Columbia University

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Columbia University

Coat of arms
Latin:Universitas Columbiae[1]
Former names	King's College (1754–1784) Columbia College (1784–1896)
Motto	In lumine Tuo videbimus lumen(Latin)
Motto in English	"In Thy light shall we see light"[2]
Type	Private,research university
Established	May 25, 1754; 270 years ago(1754-05-25)
Accreditation	MSCHE
Academic affiliations	AAU NAICU URA Space-grant
Endowment	$13.6 billion (2023)[3]: 23
Budget	$5.9 billion (2023)[3]: 5
President	Katrina Armstrong(interim)
Provost	Angela Olinto
Academic staff	4,628[4]
Students	36,649[5]
Undergraduates	9,761[5]
Postgraduates	26,888[5]
Location	New York , New York , United States 40°48′27″N73°57′43″W / 40.80750°N 73.96194°W /40.80750; -73.96194
Campus	Large city, 299 acres (1.21 km2)
Newspaper	Columbia Daily Spectator
Colors	Columbia blue and white[6]
Nickname	Lions
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS–Ivy League EARC IRA EAWRC
Mascot	Roar-ee the Lion
Website	www.columbia.edu

Columbia University, officiallyColumbia University in the City of New York,^[7]is aprivateIvy Leagueresearch universityinNew York City. Established in 1754 asKing's Collegeon the grounds ofTrinity ChurchinManhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education inNew Yorkandthe fifth-oldest in the United States.

Columbia was established as acolonial collegebyroyal charterunderGeorge II of Great Britain. It was renamedColumbia Collegein 1784 following theAmerican Revolution, and in 1787 was placed undera private board of trusteesheaded by former studentsAlexander HamiltonandJohn Jay. In 1896, the campus was moved to its current location inMorningside Heightsand renamed Columbia University.

Columbia is organized into twenty schools, including four undergraduate schools and 16 graduate schools. The university's research efforts include theLamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, theGoddard Institute for Space Studies, and accelerator laboratories withBig Techfirms such asAmazonandIBM.^[8][9]Columbia is a founding member of theAssociation of American Universitiesand was the first school in the United States to grant theMD degree.^[10]The university also administers and annually awards thePulitzer Prize.

Columbia scientists and scholars have played a pivotal role in scientific breakthroughs includingbrain–computer interface; thelaserandmaser;^[11][12]nuclear magnetic resonance;^[13]the firstnuclear pile; the firstnuclear fissionreaction in theAmericas; the first evidence forplate tectonicsandcontinental drift;^[14][15][16]and much of the initial research and planning for theManhattan ProjectduringWorld War II.

As of December 2021^[update], its alumni, faculty, and staff have included seven of theFounding Fathersof the United States of America;^{[n 1]}four U.S. presidents;^{[n 2]}34 foreignheads of state or government;^{[n 3]}two secretaries-general of the United Nations;^{[n 4]}ten justices of theUnited States Supreme Court;103 Nobel laureates; 125National Academy of Sciencesmembers;^[58]53 living billionaires;^[59]23 Olympic medalists;^[60]33Academy Award winners; and 125Pulitzer Prizerecipients.

Discussions regarding the founding of a college in theProvince of New Yorkbegan as early as 1704, at which timeColonel Lewis Morriswrote to theSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the missionary arm of theChurch of England, persuading the society thatNew York Citywas an ideal community in which to establish a college.^[61]However, it was not until the founding of theCollege of New Jersey(renamedPrinceton) across theHudson RiverinNew Jerseythat the City of New York seriously considered founding a college.^[61]In 1746, an act was passed by the general assembly of New York to raise funds for the foundation of a new college. In 1751, the assembly appointed a commission of ten New York residents, seven of whom were members of theChurch of England, to direct the funds accrued by thestate lotterytowards the foundation of a college.^[62]

Classes were initially held in July 1754 and were presided over by the college's first president,Samuel Johnson.^{[63]: 8–10}Johnson was the only instructor of the college's first class, which consisted of a mere eight students. Instruction was held in a new schoolhouse on the grounds ofTrinity Church, located on what is now theFinancial Districtof Manhattan.^[64]: 3The college was officially founded on October 31, 1754, as King's College by royal charter ofGeorge II,^[65][66]making it the oldest institution of higher learning in theState of New Yorkand the fifth oldest in the United States.^[10]

In 1763, Johnson was succeeded in the presidency byMyles Cooper, a graduate ofThe Queen's College, Oxford, and an ardentTory. In the charged political climate of theAmerican Revolution, his chief opponent in discussions at the college was an undergraduate of the class of 1777,Alexander Hamilton.^[64]: 3TheIrishanatomist,Samuel Clossy, was appointed professor of natural philosophy in October 1765 and later the college's first professor of anatomy in 1767.^[67]TheAmerican Revolutionary Warbroke out in 1776, and was catastrophic for the operation of King's College, which suspended instruction for eight years beginning in 1776 with the arrival of theContinental Army. The suspension continued through the military occupation of New York City by British troops until theirdeparturein 1783. The college's library was looted and its sole building requisitioned for use as a military hospital first by American and then British forces.^[68][69]

After theRevolutionary War, the college turned to theState of New Yorkin order to restore its vitality, promising to make whatever changes to the school's charter the state might demand.^[63]: 59The legislature agreed to assist the college, and on May 1, 1784, it passed "an Act for granting certain privileges to the College heretofore called King's College".^[63]The Act createda board of regentsto oversee the resuscitation of King's College, and, in an effort to demonstrate its support for the new Republic, the legislature stipulated that "the College within the City of New York heretofore called King's College be forever hereafter called and known by the name ofColumbia College",^[63]a reference toColumbia, an alternative name for America which in turn comes from the name ofChristopher Columbus. The Regents finally became aware of the college's defective constitution in February 1787 and appointed a revision committee, which was headed byJohn Jayand Alexander Hamilton. In April of that same year, a new charter was adopted for the college granted the power toa separate board of 24 trustees.^{[70]: 65–70}

On May 21, 1787,William Samuel Johnson, the son ofSamuel Johnson, was unanimously elected president of Columbia College. Prior to serving at the university, Johnson had participated in theFirst Continental Congressand been chosen as a delegate to theConstitutional Convention.^[71]For a period in the 1790s, with New York City as the federal and state capital and the country under successiveFederalistgovernments, a revived Columbia thrived under the auspices of Federalists such as Hamilton and Jay. PresidentGeorge Washingtonand Vice PresidentJohn Adams, in addition to both houses ofCongressattendedthe college's commencementon May 6, 1789, as a tribute of honor to the many alumni of the school who had been involved in theAmerican Revolution.^[63]: 74

In November 1813, the college agreed to incorporate its medical school with The College of Physicians and Surgeons, a new school created by the Regents of New York, formingColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.^{[70]: 53–60}The college's enrollment, structure, and academics stagnated for the majority of the 19th century, with many of the college presidents doing little to change the way that the college functioned. In 1857, the college moved from the King's College campus at Park Place to a primarilyGothic Revivalcampus on 49th Street andMadison Avenue, where it remained for the next forty years.

