving home and who need comprehensive, in-home primary care—including chronic disease management and follow-up care after hospitalization. The goal is to provide clear, comprehensive, and actionable treatment plans within the comfort of a patient’s home.

Former Columbia Community Scholar Adarsh Alphons is the founder and executive director of ProjectArt, an arts education nonprofit that connects students with artists and libraries. The artists teach classes to children in spaces provided free of charge by the libraries, which receive programming and patrons; in exchange the artists get free studio space in the libraries. Alphons began the program in 2011 at Hamilton Grange Public Library, with a first class that served only 10 students.

In May 2017, the Office of Government and Community Affairs (GCA) hosted its third annual Policy Forum for Elected and Appointed Officials. Organized with support from the Office of the Provost, the annual Forum provides an opportunity for University faculty, researchers, and elected officials to engage on policy challenges facing New York City, New York State, and the nation at large. Previous topics have included health-care reform, workforce development, and at-risk youth. This year’s Forum, entitled “Exploring Urban Policy Affecting Immigrants, Refugees, and New Americans,” discussed migration trends in New York City, immigrant contributions to the urban economy, and “Sanctuary City” status and other policy solutions that further protect and support immigrant and refugee families.

The Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity (AFRE) named its first cohort of 29 Atlantic Fellows to begin a year-long program, expanding their work to challenge racism in the U.S. and South Africa and disrupt the rise of white nationalism and supremacy.

The inaugural group is composed of activists, lawyers, artists, scholars, advocates and other leaders, all accomplished in their work to end white supremacy and racism in the United States and South Africa. The cohort is the first of 10 in a 10-year, $60-million program centered on exposing and ending racial discrimination and violence that dehumanize Black people and, ultimately, harm all people.

The Jerome L. Greene Science Center and Lenfest Center for the Arts – the first two new buildings constructed at Columbia’s Manhattanville campus – have been awarded LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) under the New Construction rating system.

To celebrate his legacy and the donation of the Arthur Mitchell archive to Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Mr. Mitchell directed an ensemble of professional dancers in an eclectic program at Miller Theatre on October 2, which reflected his lifelong commitment to excellence and diversity in dance. Award-winning actress Dr. Cicely Tyson introduced Mitchell to a standing room-only audience of more than 500 people. Guest artists included India Bradley, Marquis Floyd, Marquise Hitchcock-Jones, Erica Lall, Alicia Graf Mack, Brooklyn Mack, Michael Jackson Jr., Paunika Jones, Ashley Mayeaux, Akua Noni Parker, Unity Phelan, Jamal Story, Calvin Royal, Rasta Thomas and Samuel Wilson. The program featured excerpts from ballets by Mitchell, George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey and others. Next up: On view from January 13 to March 11, 2018, at the Wallach Art Gallery, located in the Lenfest Center for the Arts, will be Arthur Mitchell: Harlem’s Ballet Trailblazer, an exhibition celebrating the life and accomplishments of the New York City Ballet’s first African American star, and the founder and longtime director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Columbia University congratulates Joachim Frank, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and of biological sciences, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017, shared with Richard Henderson and Jacques Dubochet “for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.”

The following was shared by President Lee C. Bollinger. Dear fellow members of the Columbia community: I write to share that, following twelve years of exceptional leadership of the University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs, Executive Vice President Maxine Griffith is transitioning into a new role at the University. Maxine will serve as a Special Advisor to me, with a focus on Columbia World Projects and its engagement with issues around government, city planning, and urban design. And, she will maintain her position as Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

As Columbia University opens the first buildings on its new Manhattanville campus, universities have become an increasingly vital source of both middle-income jobs for New Yorkers and new scientific discoveries that power the city’s growing innovation economy. Together with its peers, Columbia contributes to New York’s economy not only by attracting talented students and scholars, but also by creating a stable base of local jobs and investing in cutting-edge research and development that drives high-tech entrepreneurship.

David Dinkins, New York City’s 106th mayor and now a professor at Columbia University, celebrates his 90th birthday July 10 with a celebration at Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence where he once lived. It will be hosted by the city’s current mayor, Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray, and attended by Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger.

WNET’s "Treasures of New York" aired on Sunday, June 15, an episode that explores the first building to open on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus, the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. Designed by architect Renzo Piano as the home for the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, the innovative structure will provide not only a hub for Nobel Prize-winning neuroscience, but also an open, welcoming space for the wider community.

In conjunction with Congressmember Adriano Espaillat, Columbia University hosted a Career Expo on June 19 in Riverbank State Park that drew a turnout of more than 460 job seekers and nearly 60 participating organizations.

Wallach Art Gallery premiered the first exhibition in its newest location on the Manhattanville campus. The exhibition, called "Uptown", features the work of both established artists and emerging talent who live or practice north of 99th Street in Manhattan. "Uptown" was curated by the Gallery's director, Deborah Cullen, and will be open to the public from June 2 to August 20.