We are pleased to announce that two Columbia students have just been awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships. This is the first time since 2002 that Columbia College seniors have been awarded the grant. Please find below their biographies in their own words.

Emily Jordan, a senior from Chicago, Illinois, has double majored in psychology and anthropology. She became fascinated by neuroscience while conducting independent laboratory research. Her honors thesis project, completed in the Champagne Psychobiology and Neuroscience lab, shows how social enrichment can impact the brain and behavior of mice so that animals with enriched experiences exhibit more appropriate social behaviors. At Cambridge, Emily will continue studying the brain in Professor Trevor Robbins’ lab in the department of Experimental Psychology. Her graduate research will focus on how impulsive behavior develops in rats, and how impulsivity contributes to addiction and can be transmitted across generations. After earning a PhD, Emily will become a professor of neuroscience.

Caroline Robertson, a senior from Chicago, Illinois, has majored in both Neuroscience and Religion, with a focus on philosophy and ethics. She has worked as a research assistant in neuroscience and philosophy departments since she was seventeen, at the University of Chicago, Columbia, and Cambridge. In the fall, she will return to Professor Simon Baron-Cohen’s laboratory and the Autism Research Center to begin a PhD on the neurobiology of autism. After completing her PhD, Caroline will pursue a clinical degree and balance a life of research with a life of practice. She became interested in coupling research with clinical work during her second year at Columbia, when she trained to become a Rape-Crisis and Domestic Abuse counselor. She now serves in this capacity in ten hospital emergency rooms in Manhattan and Queens. Caroline has studied classical oboe for twelve years and currently serves as the principal oboist of two orchestras and chamber groups.

If you are interested in applying for the 2009 Udall Scholarship, please submit all materials including recommendations to the Fellowship Programs Office by 5 pm on Monday, February 16th. If you have any questions about the scholarship and/or the application, do not hesitate to contact us.

With numb fingers and warm hearts, thousands packed the chilly steps of Low Library on January 20 to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama '83, the first College graduate to lead the United States.

Standing shoulder to shoulder in front of a JumboTron screen, students, faculty, staff and neighbors watched in awe as Obama took the oath to become the 44^th president. Oblivious to the sub-freezing temperatures and snow blowing off Low's roof, the crowd had only smiles and tears of joy.

"It seemed inevitable, but to actually have it happen is amazing," said Gabriel Moyer-Perez '11, a history major. "He closely mirrors what we hold as our values. It's really refreshing to see someone in charge who cares about science and knowledge, the things we care about."

University President Lee C. Bollinger's office provided hot chocolate and cider to the 7,500 people who spent most of their morning on campus, and Bollinger greeted the crowd shortly before the precession of dignitaries began in Washington, D.C.

"It feels as if history has all come together for this one brilliant moment, everything resolved in the best possible way and offering us the potential for a much better world," he said. "And, so, we might say, Stand Columbia and let the world share with us our pride in being part of this defining moment in history, unembarrassed about our high hopes for the future, and glad to be part of an institution with a commitment to learn actively and to act wisely."

The pomp of the transition of leadership did not disappoint. Students from the School at Columbia cheered and waved blue and white pompoms. The crowd clapped for Aretha Franklin and roared as Obama was sworn in.

"It's really an amazing experience," said Gaia Goffe '11. "This is a historic moment, and we're glad we have that connection with Obama."

To read more about the celebration at Low and watch a video of President Bollinger's speech, visit http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/09/01/inauguration.html.

Ethan Rouen '04J

Samuel Fury Childs Daly '09, a Milwaukee, Wis., native who has traveled extensively through Europe and Africa, won the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which he will use to earn two master's, one in history and one in African studies, from Oxford.

"Sam is somebody who has tremendous intellectual curiosity and wants to use his knowledge to improve the world that we all live in," says Michael Pippenger, associate dean of fellowship programs and study abroad. "He has traveled all over Africa and has a real sense of wanderlust that his study abroad experience certainly helped with."

Daly stumbled into becoming an African studies major during a first-year language fair where, on a whim, he registered for Swahili. He now speaks Swahili, Yoruba, French and Spanish.

During his junior year, Daly spent a semester at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and another semester at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. He now works on campus for the Law School's Center for Social Justice and in the Oral History Project office.

The Marshall Scholarship will cover all expenses for two years of study. Daly said he was in a subway station, returning from tutoring a high school student, when he got the call that he won.

"I couldn't understand half of what they were saying, but I heard, 'Congratulations,' and the rest didn't really matter," he says.

Working with the Fellowships Office at Columbia, Daly went through dozens of drafts of his application and countless practice interviews.

"It is one of the best environments I've come across in my time here," he said of working with the office.

The Fellowships Office has helped students win three Rhodes Scholarships, three Marshall Scholarships and 18 Fulbright Scholarships in the last three years.

To read about Jisung Park '09, this year's Rhodes winner, go to www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan_feb09/around_the_quads1.

To read about other recent scholarship winners, visit www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jan_feb08/quads4.php and www.college.columbia.edu/cct/may_jun08/around_the_quads5.

By Ethan Rouen '04J

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