During the last half of the 19th century, under the presidency ofFrederick A. P. Barnard, for whomBarnard Collegeis named, the institution rapidly assumed the shape of a modern university. Barnard College was created in 1889 as a response to the university's refusal to accept women.^[72]By this time, the college's investments in New York real estate became a primary source of steady income for the school, mainly owing to the city's expanding population.^{[64]: 5–8}

In 1896, university presidentSeth Lowmoved the campus from 49th Street to its present location, a more spacious campus in the developing neighborhood ofMorningside Heights.^[63][73]Under the leadership of Low's successor,Nicholas Murray Butler, who served for over four decades, Columbia rapidly became the nation's major institution for research, setting the multiversity model that later universities would adopt.^[10]Prior to becoming the president of Columbia University, Butler foundedTeachers College, as a school to prepare home economists and manual art teachers for the children of the poor, with philanthropistGrace Hoadley Dodge.^[61]Teachers College is currently affiliated as the university's Graduate School of Education.^[74]

In the 1940s, faculty members includingJohn R. Dunning,I. I. Rabi,Enrico FermiandPolykarp Kuschbegan what became theManhattan Project, creating the first nuclear fission reactor in the Americas and researchinggaseous diffusion.^[75]

In 1928,Seth LowJunior College was established by Columbia University in order to mitigate the number of Jewish applicants to Columbia College.^[61][76]The college was closed in 1936 due to the adverse effects of theGreat Depressionand its students were subsequently taught at Morningside Heights, although they did not belong to any college but to the university at large.^[77][78]There was an evening school called University Extension, which taught night classes, for a fee, to anyone willing to attend.

In 1947, the program was reorganized as an undergraduate college and designated theSchool of General Studiesin response to the return ofGIsafterWorld War II.^[79]In 1995, the School of General Studies was again reorganized as a full-fledged liberal arts college fornon-traditional students(those who have had an academic break of one year or more, or are pursuing dual-degrees) and was fully integrated into Columbia's traditional undergraduate curriculum.^[80]The same year, the Division of Special Programs, later called the School of Continuing Education and now theSchool of Professional Studies, was established to reprise the former role of University Extension.^[81]While the School of Professional Studies only offered non-degree programs for lifelong learners and high school students in its earliest stages, it now offers degree programs in a diverse range of professional and inter-disciplinary fields.^[82]

In the aftermath ofWorld War II, the discipline of international relations became a major scholarly focus of the university, and in response, theSchool of International and Public Affairswas founded in 1946, drawing upon the resources of the faculties of political science, economics, and history.^[83]TheColumbia University Bicentennialwas celebrated in 1954.^[84]

During the 1960s, student activism reached a climax withprotests in the spring of 1968, when hundreds of students occupied buildings on campus. The incident forced the resignation of Columbia's president,Grayson Kirk, and the establishment of the University Senate.^[85][86]

Though several schools in the university had admitted women for years, Columbia College first admitted women in the fall of 1983,^[87]after a decade of failed negotiations withBarnard College, the all-female institution affiliated with the university, to merge the two schools.^[88]Barnard College still remains affiliated with Columbia, and all Barnard graduates are issued diplomas signed by thepresidents of Columbia Universityand Barnard College.^[89]

During the late 20th century, the university underwent significant academic, structural, and administrative changes as it developed into a major research university. For much of the 19th century, the university consisted of decentralized and separate faculties specializing in Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science. In 1979, these faculties were merged into theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences.^[90]In 1991, the faculties of Columbia College, the School of General Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, theSchool of the Arts, and theSchool of Professional Studieswere merged into the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, leading to the academic integration and centralized governance of these schools.

In 2010, theSchool of International and Public Affairs, which was previously a part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, became an independent faculty.^[91]

In fall of 2023, pro-Palestine student activists organized protests in response to theIsrael–Hamas war, with counter-protests from pro-Israelactivists.^[92]On April 17, 2024, Columbia president Minouche Shafik was questioned by theHouse Committee on Education and the Workforceon the topic of antisemitism on campus. While Shafik was in Washington, DC, student activists began renewed protests,^[93][94]leading to what CNN described as a "full-blown crisis" over tensions stemming from apro-Palestinian campus occupation.^[95]In response, the university moved in-person classes online on Monday, April 22.^[96][97]Columbia University calledNew York Police Departmentofficers in riot gear to remove those demonstrators who seized Hamilton Hall, dozens of whom were arrested.^[98]

In mid-August 2024, three deans and the President of Columbia University,Minouche Shafik, resigned in the wake of the campus protests.^[99][100]

The majority of Columbia's graduate and undergraduate studies are conducted in theUpper Manhattanneighborhood ofMorningside HeightsonSeth Low's late-19th century vision of a university campus where all disciplines could be taught at one location. The campus was designed alongBeaux-Artsplanning principles by the architectsMcKim, Mead & White. Columbia's main campus occupies more than sixcity blocks, or 32 acres (13 ha), in Morningside Heights, New York City, a neighborhood that contains a number of academic institutions. The university owns over 7,800 apartments in Morningside Heights, housing faculty, graduate students, and staff. Almost two dozen undergraduate dormitories (purpose-built or converted) are located on campus or in Morningside Heights. Columbia University hasan extensive tunnel system, more than a century old, with the oldest portions predating the present campus. Some of these remain accessible to the public, while others have been cordoned off.^[101]

Butler Libraryis the largest in theColumbia University Librariessystem and one of the largest buildings on the campus. Proposed as "South Hall" by the university's former presidentNicholas Murray Butleras expansion plans forLow Memorial Librarystalled, the new library was funded byEdward Harkness, benefactor ofYale University'sresidential collegesystem, and designed by his favorite architect,James Gamble Rogers. It was completed in 1934 and renamed for Butler in 1946. The library design isneo-classicalin style. Its facade features a row of columns in theIonic orderabove which are inscribed the names of great writers, philosophers, and thinkers, most of whom are read by students engaged in theCore CurriculumofColumbia College.^[102]As of 2020^[update],Columbia's library systemincludes over 15.0 million volumes, making it the eighth largest library system and fifth largest collegiate library system in the United States.^[103]

Several buildings on the Morningside Heights campus are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.Low Memorial Library, aNational Historic Landmarkand the centerpiece of the campus, is listed for its architectural significance.Philosophy Hallis listed as the site of the invention ofFM radio.^[104]Also listed isPupin Hall, anotherNational Historic Landmark, which houses the physics and astronomy departments. Here the first experiments on the fission of uranium were conducted byEnrico Fermi. The uranium atom was split there ten days after the world's first atom-splitting inCopenhagen, Denmark.^[105][106]Other buildings listed includeCasa Italiana, theDelta Psi, Alpha Chapter buildingofSt. Anthony Hall,Earl Hall, and the buildings of the affiliatedUnion Theological Seminary.^{[107][108][109][110]}

A statue by sculptorDaniel Chester FrenchcalledAlma Materis centered on the front steps ofLow Memorial Library. The statue represents a personification of the traditional image of the university as analma mater, or "nourishing mother", draped in an academic gown and seated on a throne. She wears alaurel wreathon her head and holds in her right hand a scepter capped by a King's Crown, a traditional symbol of the university. A book, representing learning, rests on her lap. The arms of her throne end in lamps, representing "Sapientia et Doctrina", or "Wisdom and Learning"; on the back of the throne is embossed an image ofthe seal of the university.^[111]A local actress named Mary Lawton was said to have posed for parts of the sculpture. The statue was dedicated on September 23, 1903, as a gift of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Goelet, and was originally covered in golden leaf. During theColumbia University protests of 1968a bomb damaged the sculpture, but it has since been repaired.^[112]The small hidden owl on the sculpture is also the subject of many Columbia legends, the main legend being that the first student in the freshmen class to find the hidden owl on the statue will be valedictorian, and that any subsequent Columbia male who finds it will marry a Barnard student, given that Barnard is awomen's college.^[113][114]

"The Steps", alternatively known as "Low Steps" or the "Urban Beach", are a popular meeting area for Columbia students. The term refers to the long series of granite steps leading from the lower part of campus (South Field) to its upper terrace. With a design inspired by theCity Beautiful movement, the steps of Low Library provides Columbia University and Barnard College students, faculty, and staff with a comfortable outdoor platform and space for informal gatherings, events, and ceremonies. McKim's classical facade epitomizes late 19th-century new-classical designs, with its columns and portico marking the entrance to an important structure.^[115]

