The Columbia College Alumni Association (CCAA) welcomed its newest members, the Class of 2012, on May 15 as the 1,132 graduates were supported by family and friends on South Lawn under tents that protected all from the morning’s passing showers.

For the ninth year, the Class Day festivities included the Alumni Parade of Classes, with 175 alumni from as far back as 1949 marching with their class banners to shepherd the seniors into the alumni community.

View photos of the Class Day Alumni Parade of Classes.

Salutatorian Zachary Evan Levine ’12 addressed the group, followed by keynote speaker John R. “Rick” MacArthur ’78, an award-winning journalist, an author, and president and publisher of Harper’s Magazine, who made light of the fact that he was following in the shadow of Barnard’s May 14 Commencement speaker, President Barack Obama ’83: “Many of you are disappointed I am not President of the United States … I share your disappointment.”

Presenting student life and service awards and academic awards were Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger and Dean of Academic Affairs Kathryn B. Yatrakis. CCAA President Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 presented three alumni awards and prizes.

Dean James J. Valentini and President Lee C. Bollinger also spoke briefly — Valentini urged the graduates to “take pride in being graduates of the greatest college, in the greatest university, in the greatest city in the world” — followed by Stephanie Foster ’12 and Jacob Goren ’12, co-chairs of the Seniors Fund, presenting the Class Gift. Class President Sarah Chai ’12 also spoke, followed by the reading of names and presentation of the class pins. Four members of the 50th anniversary Class of ’62 were on hand to welcome the newest alumni to the Columbia family.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of Sans Souci and Roar Lion Roar.

Sahrula Kubie CC'14 and Shamm Petros CC'14 were among the 10 Columbia University students who were awarded 2012 Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) by the US Department of State. Kubie will go to Russia to study the language and Petros will study Arabic in Oman.  

These students are among the approximately 575 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State’s CLS Program in 2012 to study Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu languages.  U.S. students will spend seven to ten weeks in intensive language institutes this summer in 14 countries where these languages are spoken.  The CLS Program provides fully-funded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences.  CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.  

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Selected finalists for the 2012 CLS Program hail from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and represent 239 institutions of higher education from across the United States, including public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, minority-serving institutions and community colleges.

For further information about the CLS Program or other exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit their websites at http://www.clscholarship.org and http://exchanges.state.gov.

More than 900 seniors celebrated the last day of classes at the annual Senior Dinner on April 30 under a tent on South Lawn. The soon-to-be alumni enjoyed a gourmet meal, upbeat music, a slideshow of memories and remarks from Dean James J. Valentini, Columbia College Student Council Class of 2012 President Sarah Chai ’12, Senior Dinner Co-chairs Eylul Kayin ’12 and Randy Subramany ’12, CCSC President Aki Terasaki ’12, Columbia College Alumni Association President Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 and Columbia College Young Alumni Board President Justin Ifill ’06.

Check out the photo gallery

A highlight of the evening was the announcement by Senior Fund Co-chairs Stephanie Foster ’12 and Jake Goren ’12 that the fund had achieved its goal of 750 donors and raised more than $16,250. By reaching its goal, the Senior Fund secured a $100,000 gift from Charles Santoro ’82 to be given to the Columbia College Fund by June 30, the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

The Senior Fund also exceeded its goal of 200 donors to Valentini’s “3-2-1 Challenge” of committing to give $20.12 for three years, convincing two friends to do the same and then having the gift matched 1:1 by an alumnus/a (for this year, Gene Davis ’75 will match all gifts). More than 230 seniors were committed to the 3-2-1 Challenge as of April 30.

When Valentini stepped up to the podium, he was met with cheers and applause. He spoke briefly, noting “At this point, I am supposed to turn you over to the Columbia College Alumni Association. I refuse. In my lexicon, there are only students — future students, current students and past students … I am going to give you some advice, and I am going to keep it simple, just four words: Pass the swim test!”

This weekend, four Columbia College students were named the 2012 winners of the Core Scholars Program.  Each of the winners, Rowan Buchanan, CC ’12, Marian Guerra, CC ’14, Gabriela Pelsinger, CC ’15, and Anneke Solomon, CC ’15, submitted a “Core Reflection.”  These Reflections are intended to analyze, question, dramatize, or interpret material of the Core Curriculum in order to “heighten understanding of Core topics, explore connections among Core works, and relate the Core to our contemporary world,” according to the Core Scholars Program website. 

The Chair of the Core Scholars Committee, Patrick Blute CC'12, said "I would like to congratulate all our wonderful 2012 Core Scholars. The entries this year were overwhelmingly full of creativity, talent and enthusiasm. We received over 70 quality submissions expressed through artistic, musical, written and filmed mediums. The 2012 Core Scholars and Honorable Mentions all touch upon the key themes of the Core - transformation, engagement, loyalty, honor...the list goes on."

The program, only in its second year, is open to anyone who has taken a Core course. The winners’ work will be featured on the Core website and they will each receive a cash prize of $200.

For more information on the winners, see this article in the Columbia Spectator.

The Columbia College Committee on Honors, Awards, and Prizes today announced the names of the Class of 2012 Valedictorian and Salutatorian. The Valedictorian is Zachary Brill, a Chemistry major from New Jersey.  The Salutatorian is Zachary Levine, an Anthropology major from California.

Zachary Brill has distinguished himself across all of his studies, and members of the Chemistry faculty report that he is a “truly special individual” who has made a significant contribution to research and citizenship in the department. Having received funding from the Columbia College Class of 1939 Fellowship and the American Chemical Society, Zachary has been able to sustain his research over three years in the laboratory of Professor Scott Snyder. His work, focused on the synthesis of two complex products derived from resveratrol, was published in the peer reviewed journal Organic Letters (2011, 13, 5524) and, unusually for an undergraduate, Zachary was the sole author with Professor Snyder. in 2011 Zachary was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and will continue his studies in organic chemistry when he starts his PhD work in the fall.

 Zachary Levine is currently completing a thesis on religion, symbolic economics, politics, and social justice in Nigeria (supported by three different and highly competitive research grants), and is researching public health programs in Peru. Both an extraordinary scholar and a committed citizen, Zachary’s nomination for this honor was, according to the Anthropology faculty, supported by a “level of recognition from … a diverse field of scholars” not previously encountered by the Department. In 2010 Zachary established the undergraduate journal Extension: A Columbia Journal of Anthropology – now a vibrant opportunity for undergraduate intellectual engagement – and in 2011 he was a Rhodes finalist.