Columbia College

Joel Klein ’67, Chancellor of New York City’s Department of Education, delivered the keynote address at Columbia College’s 2008 Class Day on May 19, urging the graduating seniors to embrace the challenges they will face in their careers. “Hard as it may be, you’ve got to get outside your current comfort zone sooner or later, and if you want my advice, sooner is better,” Klein told members of the Class of 2008. “We are all so programmed, so eager to know what we are expected to do next, that all too often we don’t realize that we are the architects of our own destiny. Rejoice in that knowledge. It’s truly empowering.”

Once again, applications to the College are up and the selectivity rate is down as the Class of 2012 continues a trend that has been going on for more than a decade. Applications rose by 5.7 percent, to 19,116, for roughly 1,050 places in the Class of 2012. The College’s overall admit rate, or selectivity, was 8.68 percent.

Columbia has announced today major changes in the financial aid it provides to students and their families. Beginning in the fall of 2008, student loans will be replaced by grants across all income bands, parental contributions for families with incomes below $60,000 will be eliminated, and families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000 will have their parental contributions significantly reduced.

More than 600 alumni, students, faculty, administrators and guests filled Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on March 5, as the College honored five of its most accomplished alumni with John Jay Awards for distinguished professional achievement: Barry Bergdoll ’77, Alexandra Wallace Creed ’88, Robert L. Friedman ’64, Jonathan S. Lavine ’88 and Ronald F. Mason Jr. ’74.