In April 2007, the university purchased more than two-thirds of a 17 acres (6.9 ha) site for a new campus inManhattanville, an industrial neighborhood to the north of the Morningside Heights campus. Stretching from125th Streetto133rd Street, Columbia Manhattanville houses buildings for Columbia's Business School, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia School of the Arts, and the Jerome L. Greene Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior, where research will occur on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.^[116][117]The $7 billion expansion plan included demolishing all buildings, except three that are historically significant (theStudebaker Building,Prentis Hall, and the Nash Building), eliminating the existing light industry and storage warehouses, and relocating tenants in 132 apartments. Replacing these buildings created 6.8 million square feet (630,000 m²) of space for the university. Community activist groups in West Harlem fought the expansion for reasons ranging from property protection and fair exchange for land, to residents' rights.^[118][119]Subsequent public hearings drew neighborhood opposition. As of December 2008^[update], the State of New York'sEmpire State Development Corporationapproved use of eminent domain, which, through declaration of Manhattanville's "blighted" status, gives governmental bodies the right to appropriate private property for public use.^[120]On May 20, 2009, theNew York State Public Authorities Control Boardapproved the Manhanttanville expansion plan.^[121]

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospitalis affiliated with the medical schools of both Columbia University andCornell University. According toU.S. News & World Report's "2020–21 Best Hospitals Honor Roll and Medical Specialties Rankings", it is ranked fourth overall and second among university hospitals.^[122]Columbia'smedical schoolhas a strategic partnership withNew York State Psychiatric Institute, and is affiliated with 19 other hospitals in the U.S. and four hospitals in other countries. Health-related schools are located at theColumbia University Medical Center, a 20-acre (8.1 ha) campus located in the neighborhood ofWashington Heights, fifty blocks uptown. Other teaching hospitals affiliated with Columbia through the NewYork-Presbyterian network include the Payne Whitney Clinic in Manhattan, and the Payne Whitney Westchester, a psychiatric institute located in White Plains, New York.^[123]On the northern tip of Manhattan island (in the neighborhood ofInwood), Columbia owns the 26-acre (11 ha) Baker Field, which includes theLawrence A. Wien Stadiumas well as facilities for field sports, outdoor track, and tennis. There is a third campus on the west bank of theHudson River, the 157-acre (64 ha)Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatoryand Earth Institute inPalisades, New York. A fourth is the 60-acre (24 ha)Nevis LaboratoriesinIrvington, New York, for the study of particle and motion physics. A satellite site in Paris holds classes atReid Hall.^[10]

In 2006, the university established the Office of Environmental Stewardship to initiate, coordinate and implement programs to reduce the university's environmental footprint. The U.S. Green Building Council selected the university's Manhattanville plan for theLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) Neighborhood Design pilot program. The plan commits to incorporating smart growth, new urbanism and "green" building design principles.^[124]Columbia is one of the 2030 Challenge Partners, a group of nine universities in the city of New York that have pledged to reduce theirgreenhouse emissionsby 30% within the next ten years. Columbia University adopts LEED standards for all new construction and major renovations. The university requires a minimum of Silver, but through its design and review process seeks to achieve higher levels. This is especially challenging for lab and research buildings with their intensive energy use; however, the university also uses lab design guidelines that seek to maximize energy efficiency while protecting the safety of researchers.^[125]

Every Thursday and Sunday of the month, Columbia hosts agreenmarketwhere local farmers can sell their produce to residents of the city. In addition, from April to November Hodgson's farm, a local New York gardening center, joins the market bringing a large selection of plants and blooming flowers. The market is one of the many operated at different points throughout the city by the non-profit group GrowNYC.^[126]Dining services at Columbia spends 36 percent of its food budget on local products, in addition to serving sustainably harvested seafood and fair trade coffee on campus.^[127]Columbia has been rated "B+" by the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card for its environmental and sustainability initiatives.^[128]

According to theA. W. KuchlerU.S.potential natural vegetationtypes, Columbia University would have a dominant vegetation type of AppalachianOak(104) with a dominant vegetation form of EasternHardwoodForest (25).^[129]

Columbia Transportationis the bus service of the university, operated byAcademy Bus Lines. The buses are open to all Columbia faculty, students, Dodge Fitness Center members, and anyone else who holds a Columbia ID card. In addition, allTSCstudents can ride the buses.^[130]

In theNew York City Subway, thetrain serves the university at116th Street-Columbia University. TheM4,M104andM60buses stop on Broadway while theM11stops on Amsterdam Avenue.

The main campus is primarily boxed off by the streets of Amsterdam Avenue,Broadway, 114th street, and 120th street, with some buildings, including Barnard College, located just outside the area. The nearest major highway is theHenry Hudson Parkway(NY 9A) to the west of the campus. It is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south of theGeorge Washington Bridge.

Undergraduate admissions statistics
2021 entering class [131] Change vs. 2016[132]
Admit rate	3.9% (−2.1)
Yield rate	66.5% (+1.4)
Test scoresmiddle 50%
SATTotal	1510–1560 (−10 median)

Columbia University received 60,551 applications for the class of 2025 (entering 2021) and a total of around 2,218 were admitted to the two schools for an overall acceptance rate of 3.66%.^[133]Columbia is a racially diverse school, with approximately 52% of all students identifying themselves as persons of color. Additionally, 50% of all undergraduates received grants from Columbia. The average grant size awarded to these students is $46,516.^[134]In 2015–2016, annual undergraduate tuition at Columbia was $50,526 with a total cost of attendance of $65,860 (including room and board).^[135]The college isneed-blindfor domestic applicants.^[136]

Annual gifts, fund-raising, and an increase in spending from the university's endowment have allowed Columbia to extend generous financial aid packages to qualifying students. On April 11, 2007, Columbia University announced a $400 million donation from media billionaire alumnusJohn Klugeto be used exclusively for undergraduate financial aid. The donation is among the largest single gifts to higher education.^[137]As of 2008^[update], undergraduates from families with incomes as high as $60,000 a year will have the projected cost of attending the university, including room, board, and academic fees, fully paid for by the university. That same year, the university ended loans for incoming and then-current students who were on financial aid, replacing loans that were traditionally part of aid packages with grants from the university. However, this does not apply to international students, transfer students, visiting students, or students in the School of General Studies.^[138]In the fall of 2010, admission to Columbia's undergraduate collegesColumbia Collegeand theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science(also known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering) began accepting theCommon Application. The policy change made Columbia one of the last major academic institutions and the lastIvy Leagueuniversity to switch to the Common Application.^[139]

Scholarships are also given to undergraduate students by the admissions committee. Designations include John W. Kluge Scholars, John Jay Scholars, C. Prescott Davis Scholars, Global Scholars, Egleston Scholars, and Science Research Fellows. Named scholars are selected by the admission committee from first-year applicants. According to Columbia, the first four designated scholars "distinguish themselves for their remarkable academic and personal achievements, dynamism, intellectual curiosity, the originality and independence of their thinking, and the diversity that stems from their different cultures and their varied educational experiences".^[140]

In 1919, Columbia established a student application process characterized byThe New York Timesas "the first modern college application". The application required a photograph of the applicant, the maiden name of the applicant's mother, and the applicant's religious background.^[141]

Columbia Graduate/Professional Schools[142]
College/school	Year founded
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons	1767
College of Dental Medicine	1916
Columbia Law School	1858
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science	1864
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences	1880
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation	1881
Teachers College, Columbia University(affiliate)	1887
Columbia University School of Nursing	1892
Columbia University School of Social Work	1898
Graduate School of Journalism	1912
Columbia Business School	1916
Mailman School of Public Health	1922
Union Theological Seminary(affiliate)	1836, affiliate since 1928
School of International and Public Affairs	1946
School of the Arts	1965
School of Professional Studies	1995
Columbia Climate School	2020

Columbia Undergraduate Schools[142]
College/school	Year founded
Columbia College	1754
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science	1864
Barnard College(affiliate)	1889
Jewish Theological Seminary of America(affiliate)	1886
Columbia University School of General Studies	1947

Columbia University is an independent, privately supported, nonsectarian andnot-for-profitinstitution of higher education.^[143]Its official corporate name isTrustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.

