Directors of Undergraduate Studies are encouraged to attend these special events that are held each year in celebration of students and faculty who are being recognized with special honors, awards, and prizes:
Lionel Trilling and Mark Van Doren Awards Reception and Ceremony
The recipients of the Lionel Trilling Book Award and the Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching are selected by the student members of the Academic Awards Subcommittee of the Columbia College Student Council, with administrative support and guidance from the Academic Affairs staff of the College.
Throughout an entire academic year, the student members of this committee devote a great deal of time and attention to the nomination process for these two faculty awards.
- To select the winner of the Lionel Trilling Book Award, the students evaluate – by reading, reviewing and discussing – all the book-length works of scholarship that have been published during the previous year by tenured faculty who teach the undergraduates of Columbia College.
- To select the awardee of the Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching, the students solicit nominations of excellent teachers from Columbia College students and then observe classes taught by those faculty.
While the reception and ceremony acknowledge and honor the faculty recipients of these two prestigious awards, it also recognizes the students who dedicated their time to engaging more deeply with the work of our faculty and to broadening their own horizons by considering the expertise and skill that go into the work of scholarship and teaching at Columbia.
The Lionel Trilling and Mark Van Doren Awards Reception and Ceremony typically takes place in early May, during the Spring semester reading period. Please contact Ariella Lang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, should you have any questions.
Academic Awards and Prizes Ceremony and Reception
This special event brings these students together with their family, friends, and faculty, and for those graduating majors the ceremony is a culminating event that recognizes their significant academic achievements. As faculty with whom they have established an intellectual bond, your presence on this occasion is especially meaningful and we hope that you will join the College in honoring these students.
The Ceremony and Reception takes place on the same day as Columbia College’s Class Day, in the same week as University Commencement.
Phi Beta Kappa Induction and Celebration
There are two ceremonies to celebrate the initiation of a very special 10% of our graduating seniors to the Columbia College section of the New York Delta Phi Beta Kappa.
Two percent of our graduating seniors are elected in November as Junior Phi Beta Kappa, and the induction ceremony is held on the first Friday of the Spring semester. A celebratory reception follows the induction ceremony
Eight percent of our graduating seniors are elected in April as Phi Beta Kappa, and the induction ceremony is held on the same day as Columbia College Class Day, in the same week as the University Commencement. A celebratory reception precedes the induction ceremony.
Please contact Ariella Lang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, should you have any questions.
Class Day
Columbia College Class Day marks the successful completion of our students’ undergraduate journey, and they find it extremely meaningful to have this ceremony witnessed by the faculty who have taught, mentored, and guided them to this day.
As Director of Undergraduate Studies, you can not only represent your department/institute/center/program on this occasion, but can also encourage your colleagues to participate. The Class Day Ceremony is held on South Field Lawn during the same week as University Commencement.
Please contact Ariella Lang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, should you have any questions.
Departmental Graduation Celebrations
To provide graduating majors with an intimate environment in which to talk with their particular faculty and introduce their families to them, we encourage departments to organize and host departmental celebrations for their graduating majors. The College can help defray the costs of such events.
For further information, please contact Megan Friar, executive assistant of the dean of academic affairs of the College.