College students were well-represented among the winners of several national and international fellowships.

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.

Dean Austin Quigley has announced his plans to step down at the end of the 2008–09 academic year, after a term of 14 years as Dean of Columbia College and Lucy G. Moses Professor.

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.”

Record numbers of alumni returned to campus for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2008. From May 29 to June 1, nearly 1,900 attendees enjoyed faculty lectures, cocktail receptions and other activities, culminating in class dinners followed by the Starlight Reception on the Low Steps.

The 47th Annual Mark Van Doren Award—which honors a Columbia professor for his or her commitment to undergraduate instruction, as well as for "humanity, devotion to truth, and inspiring leadership"—has been given to Andrew Nathan, the Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science.