In 1754, the university's first charter was grantedKing George II; however, its modern charter was first enacted in 1787 and last amended in 1810 by the New York State Legislature. The university is governed by 24 trustees, customarily including the president, who servesex officio. The trustees themselves are responsible for choosing their successors. Six of the 24 are nominated from a pool of candidates recommended by the Columbia Alumni Association. Another six are nominated by the board in consultation with the executive committee of the University Senate. The remaining 12, including the president, are nominated by the trustees themselves through their internal processes. The term of office for trustees is six years. Generally, they serve for no more than two consecutive terms. The trustees appoint the president and other senior administrative officers of the university, and review and confirm faculty appointments as required. They determine the university's financial and investment policies, authorize the budget, supervise the endowment, direct the management of the university's real estate and other assets, and otherwise oversee the administration and management of the university.^[144]

The University Senate was established by the trustees after a university-wide referendum in 1969. It succeeded to the powers of the University Council, which was created in 1890 as a body of faculty, deans, and other administrators to regulate inter-Faculty affairs and consider issues of university-wide concern. The University Senate is a unicameral body consisting of 107 members drawn from all constituencies of the university. These include the president of the university, the provost, the deans of Columbia College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, all of whom serveex officio, and five additional representatives, appointed by the president, from the university's administration. The president serves as the Senate's presiding officer. The Senate is charged with reviewing the educational policies, physical development, budget, and external relations of the university. It oversees the welfare and academic freedom of the faculty and the welfare of students.^{[145][146][147]}

Thepresident of Columbia University, who is selected by the trustees in consultation with the executive committee of the University Senate and who serves at the trustees' pleasure, is the chief executive officer of the university. Assisting the president in administering the university are the provost, the senior executive vice president, the executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, several other vice presidents, the general counsel, the secretary of the university, and the deans of the faculties, all of whom are appointed by the trustees on the nomination of the president and serve at their pleasure.^[144]

Columbia has four official undergraduate colleges:Columbia College, the liberal arts college offering the Bachelor of Arts degree; theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science(also known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering), the engineering and applied science school offering the Bachelor of Science degree; theSchool of General Studies, the liberal arts college offering the Bachelor of Arts degree to non-traditional students undertaking full- or part-time study; andBarnard College.^[148][149]Barnard Collegeis a women's liberal arts college and an academic affiliate in which students receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. Their degrees are signed by the presidents of Columbia University and Barnard College.^[150][151]Barnard students are also eligible to cross-register classes that are available through the Barnard Catalogue and alumnae can join the Columbia Alumni Association.^[152]

Joint degree programs are available throughUnion Theological Seminary, theJewish Theological Seminary of America,^[153]and theJuilliard School.^[154][155]Teachers CollegeandBarnard Collegeare official faculties of the university; both colleges' presidents are deans under the university governance structure.^[156]The Columbia University Senate includes faculty and student representatives from Teachers College and Barnard College who serve two-year terms; all senators are accorded full voting privileges regarding matters impacting the entire university. Teachers College is an affiliated, financially independent graduate school with their own board of trustees.^[146][147]Pursuant to an affiliation agreement, Columbia is given the authority to confer "degrees and diplomas" to the graduates of Teachers College. The degrees are signed by presidents of Teachers College and Columbia University in a manner analogous to the university's other graduate schools.^{[157][158][156]}Columbia's General Studies school also has joint undergraduate programs available throughUniversity College London,^[159]Sciences Po,^[160]City University of Hong Kong,^[161]Trinity College Dublin,^[162]and theJuilliard School.^[163]

The university also has severalColumbia Global Centers, inAmman,Beijing,Istanbul,Mumbai,Nairobi,Paris,Rio de Janeiro,Santiago, andTunis.^[164]

Columbia students can study abroad for a semester or a year at partner institutions such asSciences Po,^[165]École des hautes études en sciences sociales(EHESS),École normale supérieure(ENS),Panthéon-Sorbonne University,King's College London,London School of Economics,University College Londonand theUniversity of Warwick. Select students can study at either theUniversity of Oxfordor theUniversity of Cambridgefor a year if approved by both Columbia and either Oxford or Cambridge.^[166]Columbia also has a dual MA program with theAga Khan Universityin London.

Columbia University is ranked 12th in the United States and seventh globally for 2023–2024 byU.S. News & World Report. QS University Rankings listed Columbia as fifth in the United States. Ranked 15th among U.S. colleges for 2020 byThe Wall Street JournalandTimes Higher Education, in recent years it has been ranked as high as second. Individual colleges and schools were also nationally ranked byU.S. News & World Reportfor its 2021 edition.Columbia Law Schoolwas ranked fourth, theMailman School of Public Healthfourth, theSchool of Social Worktied for third,Columbia Business Schooleighth, theCollege of Physicians and Surgeonstied for sixth for research (and tied for 31st for primary care), theSchool of Nursingtied for 11th in the master's program and tied for first in the doctorate nursing program, and theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science(graduate) was ranked tied for 14th.

In 2021, Columbia was ranked seventh in the world (sixth in the United States) byAcademic Ranking of World Universities, sixth in the world byU.S. News & World Report, 19th in the world byQS World University Rankings, and 11th globally byTimes Higher Education World University Rankings. It was ranked in the first tier of American research universities, along with Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, in the 2019 report from theCenter for Measuring University Performance. Columbia'sGraduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservationwas ranked the second most admired graduate program byArchitectural Recordin 2020.

In 2011, theMines ParisTech: Professional Ranking of World Universitiesranked Columbia third best university for formingCEOsin the US and 12th worldwide.

In 2022, Columbia's reporting of metrics used for university ranking was criticized by Professor of MathematicsMichael Thaddeus, who argued key data supporting the ranking was "inaccurate, dubious or highly misleading."^[177][178]Subsequently,U.S. News & World Report"unranked" Columbia from its 2022 list of Best Colleges saying that it could not verify the data submitted by the university.^[179]In June 2023, Columbia University announced their undergraduate schools would no longer participate inU.S. News & World Report'srankings, following the lead of its law, medical and nursing schools. A press release cited concerns that such rankings unduly influence applicants and "distill a university's profile into a composite of data categories."^[180]

Columbia isclassifiedamong "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".^[182]Columbia was the first North American site where theuraniumatom was split. The College of Physicians and Surgeons played a central role in developing the modern understanding of neuroscience with the publication ofPrinciples of Neural Science, described by historian of science Katja Huenther as the "neuroscience 'bible' ".^[183]The book was written by a team of Columbia researchers that included Nobel Prize winnerEric Kandel,James H. Schwartz, andThomas Jessell. Columbia was the birthplace ofFM radioand thelaser.^[184]The firstbrain-computer interfacecapable of translating brain signals into speech was developed byneuroengineersat Columbia.^{[185][186][187]}TheMPEG-2algorithm of transmitting high quality audio and video over limited bandwidth was developed byDimitris Anastassiou, a Columbia professor of electrical engineering. BiologistMartin Chalfiewas the first to introduce the use ofGreen Fluorescent Protein(GFP) in labeling cells in intact organisms.^[188]Other inventions and products related to Columbia include Sequential Lateral Solidification (SLS) technology for making LCDs, System Management Arts (SMARTS),Session Initiation Protocol(SIP) (which is used for audio, video, chat, instant messaging and whiteboarding),pharmacopeia, Macromodel (software for computational chemistry), a new and better recipe for glass concrete, BlueLEDs, and Beamprop (used in photonics).^[189]

Columbia scientists have been credited with about 175 new inventions in the health sciences each year.^[189]More than 30 pharmaceutical products based on discoveries and inventions made at Columbia reached the market. These includeRemicade(for arthritis),Reopro(for blood clot complications),Xalatan(for glaucoma),Benefix,Latanoprost(a glaucoma treatment), shoulder prosthesis,homocysteine(testing for cardiovascular disease), andZolinza(for cancer therapy).^[190]Columbia Technology Ventures (formerly Science and Technology Ventures), as of 2008^[update], manages some 600 patents and more than 250 active license agreements.^[190]Patent-related deals earned Columbia more than $230 million in the 2006 fiscal year, according to the university, more than any university in the world.^[191]Columbia owns many unique research facilities, such as theColumbia Institute for Tele-Informationdedicated totelecommunicationsand theGoddard Institute for Space Studies, which is anastronomicalobservatoryaffiliated withNASA.

