New alumni center opens to visitors

Next stop, Antarctica?

About 200 University alumni showed great interest in the chance to travel to the South Pole as they shuffled through the doors of the new Columbia Alumni Center at 622 W. 113th St., between Broadway and Riverside Drive, on Thursday morning. Thursday marked the first day of the two-day event named “Especially Open House.”

As Columbia tries to survive the economic crisis with methods such as aggressive fundraising, the University’s alumni support arm is promoting its newest acquisition. The new center—formerly home to the School of Social Work—opened last spring and held its ribbon-cutting ceremony last week. The building houses the offices of Columbia College Today and Columbia magazines. Its first floor, known as the Welcome Center, is open to alumni during business hours.

“The open house is the first big push that we have letting everybody know that we’re here and our doors are open,” Jennifer Shaw, director of the Welcome Center, said. “This is the first time in many, many years that there’s been a sort of bricks and mortar place for Columbia alumni to come,” Shaw added.

Since the first visitor walked through the center’s doors on April 1, 2009, the Welcome Center staff has been quietly socializing with alumni.

“We’re trying to provide hospitality and also figure out ways to put together programming in this space that appeals to a broad range of alumni,” Shaw said.

The “Especially Open House” event features prizes, such as the trip to Antarctica, provided by the travel bureau of the Columbia Alumni Association. Other notable giveaways include athletics tickets, Miller Theatre tickets, and a one-year membership to the Columbia University Club of New York.

“[The University] wanted to participate to be able to reach out to more alumni to let them know they’re here,” Shaw said.

The staff of the Office for Alumni and Development has been working from offices upstairs in the same building since January.

Alumni from all 16 Columbia-affiliated schools are encouraged to visit the new Alumni Center. By signing in with their UNI and password, or with a desk attendant, visitors are able to utilize the first floor Welcome Center, which houses a lounge, a library, a conference room, and a courtesy office in the back.

The library, affiliated with the University Archives and Columbiana Library, displays University-associated memorabilia. CC and SEAS yearbooks line the walls in bookcases, along with books about the University’s history and books written by Columbia-affiliated authors. Also on display is a replica of an archived letter from former President Abraham Lincoln, thanking the University for the honorary degree it awarded him, as well as a letter from President Barack Obama, CC ’83, about the Alumni Center’s opening.

“We’ve had visitors from Norway, Illinois, many places and many cities,” said Barbara Rodriguez, assistant director of the Welcome Center. “People are happy to have a home to call their own and near the gates of campus.”