Scholars
2016-11-18T17:00:04Z
Updated, Nov. 19, 6:12 p.m.
2016-10-25T20:48:13Z
Updated Oct. 25, 12:45 p.m.
2016-05-06T12:00:02Z
Five Columbia College alumni were honored at the 38th annual John Jay Awards Dinner on Thursday night.
2014-08-25T03:05:02Z
The directors of Columbia's eight global centers gathered at Faculty House on Monday to start hammering out a long-term business plan for the fledgling network of international hubs.
That network has expanded rapidly—all eight centers having opened in the last three and a half years—but it's still unclear where the centers fit into Columbia's complex organizational structure.
These concerns prompted Safwan Masri, who became vice president for global centers in July, to call for the directors' summit, which started on Monday morning and will continue through Friday. At an introductory event Monday morning, Masri—who also directs the global center in Amman, Jordan—told the other directors that he wants the centers to become "part and parcel" of a Columbia education.
"In five years from now, if you look at the global centers, one noun that I'd like to emerge is permanence,'" he said. "Maybe locations will change, but permanence will lead to indispensability."
Masri also discussed the importance of finding ways for the centers to collaborate, clarifying the vague roles of their faculty steering committees, and standardizing their branding. He said that the centers' staffs will work together to reach out to other countries in their regions, partly because that "will help with fundraising."
"Now with the Rio center up and running, one of the things that we'll be looking for in Latin America is expanding beyond Chile and beyond Brazil into other Latin American countries," Masri said.
The directors have an extensive itinerary planned for the rest of the week, including discussions with student leaders and deans from several schools and meetings with administrators who handle admissions, public affairs, and technology. Masri told the other directors that the summit is intended to send a signal to the rest of the University that "we are here, and we are here in a very positive and very organized and very ambitious way."
Ipek Cem Taha, the director of the Istanbul, Turkey, center, also called for a "stronger bond between campus and the Centers" in a recent email to Spectator, saying that "the students, the professors, the alums and even the Trustees need to recognize the value of the Centers, and the synergy from the Centers."
Monday afternoon sessions on fundraising and budgeting were closed to the press, but Masri said at the introductory event that he wants to formulate a business plan for the centers by December. Thomas Trebat, the director of the global center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said in a recent interview that he also plans to write a business plan specifically for his center by the end of the year, as "the individual features of the individual country need to be recognized too."
Additionally, the directors started to articulate their plans for funding their centers primarily with local gifts. Karen Poniachik, the director of the center in Santiago, Chile, said at the summit that her center's current business plan is to "spend money on programming and putting our name out there," rather than adding staff.
But throughout the discussions of structure and funding, Masri returned to the idea that in order for the centers to be successful, the directors must convince schools and offices around the University to buy into the idea of the global centers. He noted that the Committee on Instruction originally rejected the Global Scholars Program—currently the only major opportunity for undergraduate to travel to the centers.
"It's a very important group on campus, and it's a group that we need to have a very strong relationship with," Masri said, referring to the Committee on Instruction.
The directors will meet with members of that committee, as well as with members of the newly formed Educational Policy and Planning Committee, later in the week. They will also take part in several events at University President Lee Bollinger's house, which Masri said reflects the importance of the centers to Bollinger.
"If you look at the time that we're getting in terms of the president's schedule, that's a big invitation," he said.
But if Bollinger puts a premium on the global centers, convincing students to do so is another matter entirely.
Paul LeClerc, the director of the Paris global center, said that the directors have to deal with the issue of "how hard it is to get students at Columbia and Barnard off this campus and having an educational experience abroad." LeClerc, a former head of the New York Public Library whom Columbia hired in April, argued that the University should create incentives that would induce 50 to 60 percent of undergraduate to study abroad.
"There are all kinds of factors that account from that, including the Core—that keeps students on campus for two years, and immediately after that they have to start majoring," LeClerc said.
Outside of the Global Scholars Program, which Bollinger will discuss at a summit event Tuesday evening, and the fifth-year study abroad program, there are currently very few ways for undergraduates to travel to or do research at the centers. Belay Begashaw, the director of the Nairobi, Kenya, center, said that the Nairobi center is preparing to launch a new semester abroad program for undergraduates, "Tropical Biology and Sustainability in Kenya."
Columbia's professional schools, meanwhile, already boast an array of programs at the global centers.
"Professional schools tend to have more resources, tend to have systems and funding in place to generate funding for important projects," Masri said. "That's less true for Arts and Sciences."