Columbia is a long-standing participant of theUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsYellow Ribbon Program, allowing eligible veterans to pursue a Columbia undergraduate degree regardless of socioeconomic status for over 70 years.^[192]As a part of the Eisenhower Leader Development Program (ELDP) in partnership with theUnited States Military AcademyatWest Point, Columbia is the only school in the Ivy League to offer a graduate degree program in organizational psychology to aid military officers in tactical decision making and strategic management.^[193]

Several prestigious awards are administered by Columbia University, most notably thePulitzer Prizeand theBancroft Prizein history.^[194][195]Other prizes, which are awarded by theGraduate School of Journalism, include theAlfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, theNational Magazine Awards, theMaria Moors Cabot Prizes, theJohn Chancellor Award, and the Lukas Prizes, which include theJ. Anthony Lukas Book PrizeandMark Lynton History Prize.^[196]The university also administers theLouisa Gross Horwitz Prize, which is considered an important precursor to the Nobel Prize, 51 of its 101 recipients having gone on to win either aNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineorNobel Prize in Chemistryas of October 2018;^[197]theW. Alden Spencer Award;^[198]theVetlesen Prize, which is known as the Nobel Prize of geology;^[199]theJapan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature, the oldest such award;^[200]theEdwin Howard Armstrong award;^[201]theCalderone Prizein public health;^[202]and theDitson Conductor's Award.^[203]

Student body composition as of May 2, 2022

Race and ethnicity[204]	Total
White	33%	33
Foreign national	18%	18
Asian	17%	17
Hispanic	15%	15
Other[a]	10%	10
Black	7%	7
Economic diversity
Low-income[b]	19%	19
Affluent[c]	81%	81

In 2020, Columbia University's student population was 31,455 (8,842 students in undergraduate programs and 22,613 in postgraduate programs), with 45% of the student population identifying themselves as a minority.^[205]Twenty-six percent of students at Columbia have family incomes below $60,000. 16% of students at Columbia receive Federal Pell Grants,^[206]which mostly go to students whose family incomes are below $40,000. Seventeen percent of students are the first member of their family to attend a four-year college.^[207]

On-campus housing is guaranteed for all four years as an undergraduate.Columbia Collegeand theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science(also known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering) share housing in the on-campus residence halls. First-year students usually live in one of the large residence halls situated around South Lawn:Carman Hall,Furnald Hall,Hartley Hall,John Jay Hall, orWallach Hall(originally Livingston Hall). Upperclassmen participate in a room selection process, wherein students can pick to live in a mix of either corridor- or apartment-style housing with their friends. TheColumbia University School of General Studies,Barnard Collegeand graduate schools have their own apartment-style housing in the surrounding neighborhood.^[208]

Columbia University is home to manyfraternities, sororities, and co-educational Greek organizations. Approximately 10–15% of undergraduate students are associated with Greek life.^[209]Many Barnard women also join Columbia sororities. There has been a Greek presence on campus since the establishment in 1836 of the Delta chapter ofAlpha Delta Phi.^[210]The InterGreek Council is the self-governing student organization that provides guidelines and support to its member organizations within each of the three councils at Columbia, the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, and Multicultural Greek Council. The three council presidents bring their affiliated chapters together once a month to meet as one Greek community. The InterGreek Council meetings provide opportunity for member organizations to learn from each other, work together and advocate for community needs.^[211]

TheColumbia Daily Spectatoris the nation's second-oldest continuously operating daily student newspaper.^[212]The Blue and White^[213]is a monthly literary magazine established in 1890 that discusses campus life and local politics.Bwog,^[214]originally an offshoot ofThe Blue and Whitebut now fully independent, is an online campus news and entertainment source.The Morningside Postis a student-run multimedia news publication.

Political publications includeThe Current, a journal of politics, culture and Jewish Affairs;^[215]theColumbia Political Review, the multi-partisan political magazine of the Columbia Political Union;^[216]andAdHoc, which denotes itself as the "progressive" campus magazine and deals largely with local political issues and arts events.^[217]

Columbia Magazineis the alumni magazine of Columbia, serving all 340,000+ of the university's alumni. Arts and literary publications includeThe Columbia Review, the nation's oldest college literary magazine;^[218]Surgam, the literary magazine ofThe Philolexian Society;^[219]Quarto, Columbia University's official undergraduate literary magazine;^[220]4x4, a student-run alternative toQuarto;^[221]Columbia, a nationally regardedliterary journal; theColumbia Journal of Literary Criticism;^[222]andThe Mobius Strip, an online arts and literary magazine.^[223]Inside New Yorkis an annual guidebook to New York City, written, edited, and published by Columbia undergraduates. Through a distribution agreement withColumbia University Press, the book is sold at major retailers and independent bookstores.^[224]

Columbia is home to numerous undergraduate academic publications. TheColumbia Undergraduate Science Journalprints original science research in its two annual publications.^[225]TheJournal of Politics & Societyis a journal of undergraduate research in the social sciences;^[226]Publiusis an undergraduate journal of politics established in 2008 and published biannually;^[227]theColumbia East Asia Reviewallows undergraduates throughout the world to publish original work on China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam and is supported by theWeatherhead East Asian Institute;^[228]The Birchis an undergraduate journal of Eastern European and Eurasian culture that is the first national student-run journal of its kind;^[229]theColumbia Economics Reviewis the undergraduate economic journal on research and policy supported by the Columbia Economics Department; and theColumbia Science Reviewis a science magazine that prints general interest articles and faculty profiles.^[230]

Humor publications on Columbia's campus includeThe Fed, a triweekly satire and investigative newspaper, and theJester of Columbia.^[231][232]Other publications includeThe Columbian, the undergraduate colleges' annually published yearbook;^[233]theGadfly, a biannual journal of popular philosophy produced by undergraduates;^[234]andRhapsody in Blue, an undergraduate urban studies magazine.^[235]Professional journals published by academic departments at Columbia University includeCurrent MusicologyandThe Journal of Philosophy.^[236][237]During the spring semester, graduate students in the Journalism School publishThe Bronx Beat, a bi-weekly newspaper covering the South Bronx.

