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President Obama Bestows National Humanities Medal on Wm. Theodore de Bary

President Barack Obama and Prof. de Bary

While Columbia has long revered Prof. Wm. Theodore de Bary (CC’41, GSAS’53) as one of its own, America now regards him as a national treasure.

On July 28, President Barack Obama (CC’83) presented the noted Columbia scholar, the John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus, with a 2013 National Humanities Medal celebrating his lifetime’s work. The awards, bestowed on 10 recipients this year, honor extraordinary achievement in the humanities.

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First Class Graduates From Columbia-Affiliated Public Secondary School

Members of the first graduating class at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering, a New York City public school affiliated with the University and modeled after academic powerhouses such as Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant High School, graduated on June 24 and three members of the graduating class will attend Columbia in the fall.

Using the Early History of Jazz as a Case Study for Innovation, Marketing and More

Damon Phillips' book Shaping Jazz, published late last year, describes how the racial dynamics of the early 20th century and record company executives’ aspirations to join the cultural elite shaped what we now know as jazz. While the music was popular and provided an opportunity for new companies to make money, it was mostly associated with African Americans as well as immigrants considered low class—Italians, Irish and Jews.