email us UniversityCollege HomeAlumni Home
Columbia College Celebrates 250 Years
 
Cover Story
 
 
Features
  
Remembering
    Jim Shenton '49
Alumni of All Ages
    Enjoy Reunion 2003
Sweet Music
Bob “No Excuses”
    Shoop
 
Departments
  
First Person:
    For Love and
    Basketball
 

Alumni Profiles

  

Dina Cheney '99

Gideon Yago '00

Alumni Sons and Daughters

   

Previous 

Previous

 || 

This Issue

 || 

Next 

Next

ALUMNI CORNER

CELEBRATING AND SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY

BY CHARLES J. O'BYRNE '81
PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

We’ve made it. It’s time to celebrate. This fall, Columbia begins the year-long celebration of its 250th anniversary. Among the first major events, on Thursday, October 16, is a book signing and party for Professor Robert McCaughey’s scholarly history of the University, Stand, Columbia, part of a full weekend’s worth of special activities, including a campus-wide 100th birthday salute to Alma Mater on Friday, October 17. You’re invited to these and to many other celebrations throughout the year, and I hope that you’ll find an opportunity to join the festivities. [Editor’s note: Please see the Columbia250 calendar.]

The College is making a special effort to bring this celebration to as many members of our family as possible — events are scheduled around the country and the globe. Dean’s Day/College Day will take place in New York as well as several other cities: Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston and Miami. Columbia will have a special celebration in Asia and take part in the festivities at next year’s Henley regatta. This year’s Alexander Hamilton Dinner, which will honor one of the College’s most talented artists, concert pianist Emanuel Ax ’70, will be yet another opportunity to mark our 250th in a special way.

There will be no shortage of such honorees in the years ahead. It probably comes as no surprise to you that this year’s entering class has once again set records for academic excellence and other achievements. The Class of 2007 was selected from a record applicant pool of more than 14,660, making the College, once again, one of the most competitive schools in the world.

I’d like to take a moment in this column to share with you some news that may not be as well known to you. One of President Lee C. Bollinger’s first appointments was that of Susan Feagin, whose title now is executive v.p. for development and alumni relations. Feagin is no stranger to Columbia. A 1974 graduate of the School of General Studies, she served Columbia as a development officer before she assumed leadership positions at Harvard and Michigan.

Feagin “gets” Columbia. She knows the University’s strengths, and she is honest about its weaknesses. She approaches challenges with energy and enthusiasm. She understands the College and appreciates its place in the larger picture of University development and alumni relations. She has developed a close working relationship with Dean Austin Quigley and provides real support to Derek Wittner ’65, our talented associate dean of alumni affairs and development, and his staff. Feagin frequently seeks the opinion and advice of the College’s alumni leadership, and she always is ready not only to listen but to work with the College as we move ahead. Her decisive leadership, creative approach and willingness to work with the College has introduced a new espirit de corps on campus that augurs significant changes for the way we experience our ties to the University.

Feagin’s leadership reflects the role that Bollinger has assumed since coming to Columbia. Bollinger will be on hand with Dean Quigley this fall to welcome the Class of 2007, just as he spoke of the indispensable place of the Core Curriculum when he addressed the Class of 2003 at Class Day in May. Bollinger cares deeply about the College and its needs, from the teaching of the Core to performance on the playing field. He and the new provost, Alan Brinkley, a distinguished historian whose courses on 20th-century American history were over-subscribed by undergraduates, are committed to undergraduate education and to all of the issues and concerns that are of such importance to the College family: financial aid, student advising, career counseling and athletics, to name but a few.

This year’s 250th celebration comes at a propitious time for the College and its alumni. Following the dean’s leadership, it important for us to challenge ourselves to think anew about the College and its relationship to the University. Finding new ways to participate in the University’s life and to support its larger mission — from strengthening the Arts and Sciences faculty to sharing in the joy and responsibility of renovating Hamilton Hall — are but some of the possibilities that lie before us.

The commitment of Bollinger and exceptional senior officers such as Feagin invites us to consider more closely our role as leaders in the University’s alumni community. The relationship between the College and the University has not always been an easy one, but I am convinced that the University’s leadership is determined to make it stronger and more beneficial than ever. It’s incumbent upon each of us to be generous and broad in our support of their efforts.

Speaking of fresh efforts, I’d like to formally welcome the new members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors: Gene Davis ’75, Jeremy Epstein ’67, Andrew Fink ’91, David Glaser ’78, Joel Klaperman ’67, Daniel Maclean ’64, Donald Margolis ’63, Rachel Posner ’99 and Ronald Simons ’82. They were chosen by the board to fill vacancies, and I am grateful to each of them for their willingness to serve for the balance of this board’s tenure, which ends in Spring 2004.

I’d like to close with a tribute to Professor James P. Shenton ’49, who passed away on July 25. His love for the College, commitment to teaching and lifetime of service as a public intellectual on and off campus should be remembered and celebrated. Shenton will live on in the memories of former students and colleagues who were enriched by his pedagogy and stimulated by a life marked by originality and commitment. I can think of no better way of remembering Shenton than by renewing our support and commitment to Alma Mater in this special year.

Previous 

Previous

 || 

This Issue

 || 

Next 

Next

  Untitled Document
Search Columbia College Today
Search!
Need Help?

Columbia College Today Home
CCT Home
 

September 2003
This Issue

July 2003
Previous Issue


 
CCT Credits
CCT Masthead