Founded in 1961 under the auspices of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, theColumbia Journalism Review(CJR) examines day-to-day press performance as well as the forces that affect that performance. The magazine is published six times a year.^[238]

Former publications include theColumbia University Forum, a review of literature and cultural affairs distributed for free to alumni.^[239][240]

Columbia is home to two pioneers in undergraduatecampus radiobroadcasting,WKCR-FMand CTV. Many undergraduates are also involved with Barnard's radio station,WBAR. WKCR, the student run radio station that broadcasts to the Tri-state area, claims to be the oldest FM radio station in the world, owing to the university's affiliation withMajor Edwin Armstrong. The station went operational on July 18, 1939, from a 400-foot antenna tower in Alpine, New Jersey, broadcasting the first FM transmission in the world. Initially, WKCR was not a radio station, but an organization concerned with the technology of radio communications. As membership grew, however, the nascent club turned its efforts to broadcasting. Armstrong helped the students in their early efforts, donating a microphone and turntables when they designed their first makeshift studio in a dorm room.^[241]The station has its studios on the second floor of Alfred Lerner Hall on the Morningside campus with its main transmitter tower at4 Times SquareinMidtown Manhattan. Columbia Television (CTV) is the nation's second oldeststudent television stationand the home of CTV News, a weekly live news program produced by undergraduate students.^[242][243]

ThePhilolexian Societyis a literary and debating club founded in 1802, making it the oldest student group at Columbia, as well as the third oldest collegiate literary society in the country.^[244]The society annually administers theJoyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest.^[245]The Columbia Parliamentary Debate Team competes in tournaments around the country as part of theAmerican Parliamentary Debate Association, and hosts both high school and college tournaments on Columbia's campus, as well as public debates on issues affecting the university.^[246]

The Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA), oversees Columbia'sModel United Nationsactivities. CIRCA hosts college and high school Model UN conferences, hosts speakers influential in international politics to speak on campus, and trains students from underprivileged schools in New York in Model UN.^[247]

Columbia is a top supplier of young engineering entrepreneurs for New York City. Over the past 20 years, graduates of Columbia established over 100 technology companies.^[248]

The Columbia University Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs (CORE) was founded in 1999. The student-run group aims to foster entrepreneurship on campus. Each year CORE hosts dozens of events, including talks, #StartupColumbia, a conference and venture competition for $250,000, and Ignite@CU, a weekend for undergrads interested in design, engineering, and entrepreneurship. Notable speakers includePeter Thiel,Jack Dorsey,^[249]Alexis Ohanian,Drew Houston, andMark Cuban. As of 2006, CORE had awarded graduate and undergraduate students over $100,000 in seed capital.

CampusNetwork, an on-campus social networking site called Campus Network that preceded Facebook, was created and popularized by Columbia engineering student Adam Goldberg in 2003.Mark Zuckerberglater asked Goldberg to join him inPalo Altoto work on Facebook, but Goldberg declined the offer.^[250]TheFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Scienceoffers a minor in Technical Entrepreneurship through its Center for Technology, Innovation, and Community Engagement. SEAS' entrepreneurship activities focus on community building initiatives in New York and worldwide, made possible through partners such asMicrosoft Corporation.^[251]

On June 14, 2010, MayorMichael R. Bloomberglaunched the NYC Media Lab to promote innovations in New York's media industry. Situated at theNew York University Tandon School of Engineering, the lab is a consortium of Columbia University,New York University, andNew York City Economic Development Corporationacting to connect companies with universities in new technology research. The Lab is modeled after similar ones atMITandStanford, and was established with a $250,000 grant from the New York City Economic Development Corporation.^[252]

Established in 2003 by university presidentLee C. Bollinger, the World Leaders Forum at Columbia University provides the opportunity for students and faculty to listen to world leaders in government, religion, industry, finance, and academia.^[253]

Past forum speakers include former president of the United StatesBill Clinton, the prime minister of IndiaAtal Bihari Vajpayee, former president of GhanaJohn Agyekum Kufuor, president of AfghanistanHamid Karzai, prime minister of RussiaVladimir Putin, president of the Republic of MozambiqueJoaquim Alberto Chissano, president of the Republic of BoliviaCarlos Diego Mesa Gisbert, president of the Republic of RomaniaIon Iliescu, president of the Republic of LatviaVaira Vīķe-Freiberga, the first female president of FinlandTarja Halonen, PresidentYudhoyonoof Indonesia, PresidentPervez Musharrafof the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Iraq PresidentJalal Talabani, the14th Dalai Lama, president of the Islamic Republic of IranMahmoud Ahmadinejad, financierGeorge Soros, Mayor of New York CityMichael R. Bloomberg, PresidentVáclav Klausof the Czech Republic, PresidentCristina Fernández de Kirchnerof Argentina, former Secretary-General of the United NationsKofi Annan, andAl Gore.^[254]

The Columbia University Orchestra was founded by composerEdward MacDowellin 1896, and is the oldest continually operating university orchestra in the United States. Undergraduate student composers at Columbia may choose to become involved with Columbia New Music, which sponsors concerts of music written by undergraduate students from all of Columbia's schools.^[255]The Notes and Keys, the oldesta cappellagroup at Columbia, was founded in 1909.^[256]There are a number of performing arts groups at Columbia dedicated to producing student theater, including the Columbia Players, King's Crown Shakespeare Troupe (KCST), Columbia Musical Theater Society (CMTS), NOMADS (New and Original Material Authored and Directed by Students), LateNite Theatre, Columbia University Performing Arts League (CUPAL), Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE), sketch comedy group Chowdah, and improvisational troupes Alfred and Fruit Paunch.^[257]

TheColumbia Queer Allianceis the central Columbia student organization that represents the bisexual, lesbian, gay, transgender, and questioning student population. It is the oldestgaystudent organization in the world, founded as the StudentHomophileLeague in 1967 by students including lifelong activistStephen Donaldson.^[258][259]

Columbia University campus military groups include the U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University and Advocates for Columbia ROTC. In the 2005–06 academic year, the Columbia Military Society, Columbia's student group for ROTC cadets and Marine officer candidates, was renamed the Hamilton Society for "students who aspire to serve their nation through the military in the tradition ofAlexander Hamilton".^[260]

The largest student service organization at Columbia is Community Impact (CI). Founded in 1981, CI provides food, clothing, shelter, education, job training, and companionship for residents in its surrounding communities. CI consists of about 950 Columbia University student volunteers participating in 25 community service programs, which serve more than 8,000 people each year.^[261]

Columbia has several secret societies, includingSt. Anthony Hall, which was founded at the university in 1847, and two senior societies, theNacoms and Sachems.^[262][263]

A member institution of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) inDivision IFCS, Columbia fields varsity teams in 29 sports and is a member of theIvy League. The football Lions play home games at the 17,000-seatRobert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. The Baker Athletics Complex also includes facilities for baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis, track, and rowing, as well as the new Campbell Sports Center, which opened in January 2013. The basketball, fencing, swimming & diving, volleyball, and wrestling programs are based at the Dodge Physical Fitness Center on the main campus.^[264]

Former students includeBaseball Hall of FamersLou GehrigandEddie Collins,football Hall of FamerSid Luckman,Marcellus Wiley, and world champion women's weightlifterKaryn Marshall.^[265][266]On May 17, 1939, fledglingNBCbroadcast a doubleheader between the Columbia Lions and thePrinceton Tigersat Columbia's Baker Field, making it the first televised regular athletic event in history.^[267][268]

Columbia University athletics has a long history, with many accomplishments in athletic fields. In 1870, Columbia played againstRutgers Universityin the second intercollegiate rugby football game in the history of the sport. Eight years later, Columbia crew won the famedHenley Royal Regattain the first-ever defeat for an English crew rowing in English waters. In 1900, Olympian and Columbia College studentMaxie Longset the first official world record in the 400 meters with a time of 47.8 seconds. In 1983, Columbia men's soccer went 18–0 and was ranked first in the nation, but lost to Indiana 1–0 in double overtime in the NCAA championship game; nevertheless, the team went further toward the NCAA title than any Ivy League soccer team in history.^[269]The football program unfortunately is best known for its record of futility set during the 1980s: between 1983 and 1988, the team lost 44 games in a row, which is still the record for the NCAAFootball Championship Subdivision. The streak was broken on October 8, 1988, with a 16–13 victory over arch-rivalPrinceton University. That was the Lions' first victory at Wien Stadium, which had been opened during the losing streak and was already four years old.^[270]A new tradition has developed with theLiberty Cup. The Liberty Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the football game betweenFordhamand Columbia Universities, two of the only three NCAA Division I football teams in New York City.^[271]

