May/June 2008
Alumni Corner
Utopia 8.68 (%)
By Brian C. Krisberg ’81, President, Columbia College Alumni Association
Before I explain the title, a little housekeeping. The end of my term as president of the College’s Alumni Association this summer also signifies the return of the Alumni Corner column to CCT Editor Alex Sachare ’71 and his staff. Alex plans to work with CCAA leadership and others to identify alumni who will take a turn at writing their Columbia thoughts and experiences. Trust me, it is great fun to see one’s ideas in print. Thank you, Alex, and keep up the terrific work at CCT.
While on the airplane heading home from early April’s excellent College Day and lively Capital Campaign dinner in Los Angeles, I read a New York Times article about Ivy League college admittance rates. The numbers jumped off the page at me. The College’s 8.68 percent selectivity for the Class of 2012 was only slightly behind Harvard (7.1 percent) and Yale (8.3 percent) and comfortably ahead of Brown and Dartmouth, according to the Times’ figures. For those of us who applied and matriculated in years gone by when the College’s admit rate was not as low as these schools, this continuing era of lofty selectivity is something that takes some getting used to. I don’t know if I will ever completely get used to it. I applaud what Columbia has accomplished on this score during the past decade or two. At the same time, it is vital that Columbia remains open and hospitable to first-generation, selective college families and to certain underrepresented minority and ethnic groups, and, dare I say it, less elitist than some of our peers. That is one of the reasons I am so proud to go around and tell people I attended Columbia College. I do not want our school to lose this attribute.
I start from a simple premise: Columbia College offers a serious and rigorous undergraduate education (quite possibly the best available) in the greatest city in the world.
Given that Columbia is playing ball with the big boys in College admit rates, this momentum and success can and should be a springboard to achievements in other areas. As someone who has been an active alumnus for nearly three decades, I have a few simple thoughts on my utopian Columbia, my vision of a few guiding principles for the years to come. I start from a simple premise: Columbia College offers a serious and rigorous undergraduate education (quite possibly the best available) in the greatest city in the world. That is why my parents encouraged me to apply to Columbia in 1976. Similarly, Columbia must strive to provide the College’s students an excellent quality of life, diverse and well-funded extracurricular opportunities and a positive experience in recreational and intercollegiate athletics. And College alumni must be appreciated, recognized and cultivated in a meaningful and well-thought-out way.
The Core Curriculum: During my frequent campus visits on behalf of CCAA, I have gotten the sense that today’s students and faculty would like to tinker with the Core. This possibility must be considered in the broader context, however. To many alumni, the Core Curriculum in its fullest sense (i.e., one year each of CC and Lit Hum and one semester each of Art Hum and Music Hum, all taught in small, seminar-style classes, combined with science, major cultures, foreign language and writing requirements) is the very essence of the Columbia College experience. We do not have a house system or an annual football game attended by 40,000 alumni and students to bond us. A major overhaul or undoing of the Core would be viewed as a breach of trust (or worse) by generations of College alumni. Going forward, a balance needs to be struck on this issue. The centrality of the Core to the College experience needs to be affirmed publicly. Simultaneously, changes in the content of Core courses that are responsive to students’ and faculties’ desires need to be pursued.
The Role of Alumni: In late 2008, the College and University alumni relations and development operations are scheduled to move to McVickar Hall, on 113th Street, west of Broadway. This move represents a tremendous opportunity for Columbia to make College alumni feel valued and connected to Columbia in ways they have not in years past. McVickar should be a welcoming point and gathering place for College alumni of all generations who historically have lacked such a locale on campus. It also represents an opportunity for the College and University alumni relations and development operations to work together in an integrated and cohesive fashion in ways not seen before, and for additional University resources to be made available to College alumni.
A key aspect of the success of McVickar, and indeed of alumni relations and development in the years to come, will be the retention of a “Columbia College” feel and flavor in all events and communications with alumni. The improved results of the Columbia College Fund in recent years and the growth in the spirit and attendance at College alumni functions directly correlate to the College identity and loyalty that the College administration and Alumni Office staff have worked so hard to develop during the past decade. My friends and I always say we went to and support “Columbia College” or “Columbia Engineering.” Rather than homogenizing the Columbia alumni experience, the McVickar move hopefully will elevate the commitment to the College and the generosity of our alumni and encourage those who have not been active previously to reengage.
What the Undergrads Deserve: This fall, work is expected to begin on a long-awaited, centralized student advising center in Lerner Hall. Also, the College’s Board of Visitors has identified as a College priority setting aside space for a centrally located, enlarged career education and interviewing facility on campus to replace the overcrowded Center for Career Education on East Campus. These are but two examples of areas where an investment today by Columbia in its undergraduates will help to create alumni who will support the College and University for decades to come. Our students deserve support from Columbia outside the classroom that is commensurate with the extraordinary faculty they interact with in the classroom, all within the realities of the University’s financial wherewithal. It’s no secret that we have lagged behind the competition in this sector. While Columbia in recent years has done better than when I was a student, the students deserve better yet in the years to come.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as president of the College Alumni Association the past two years. As I attended and participated in First-Year Convocation, the Columbia College Fund Leadership Conference, Fund Development Council meetings, Homecoming the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner and Columbia football games in the fall, and the John Jay Awards Dinner, the Senior Dinner, Class Day, Commencement, Columbia baseball games and reunions in the spring, I have enjoyed every moment of the role. Our community of students, alumni, faculty, staff and parents is a special one. I am confident my successor, Geoff Colvin ’74, will do a fabulous job, and I wish him the best. Columbia College is a great college at the heart of a great university. I look forward to finding additional opportunities to give back to Columbia for years to come.