Posted in Alumni
To sustain its mission of teaching, research, patient care and public service in the years ahead, Columbia University is expanding its current fundraising goal to $5 billion. Even though the multi-year Columbia Campaign has spanned a severe economic recession, it remains on pace to exceed its original $4 billion goal for new gifts and pledges nearly a year ahead of schedule.
Read President Bollinger's 2010 message to the alumni community.
Michael B. Rothfeld ’69, ’71J, ’71 SIPA, ’71 Business received the 2010 Alexander Hamilton Medal on November 18 at the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, an annual black-tie event in Low Rotunda. The medal, the highest honor paid to a member of the College community, is awarded by the Columbia College Alumni Association to an alumnus/a or faculty member for distinguished service to the College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.
More than 1,000 alumni, students, parents and friends gathered under the Big Tent for Homecoming 2010, then watched the Lions mount a spirited fourth-quarter comeback before bowing to Dartmouth 24–21 in Ivy League football on October 23. It was a perfect day for fun and football, as sunny skies welcomed Columbians of all ages who flocked to the Baker Athletics Complex to enjoy barbecue fare and convivial conversation at the annual Homecoming pre-game picnic and carnival.
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole P'10 is joining with Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science to announce a groundbreaking initiative to encourage students to become agents of social change. The program, featuring undergraduate fellowships in community-based initiatives as well as classroom study, will help prepare students to make meaningful, sustainable change by developing practical approaches to challenges and opportunities faced by participating communities.
John W. Kluge ’37, the billionaire businessman who was one of Columbia’s most generous benefactors and who founded the Kluge Scholars Program that benefitted hundreds of current and former College students, died on Tuesday evening, September 7. He was 95.
Born on July 21, 1914, in Chemnitz, Germany, Kluge immigrated when he was 8, grew up in Detroit and earned a scholarship that allowed him to attend the College. “If it hadn’t been for Columbia, my path would have been entirely different in life,” Kluge said at a celebration of his 90th birthday in Low Library. “Columbia gave me an opportunity, and the only way you can really repay that opportunity is for you to help someone else.”
As the Columbia Lions gear up for the 2010 season, Football Head Coach Norries Wilson will be answering fan questions ahead of Sept. 18 game opener against Fordham. To send in a question, comment on the official Columbia University Facebook page by noon on Sept. 10. Coach Wilson will answer selected questions via a taped video interview, posted on Facebook Sept. 17.
Columbia climbed to fourth place in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 ranking of national universities, which was released on August 16. Columbia was tied for eighth a year ago. Harvard, which had tied with Princeton for first place in 2010, took over sole possession of the top spot this year, followed by Princeton and Yale. Stanford and Penn were tied for fifth, CalTech and MIT tied for seventh and Dartmouth, Duke and Chicago tied for ninth.
More than 3,000 alumni and guests celebrated their reunion from June 3-6 and Dean's Day on June 5, with events on campus and in venues around New York City.
As the Class of 2010 celebrated Class Day on May 17, the College’s newest alumni were treated not just to mild temperatures and sunny skies but also to a rousing call to arms from keynote speaker Benjamin Jealous ’94, NAACP president.
For the seventh year, the procession included the Alumni Parade of Classes, with 115 alumni from as far back as the Class of 1936 marching with their class banners to welcome seniors into the alumni community.
Benjamin Jealous '94, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will address the Class of 2010 at Class Day, Monday, May 17, on South Lawn.