The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia. Founded in 1893 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Columbia undergraduate community for a series of performances every April. Dedicated to producing a unique full-length musical that skewers and satirizes many dubious aspects of life at Columbia, the Varsity Show is written and performed exclusively by university undergraduates. Various renowned playwrights, composers, authors, directors, and actors have contributed to the Varsity Show, either as writers or performers, while students at Columbia, includingRichard Rodgers,Oscar Hammerstein II,Lorenz Hart,Herman J. Mankiewicz,I. A. L. Diamond,Herman Wouk,Greta Gerwig, andKate McKinnon.^[272]

Notable past shows includeFly With Me(1920),TheStreets of New York(1948),The Sky's the Limit(1954), andAngels at Columbia(1994). In particular,Streets of New York, after having been revived three times, openedoff-Broadwayin 1963 and was awarded a 1964Drama Desk Award.The Mischief Maker(1903), written byEdgar Allan Woolfand Cassius Freeborn, premiered atMadison Square Gardenin 1906 asMam'zelle Champagne.^[272][273]

The campus Tree Lighting ceremony was inaugurated in 1998. It celebrates the illumination of the medium-sized trees lining College Walk in front of Kent Hall andHamilton Hallon the east end and Dodge Hall and Pulitzer Hall on the west, just before finals week in early December. The lights remain on until February 28. Students meet atthe sundialfor free hot chocolate, performances bya cappellagroups, and speeches by the university president and a guest.^[274]

Immediately following the College Walk festivities is one of Columbia's older holiday traditions, the lighting of the Yule Log. The Christmas ceremony dates to a period prior to theAmerican Revolutionary War, but lapsed before being revived by PresidentNicholas Murray Butlerin 1910. A troop of students dressed asContinental Armysoldiers carry the eponymous log from the sundial to the lounge ofJohn Jay Hall, where it is lit amid the singing of seasonal carols. The Christmas ceremony is accompanied by a reading ofA Visit From St. NicholasbyClement Clarke MooreandYes, Virginia, There is a Santa ClausbyFrancis Pharcellus Church.^[275]

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The university has graduated many notable alumni, including fiveFounding Fathers of the United States,an authorof the United States Constitution anda memberof theCommittee of Five. Three United States presidents have attended Columbia,^[276]as well as tenJustices of the Supreme Court of the United States, including threeChief Justices. As of 2011^[update], 125 Pulitzer Prize winners and 39 Oscar winners have attended Columbia.^[277]As of 2006^[update], there were 101 National Academy members who were alumni.^[278]

In a 2016 ranking of universities worldwide with respect to living graduates who are billionaires, Columbia ranked second, after Harvard.^[279][280]

Former U.S. PresidentsTheodore RooseveltandFranklin Delano Rooseveltattended the law school. Other political figures educated at Columbia include former U.S. PresidentBarack Obama,^[281]Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme CourtRuth Bader Ginsburg,^[282]former U.S. Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright,^[283]former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve BankAlan Greenspan,^[284]U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder, and U.S. Solicitor GeneralDonald Verrilli Jr.^[285]The university has also educated 29 foreignheads of state, including president of GeorgiaMikheil Saakashvili, president of East TimorJosé Ramos-Horta, president of EstoniaToomas Hendrik Ilvesand other historical figures such asWellington Koo,Radovan Karadžić,Gaston Eyskens, andT. V. Soong. One of the architects of the Constitution of India,B. R. Ambedkar, was an alumnus.^[286]

Alumni of Columbia have occupied top positions in Wall Street and the rest of the business world. Notable members of theAstor family^[287][288]attended Columbia, while other business graduates include investorWarren Buffett,^[289]former CEO of PBS and NBCLawrence K. Grossman,^[290]chairman ofWalmartS. Robson Walton,^[291]Bain CapitalCo-Managing Partner,Jonathan Lavine,^[292][293]Thomson ReutersCEOTom Glocer,^[294][295]New York Stock ExchangepresidentLynn Martin,^[296]andAllianceBernsteinChairman and CEOLewis A. Sanders.^[297]CEO's of top Fortune 500 companies includeJames P. GormanofMorgan Stanley,^[298]Robert J. StevensofLockheed Martin,^[299]Philippe DaumanofViacom,^[300]Robert BakishofParamount Global,^[301][302]Ursula BurnsofXerox,^[303]Devin WenigofEBay,^[304]Vikram PanditofCitigroup,^[305]Ralph IzzoofPublic Service Enterprise Group,^[306][307]Gail Koziara BoudreauxofAnthem,^[308]andFrank BlakeofThe Home Depot.^[309]Notable labor organizer and women's educatorLouise Leonard McLarenreceived her degree of Master of Arts from Columbia.^[310]

In science and technology, Columbia alumni include: founder ofIBMHerman Hollerith;^[311]inventor ofFM radioEdwin Armstrong;^[312]Francis Mechner; integral in development of thenuclear submarineHyman Rickover;^[313]founder ofGoogle ChinaKai-Fu Lee;^[314]scientistsStephen Jay Gould,^[315]Robert Millikan,^[316]Helium–neon laserinventorAli JavanandMihajlo Pupin;^[317]chief-engineer of theNew York City Subway,William Barclay Parsons;^[318]philosophersIrwin Edman^[319]andRobert Nozick;^[320]economistMilton Friedman;^[321]psychologistHarriet Babcock;^[322]archaeologistJosephine Platner Shear;^[323]and sociologistsLewis A. CoserandRose Laub Coser.^[324][325]

Many Columbia alumni have gone on to renowned careers in the arts, including composersRichard Rodgers,^[326]Oscar Hammerstein II,^[327]Lorenz Hart,^[328]andArt Garfunkel;^[329]and painterGeorgia O'Keeffe.^[330]Five United StatesPoet Laureatesreceived their degrees from Columbia. Columbia alumni have made an indelible mark in the field of American poetry and literature, with such people asJack KerouacandAllen Ginsberg, pioneers of theBeat Generation;^[331]andLangston HughesandZora Neale Hurston, seminal figures in theHarlem Renaissance,^[332][333]all having attended the university. Other notable writers who attended Columbia include authorsIsaac Asimov,^[334]J.D. Salinger,^[335]Upton Sinclair,^[336]Ursula K. Le Guin,^[337]Danielle Valore Evans,^[338]andHunter S. Thompson.^[339]In architecture,William Lee Stoddart, a prolific architect ofU.S. East Coasthotels, is an alumnus.^[340]

University alumni have also been very prominent in the film industry, with 33 alumni and former students winning a combined 43Academy Awards(as of 2011^[update]).^[277]Some notable Columbia alumni that have gone on to work in film include directorsSidney Lumet(12 Angry Men)^[341]andKathryn Bigelow(The Hurt Locker),^[342]screenwritersHoward Koch(Casablanca)^[343]andJoseph L. Mankiewicz(All About Eve),^[344]and actorsJames Cagney,^[345]Ed HarrisandTimothée Chalamet.^[346]