To that end, one of Masri's goals for this week is to convince Arts and Sciences department chairs—a group of whom are meeting with the directors on Wednesday—that they can benefit by working with the global centers. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences encompasses Columbia College and the School of General Studies, among other schools.
"Getting the buy-in of the Arts and Sciences faculty is incredibly crucial to our success," Masri said. "There's a history to that—some have been more embracing than others."
Trebat said in a recent interview that this summit and the directors' other efforts to build bridges with different parts of Columbia mark a crucial step forward in the centers' progress.
"I think that when these global centers are truly part of a global university, people are going to look back at this time and say that this is when it took its most important steps," he said.
news@columbiaspectator.com
... That network has expanded rapidly—all eight centers having opened in the last three and a half years—but it's still unclear where the centers fit into Columbia's complex organizational structure.
These concerns prompted Safwan Masri, who became vice president for global centers in July, to call for the directors' summit, which started on Monday morning and will continue through Friday. At an introductory event Monday morning, Masri—who also directs the global center in Amman, Jordan—told the other directors that he wants the centers to become "part and parcel" of a Columbia education.
"In five years from now, if you look at the global centers, one noun that I'd like to emerge is permanence,'" he said. "Maybe locations will change, but permanence will lead to indispensability."
Masri also discussed the importance of finding ways for the centers to collaborate, clarifying the vague roles of their faculty steering committees, and standardizing their branding. He said that the centers' staffs will work together to reach out to other countries in their regions, partly because that "will help with fundraising."
"Now with the Rio center up and running, one of the things that we'll be looking for in Latin America is expanding beyond Chile and beyond Brazil into other Latin American countries," Masri said.
The directors have an extensive itinerary planned for the rest of the week, including discussions with student leaders and deans from several schools and meetings with administrators who handle admissions, public affairs, and technology. Masri told the other directors that the summit is intended to send a signal to the rest of the University that "we are here, and we are here in a very positive and very organized and very ambitious way."
Ipek Cem Taha, the director of the Istanbul, Turkey, center, also called for a "stronger bond between campus and the Centers" in a recent email to Spectator, saying that "the students, the professors, the alums and even the Trustees need to recognize the value of the Centers, and the synergy from the Centers."
Monday afternoon sessions on fundraising and budgeting were closed to the press, but Masri said at the introductory event that he wants to formulate a business plan for the centers by December. Thomas Trebat, the director of the global center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said in a recent interview that he also plans to write a business plan specifically for his center by the end of the year, as "the individual features of the individual country need to be recognized too."
Additionally, the directors started to articulate their plans for funding their centers primarily with local gifts. Karen Poniachik, the director of the center in Santiago, Chile, said at the summit that her center's current business plan is to "spend money on programming and putting our name out there," rather than adding staff.
But throughout the discussions of structure and funding, Masri returned to the idea that in order for the centers to be successful, the directors must convince schools and offices around the University to buy into the idea of the global centers. He noted that the Committee on Instruction originally rejected the Global Scholars Program—currently the only major opportunity for undergraduate to travel to the centers.
"It's a very important group on campus, and it's a group that we need to have a very strong relationship with," Masri said, referring to the Committee on Instruction.
The directors will meet with members of that committee, as well as with members of the newly formed Educational Policy and Planning Committee, later in the week. They will also take part in several events at University President Lee Bollinger's house, which Masri said reflects the importance of the centers to Bollinger.
"If you look at the time that we're getting in terms of the president's schedule, that's a big invitation," he said.
But if Bollinger puts a premium on the global centers, convincing students to do so is another matter entirely.
Paul LeClerc, the director of the Paris global center, said that the directors have to deal with the issue of "how hard it is to get students at Columbia and Barnard off this campus and having an educational experience abroad." LeClerc, a former head of the New York Public Library whom Columbia hired in April, argued that the University should create incentives that would induce 50 to 60 percent of undergraduate to study abroad.
"There are all kinds of factors that account from that, including the Core—that keeps students on campus for two years, and immediately after that they have to start majoring," LeClerc said.
Outside of the Global Scholars Program, which Bollinger will discuss at a summit event Tuesday evening, and the fifth-year study abroad program, there are currently very few ways for undergraduates to travel to or do research at the centers. Belay Begashaw, the director of the Nairobi, Kenya, center, said that the Nairobi center is preparing to launch a new semester abroad program for undergraduates, "Tropical Biology and Sustainability in Kenya."
