Faculty

It’s Valentine’s Day and, while some students are showing off their bouquets of red roses or trying to guess which secret admirer sent them a candygram, Barnard dance professor Lynn Garafola is receiving a truly romantic Valentine’s Day gift. Her husband, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History Eric Foner, is returning home from his scholar-in-residence program in London to spend a precious few days with his wife and daughter.

Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health has a new dean and she plans to take advantage of her new city.

In the third year of the Lenfest Distinguished Columbia Faculty Awards, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences upped its quota of honorees from 10 to 11 at a Jan. 29 ceremony due to an exceptional pool of candidates.

I overheard a conversation at the Hungarian Pastry Shop a few weeks ago. Two first-years, a girl and a boy, were talking about their classes. The girl was telling a story about her French class: “The student’s mother called in to complain that the professor was mean to her kid.”

Faculty members presented a letter to top administrators Tuesday condemning University President Lee Bollinger for creating a “crisis of confidence” and accusing the University’s administration of inadequately protecting academic freedom on campus.

Carol Hoffman, the new director of Columbia’s Work/Life Office, is in charge of helping Columbia professors handle their real lives, providing ways to aid them in managing many of the challenges they face outside of the job.