• Notable Columbia University alumni include:
• 
  Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father of the United States; author of The Federalist Papers; first United States Secretary of the Treasury— King's College
• 
  John Jay: Founding Father of the United States; author of The Federalist Papers; first Chief Justice of the United States; second Governor of New York— King's College
• 
  Robert R. Livingston: Founding Father of the United States; drafter of the Declaration of Independence; first United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs— King's College
• 
  Gouverneur Morris: Founding Father of the United States; author of the United States Constitution; United States Senatorfrom New York— King's College
• 
  DeWitt Clinton: United States Senatorfrom New York; sixth Governor of New York; responsible for construction of Erie Canal— Columbia College
• 
  Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States; United States Senator from Illinois; Nobel laureate— Columbia College
• 
  Franklin D. Roosevelt: 32nd President of the United States; 44th Governor of New York — Columbia Law School
• 
  Theodore Roosevelt: 26th President of the United States; 25th Vice President of the United States; 33rd Governor of New York; Nobel laureate – Columbia Law School
• 
  Wellington Koo: acting President of the Republic of China; judge of the International Court of Justice— Columbia College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  B. R. Ambedkar: Founding Father of India; architect of the Constitution of India; First Minister of Law and Justice— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States— Columbia Law School
• 
  Neil Gorsuch: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States — Columbia College
• 
  Charles Evans Hughes: 11th Chief Justice of the United States; 44th United States Secretary of State; 35th Governor of New York — Columbia Law School
• 
  Harlan Fiske Stone: 12th Chief Justice of the United States; 52nd United States Attorney General— Columbia Law School
• 
  William Barr: 77th and 85th United States Attorney General – Columbia College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Hamilton Fish: 26th United States Secretary of State; United States Senator from New York; 16th Governor of New York — Columbia College
• 
  Madeleine Albright: 64th United States Secretary of State; first female Secretary of State — School of International and Public Affairs
• 
  Frances Perkins: fourth United States Secretary of Labor; first female member of any U.S. Cabinet— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Robert A. Millikan: Nobel laureate; measured the elementary electric charge— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Isidor Isaac Rabi: Nobel Laureate; discovered nuclear magnetic resonance— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Julian S. Schwinger: Nobel laureate; pioneer of quantum field theory— Columbia College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Milton Friedman: Nobel laureate, leading member of the Chicago school of economics— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Simon Kuznets: Nobel laureate; invented concept of GDP; Milton Friedman's doctoral advisor — School of General Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Alan Greenspan: 13th Chair of the Federal Reserve— Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Warren Buffett: CEO of Berkshire Hathaway; one of the world's wealthiest people— Columbia Business School
• 
  Herman Hollerith: inventor; co-founder of IBM– School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• 
  Robert Kraft: billionaire; owner of the New England Patriots; chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group— Columbia College
• 
  Richard Rodgers: legendary Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award-winningcomposer; Pulitzer Prizewinner — Columbia College
• 
  Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissancepoet, novelist, and playwright — School of Engineering and Applied Science
• 
  Zora Neale Hurston: Harlem Renaissance author, anthropologist, and filmmaker — Barnard College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  Allen Ginsberg: poet; founder of the Beat Generation— Columbia College
• 
  Jack Kerouac: poet; founder of the Beat Generation — Columbia College
• 
  Isaac Asimov: science fiction writer; biochemist — School of General Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• 
  J. D. Salinger: novelist, The Catcher in the Rye— School of General Studies
• 
  Amelia Earhart: first female aviatorto fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean — School of General Studies
• 
  Jake Gyllenhaal: actor and film producer — Columbia College

As of 2021, Columbia employs 4,381 faculty, including 70 members of theNational Academy of Sciences,^[347]178 members of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,^[348]and 65 members of theNational Academy of Medicine.^[349]In total, the Columbia faculty has included 52Nobel laureates, 12National Medal of Sciencerecipients,^[350]and 32National Academy of Engineeringmembers.^[351]

Columbia University faculty played particularly important roles duringWorld War IIand the creation of theNew Dealunder PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, who attended Columbia Law School. The three core members of Roosevelt'sBrain Trust:Adolf A. Berle,Raymond Moley, andRexford Tugwell, were law professors at Columbia.^[352]TheStatistical Research Group, which used statistics to analyze military problems during World War II, was composed of Columbia researchers and faculty includingGeorge StiglerandMilton Friedman.^[353]Columbia faculty and researchers, includingEnrico Fermi,Leo Szilard,Eugene T. Booth,John R. Dunning,George B. Pegram,Walter Zinn,Chien-Shiung Wu,Francis G. Slack,Harold Urey,Herbert L. Anderson, andIsidor Isaac Rabi, also played a significant role during the early phases of theManhattan Project.^[354]

Following the rise ofNazi Germany, the exiledInstitute for Social ResearchatGoethe University Frankfurtwould affiliate itself with Columbia from 1934 to 1950.^[355]It was during this period that thinkers includingTheodor Adorno,Max Horkheimer, andHerbert Marcusewrote and published some of the most seminal works of theFrankfurt School, includingReason and Revolution,Dialectic of Enlightenment, andEclipse of Reason.^[356]ProfessorsEdward Said, author ofOrientalism, andGayatri Spivakare generally considered as founders of the field ofpostcolonialism;^[357][358]other professors that have significantly contributed to the field includeHamid DabashiandJoseph Massad.^[359][360]The works of professorsKimberlé Crenshaw,Patricia J. Williams, andKendall Thomaswere foundational to the field ofcritical race theory.^[361]

Columbia and its affiliated faculty have also made significant contributions to the study of religion. The affiliated Union Theological Seminary is a center ofliberal Christianityin the United States, having served as the birthplace ofBlack theologythrough the efforts of faculty includingJames H. ConeandCornel West,^[362][363]andWomanist theology, through the works ofKatie Cannon,Emilie Townes, andDelores S. Williams.^{[364][365][366]}Likewise, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America was the birthplace ofConservative Judaismmovement in the United States, which was founded and led by faculty members includingSolomon Schechter,Alexander Kohut, andLouis Ginzbergin the early 20th century, and is a major center for Jewish studies in general.^[367]

Other schools of thought in the humanities Columbia professors made significant contributions toward include theDunning School, founded byWilliam Archibald Dunning;^[368][369]the anthropological schools ofhistorical particularismandcultural relativism, founded byFranz Boas;^[370]andfunctional psychology, whose founders and proponents includeJohn Dewey,James McKeen Cattell,Edward L. Thorndike, andRobert S. Woodworth.^[371]

Notable figures that have served as thepresident of Columbia Universityinclude34thPresident of the United StatesDwight D. Eisenhower,4thVice President of the United StatesGeorge Clinton,Founding FatherandU.S. Senatorfrom ConnecticutWilliam Samuel Johnson,Nobel Peace PrizelaureateNicholas Murray Butler, andFirst AmendmentscholarLee Bollinger.^[23]

Notable Columbia University faculty includeZbigniew Brzezinski,Sonia Sotomayor,Kimberlé Crenshaw,Lee Bollinger,Franz Boas,Margaret Mead,Edward Sapir,John Dewey,Charles A. Beard,Max Horkheimer,Herbert Marcuse,Edward Said,Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak,Orhan Pamuk,Edwin Howard Armstrong,Enrico Fermi,Chien-Shiung Wu,Tsung-Dao Lee,Jack Steinberger,Joachim Frank,Joseph Stiglitz,Jeffrey Sachs,Robert Mundell,Thomas Hunt Morgan,Eric Kandel,Richard Axel, andAndrei Okounkov.

• Carriere, Micheal. "Fighting the war against blight: Columbia University, Morningside Heights, Inc., and counterinsurgent urban renewal."Journal of Planning History10.1 (2011): 5-29.
• De Bary, Wm Theodore ed.Living Legacies at Columbia(Columbia University Press, 2006),ISBN0-231-13884-9.
• McCaughey, Robert A.Stand, Columbia: A History of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1754–2004, Columbia University Press, 2003,ISBN0-231-13008-2.
• Pettit, Marilyn H. "Slavery, abolition, and Columbia University."Journal of Archival Organization1.4 (2002): 77–89.

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