Columbia's professional schools, meanwhile, already boast an array of programs at the global centers.
"Professional schools tend to have more resources, tend to have systems and funding in place to generate funding for important projects," Masri said. "That's less true for Arts and Sciences."
To that end, one of Masri's goals for this week is to convince Arts and Sciences department chairs—a group of whom are meeting with the directors on Wednesday—that they can benefit by working with the global centers. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences encompasses Columbia College and the School of General Studies, among other schools.
"Getting the buy-in of the Arts and Sciences faculty is incredibly crucial to our success," Masri said. "There's a history to that—some have been more embracing than others."
Trebat said in a recent interview that this summit and the directors' other efforts to build bridges with different parts of Columbia mark a crucial step forward in the centers' progress.
"I think that when these global centers are truly part of a global university, people are going to look back at this time and say that this is when it took its most important steps," he said.
news@columbiaspectator.com
2014-08-24T13:34:56Z
It's getting to be that time of year---when other schools are already home enjoying holiday festivities, and you're stuck in Butler listening to Pandora Christmas stations on repeat, counting the hours until you too can partake in the holiday cheer. But why not take a study break with some Christmas music of a different kind? Tonight, Miller Theatre presents renowned choral group The Tallis Scholars, performing Songs of Mary: A Christmas Celebration at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin (located at 145 W. 46th Street between 6th and 7th avenues). The program will include four different settings of the Magnificat (songs dedicated to Mary), along with other pieces based on favorite Christmas texts. Almost all of the songs are written by modern composers, including Arvo Part and Benjamin Britten. more According to Tallis Scholars Founder Peter Phillips, the group is "modern, but in a world of their own, which is not too far from the world of the renaissance masters who surround them." Tickets are $40 for the general public but only $7 for Columbia students. Student tickets can be purchased here. We think this is probably better than listening to "Frosty the Snowman" one more time.
... 
2014-08-24T13:34:56Z
From the Editor: I am happy to announce that Spectator has entered into a partnership with the Society of Senior Scholars and the University Committee on Asia and the Middle East to co-sponsor the recently created series, Keys to the Core. Designed as an open forum on the history and continuing relevance of the Core Curriculum, Keys to the Core shares Spectator's dedication to fostering dialogue at Columbia. Specifically, this forum overlaps with the mission of Spectator's fortnightly editorial feature, The Canon, which is to examine problems of perennial concern to the University. The first two meetings of Keys to the Core centered on the pioneering roles of John Erskine and Jacques Barzun. At the invitation of Professor William Theodore de Bary, I sat on the panel for these two meetings along with The Canon's regular contributors, Derek Turner and Esfandyar Batmanghelidj. By sponsoring this forum, Spectator hopes to further its commitment to Keys to the Core and increase student engagement. The last meeting for this spring will take place on April 6 and will focus on the role of Lionel Trilling. I hope you will join me. Lanbo Zhang Editorial Page Editor For more details and to register for the event, visit the Society of Senior Scholars website.
... 
2014-08-24T13:34:56Z
If you've found yourself doodling during LitHum or writing songs during CC, it's time to harness that creative energy and send in your submissions for the Core Scholars Program. The Core Scholars Program looks for creative works that react to or interpret Core texts. Last year's winners ranged from sculpture to spoken word poetry. Winners receive $200 and get their work featured on the Core's website (as well as outside the Core Office). The program will be accepting submissions through April 1. Below, a bit of LitHum procrastination has yielded our own version of Dante's "Inferno," set in Morningside Heights of 2013. In lieu of a cash prize, Spectrum will accept free nightly delivery of Westside cookies.more The First Circle: Limbo Here, I encounter the wretched souls who camped in Butler during midterms. "They left their backpacks and coats all over the Ref Room for sometimes six, seven hours at a time," my guide explains. These sinners, with their dark under-eye circles, are condemned to wander the fourth floor in search of a seat, never able to find one. The Second Circle: Lust The sinners here hide their faces. Guilty of borderline creepy, intrusive Columbia Admirers posts and submissions to @columbiamakeout, they are doomed to be relentlessly hit on at The Heights. The Third Circle: Gluttony I can smell the curly fries and Jamba Juice from the moment we enter the Third Circle. Having swiped into JJ's more than twice a night, these greasy sinners are completely sober, being force-fed Koronet's pizza. My guide suggests I cover my ears to cover the sound of their disgusted moans.
... 
