We are very pleased to share the Columbia College Fund 57th Annual Report, online for the first time and reflecting the success of the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year. Going green allows the College to reduce waste and save costs while providing more information than would be possible in a printed publication.

The Annual Report can be found online at http://fund.college.columbia.edu/annualreport. In the report, you can read about how giving to Columbia College impacts and supports students. Our achievement is because of our committed alumni, parents and friends, and we thank you for your continued support of Columbia College!

Susan L. Birnbaum
Executive Director
Columbia College Fund

We are pleased to report that Shlomo Bolts, a senior Political Science and Sociology double major from Miami Beach Florida, has won the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.  Shlomo plans to pursue an MPhil in Modern Society and Global Transformations at Cambridge.  His areas of interest include globalization, peace studies, and denationalization.  Shlomo is the former recipient of a research grant from the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life which focused on religious toleration.  He is a leader in a number of campus organizations including Columbia’s Progressive Jewish Alliance and Columbia’s Amnesty International chapter.  Shlomo also co-founded Common Ground, a Jewish-Muslim dialogue group on campus.  He intends to pursue a career in diplomacy and conflict resolution.  The Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which was awarded to only 29 students in the United States, will fund him for two years and is estimated to be valued at $55,000 a year.

Are you an engineering student in need of funding as you continue to pursue academic excellence? Meet with Dean Pippenger and Ms. Roach of the Fellowships Office to learn about opportunities to fund research, your education (both undergraduate and graduate), or even study abroad. The information sessions will take place in the Core Conference Room of 202 Hamilton Hall on Monday, March 1st and Tuesday, March 9th, both at 3:30 pm. Please reach out to our office with any questions concerning this event.

Please note that applications for the Udall Scholarship will be due into the Fellowships Office on February 8th at 5 pm.   Sophomores and Juniors who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to the environment or who are Native American or Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitmentto careers related to tribal public policy or Native health care.

This year, a single Columbia junior will be selected as the Steamboat Summer Scholar and will have the unparalelled experience of interning at the Hospital of Special Surgery with Columbia alumnus and New York Mets team physician Dr. David Altchek. The Scholar will spend ten weeks in the summer of 2010 shadowing Dr. Altchek in clinical consultations and observing surgical procedures in the operating room, while contributing to a relevant independent clinical research project. The Steamboat Scholar will also receive a $12,000 financial award, participate in leadership-building events, and live and learn with the ten other Steamboat Scholars, all of whom hail from different universities and bring a range of perspectives and interests to the group.

The Summer Scholar Program underscores Steamboat Foundation’s aim: to build a lasting culture of leadership that emphasizes integrity, demands a rigorous work ethic, and encourages the kind of risk-taking that leaders must learn to assume. It is designed to be a rigorous and comprehensive experience, timed to impact young leaders at a formative moment in their professional and personal lives, preparing them to take on leadership roles at work and in their communities.

GRANT SPECIFICS: The Steamboat Foundation awards a $12,000 grant to the selected Steamboat Scholar recipient for the summer. The Scholar attends a two day orientation at the beginning of June with other Steamboat Scholars and attends Steamboat Scholar events such as, the opening reception at the Forbes Galleries, two to three Foundation Dinners with distinguished guests, five Leadership Evenings with facilitator Dr. Tom Inck and other social events in and around New York City. The Grant specifies that Scholars are housed together at the New School in Manhattan’s West Village during the internship period. Scholars submit a Final Essay and Evaluation at the close of the summer.

ELIGIBILITY: A candidate must be a third year undergraduate and have demonstrated financial need (Columbia financial aid recipient). If you are not receiving financial aid from Columbia but believe that you have other circumstances that would qualify you as financially needy, please submit a self-declaration of financial need. This statement will be required if the applicant is not receiving financial aid directly from Columbia. Only students from Columbia University will be considered for the Steamboat Scholar Placement at Hospital for Special Surgery.