As students gear up for another year at Columbia, the University welcomes two new undergraduate deans: Michele Moody-Adams of Columbia College and Feniosky Peña-Mora of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Their arrival presents an opportunity to consider fresh ideas, re-examine ongoing projects, and renew Columbia’s commitment to undergraduate education.
Curriculum and academics
The new deans should follow up on hiring two senior tenure-track professors for the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. With two professors expected to leave the center next year, CSER must continue to provide richer and more advanced offerings.
Administrators previously reported that Global Core classes will decrease in size to emulate other Core classes like Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization. The administration should apply the same rigorous standards of these Core classes to the Global Core, and do their best to move away from large lectures to ensure that Columbia becomes, in fact, a university committed to global-minded education.
Health, wellness, and dining
Dining must provide more convenient, time-efficient, and economical options. Meal plans and health services should collaborate to accommodate students with food restrictions, such as allergies. The off-campus Flex system must be more reliable and efficient to attract a greater number of off-campus establishments. Dining Services should increase the number of locations that accept meal swipes, such as Ferris Booth Commons, especially since first-year plans are mandatory and students cannot cancel meal plans after enrolling in them.
The University alcohol policy should encourage responsible behavior reasonable for of-age students. Forbidding alcohol in the common areas of suites for legal students may lead to solitary, binge drinking rather than moderate, social drinking. The University must show that it trusts the judgement of its seniors at events that involve alcohol, treating them as the future professionals they are rather than people who need constant supervision.
Research opportunities and expansion
The construction of the Jerome L. Greene Science Center and near-completion of the Interdisciplinary Science Building bring a chance to establish Columbia as the leader among research universities. Opportunities for undergraduate research should be increased, centralized, and better publicized. Administrators should grant undergraduates an active role in Manhattanville planning and space allocation, especially since today’s students will be among the alumni the University will count on to fund the construction of the new campus.
Student advising
The administration has made strides in restructuring student advising, but the new deans must continue to review the advising process. To start, all advisers should be familiar with Core requirements. Major advising should be provided to students earlier, and all major advisers should be fluent in their respective majors’ requirements. Columbia should also provide students with programming to increase their fluency in practical financial skills, which are more crucial considering the economy.
A new academic year and new administrators bring the promise of change. Deans Moody-Adams and Peña-Mora will face the challenge of balancing Columbia’s bureaucratic structure and fiscal constraints with the University’s reputation for academic excellence and a high quality of student life. Students, whether through student council, clubs, or media, along with alumni, must hold the new administrators accountable and make sure the University continues to move forward.
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