Connecting the role that Columbia’s laboratories, libraries and classrooms play in addressing the world’s most urgent issues, the University has launched an ambitious capital campaign — The Columbia Commitment — which aims to raise $5 billion in five years.
“The Columbia Commitment is more than a commitment to the University,” President Lee C. Bollinger said in a May 11 letter to the Columbia community announcing the campaign. “It is a renewal of our bonds with the world and our shared future.”
In addition to underscoring Columbia’s dedication to its faculty and students, the campaign emphasizes the University’s resolve to engaging the most serious and challenging issues of our time. It includes commitments to arts and ideas; climate response; data and society; the future of neuroscience; global solutions; just societies; and precision medicine.
The campaign follows the lead of Core to Commencement, the Columbia College campaign that so far has raised $280 million for College students and faculty. The money raised through Core to Commencement will count toward The Columbia Commitment.
“The University’s effort amplifies our own historic campaign, mobilizing volunteers and presenting opportunities for us to attract new donors to support Columbia College — through gifts to the Core Curriculum, to summer research internships and global experiences, and to departmental research and collaborations, as well as to key student issues like wellness and financial aid,” said Dean James J. Valentini.
