The United States Senate voted to confirm Eric Holder ‘73, ‘76L as attorney general. Holder was nominated by President Barack Obama ‘83 in December.

Holder, who served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration and most recently was an attorney at the Washington, D.C., firm Covington and Burling, was a prominent adviser during Obama’s Presidential campaign, vetting his selection for Vice President.

Holder, 57, is the first black attorney general in U.S. history. He is the second consecutive College alumnus to serve in the position, replacing Michael Mukasey ‘63.

Since graduating from Columbia, Holder has made repeated trips to campus and devoted time to the University, serving on the Board of Visitors, participating in the Alumni Partner Program and helping to support Columbia’s first chaired faculty position to focus on African-American studies.

Ethan Rouen ‘04J