Campus & Community

A blue and green graphic with the words "Campus & Community" in its center alongside icons that represent Columbia University and New York City.

This page is dedicated to stories about Columbia's campus and community. From student, staff, and faculty profiles to interesting events happening on campus and in our surrounding neighborhoods, here is where you can find the latest about what's happening on and around Columbia's campuses. 

Story Highlight

Choose Your Own Adventure
Welcome to Columbia: Your 2026 Guide to Life on Campus and in New York City

There’s just no one way to do Columbia University right. Some students find their footing in a favorite library by week two. Others find it at a buzzing coffee shop that’s three subway lines from campus, or working in a lab past midnight, or in a game of ultimate frisbee on the lawns.

This year, we’re just going to call it what it is: you are on an adventure, an odyssey. New city, new campus, new people, and a whole year (or years) of choices ahead of you.

Let’s just say we were influenced by the blockbuster film adaptation this summer. Or our Lit Hum professors’ takes on it, seeing as Homer’s epic is a part of every student’s first-year curriculum in the Core.

We’ve got you covered with plenty of guides on how to navigate your journey. Think: where to go, how to connect with people, and how to make the most of your time here.

Whether you’re new or returning, what do you want to know about Columbia as you start the school year?

Photo of the Week

BRAINYAC display
‘BRAINYACs’ Team Up With Neuroscientists

Congratulations to Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute BRAINYAC graduates!

QUIZ

MNOOKIN WELCOME
The July 2026 Columbia News Quiz

This July, Columbia welcomed its new president while faculty members earned important research funding and discussed a certain summer blockbuster. Test your knowledge of the latest news stories across the University!

COLUMBIA HISTORY

A sculpture on Columbia’s campus
The Hammerman: A Moving Statue

In the northeast corner of campus, Constantin Meunier’s sculpture Le Marteleur greets visitors in front of the home of the engineering school. Le Marteleur or the Hammerman was a gift of the Class of 1889 of the School of Mines (now the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science) installed all the way back in 1914. But did you know that the statue has moved multiple times over the years? And not always easily or willingly.

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST

Avery Hall blobs.

Did you know we have a biweekly newsletter filled with Campus & Community content you might not find anywhere else, delivered straight to your inbox?

Find the most recent editions here. And make sure you subscribe to receive the newsletter in your inbox every other Wednesday. 

Out and About

More Stories

First piece of advice? “I really need my students to fail in front of me.”

As the school year kicks off, bookmark these old and new spots to add to your caffeination rotation.

Allia Mohamed (SIPA’18) co-founded the startup Openigloo with fellow Columbians to help New Yorkers vet their landlords. Here’s her advice for making connections here that could define your career from the very start.

Associate Professor of Computer Science Brian A. Smith has four Columbia degrees. How did he find his path, and what advice does he have for the rest of us, who are looking for one as well?

Stephanie Farmer, the founder of Ms. Steph’s Science Club and longtime Harlem resident and Columbia Community Service grantee, shares her advice for tapping into the local community for those new to the area.

Everything you need to know (plus some of the secrets you should know) to supercharge your time at any one of Columbia's 18 libraries.

The General Studies student and New York City Ballet dancer Kennedy Targosz shares what it was like  performing alongside Olivia Rodrigo.

Your first year at Columbia can feel like a puzzle. Lucky for us, Matty Hiroto Inaba (CC’29) is a champion solver who is about to start his second year and he’s got some great advice for quickly making Columbia your own.

Over its first decade, the center estimates it has touched more than 100,000 lives through its health screening events, led by community health workers trained in the InTOuCH program.

The current vice chancellor for development at the UNC-Chapel Hill, he comes to Columbia with more than three decades of experience and demonstrated success in transformational university fundraising. 

This July, Columbia welcomed its new president while faculty members earned important research funding and discussed a certain summer blockbuster. Test your knowledge of the latest news stories across the University!

Donations from 450 faculty, staff, and retirees of Columbia, Barnard, and Teachers College funded almost $250,000 in grants to 47 local nonprofits serving Harlem and Morningside Heights. 

Topics & Resources

A view of Alma Mater from behind, looking at Butler Library.
Awards & Milestones

Columbia faculty, students, and staff are on the cutting edge of advancements in all fields. Here, you can find recent accomplishments and milestones.

Rocking the Glass House event at Lerner
Columbia Events

Explore a wide range of academic, cultural, and athletic events happening every day at Columbia. Nearly all events are open to the public, except as noted, and most are free.

A man with a box of recycling
Columbia Dining, Facilities, and Operations News

Whether you need a carpenter, an electrician, a locksmith, housing, lighting, painting, parking, plumbing, recycling, more space, or public safety services, or if you need to eat, plan an event, travel around campus, or mail and printing services—Columbia Facilities and Operations has you covered. 

A group of kids and adults plays corn hole on the Manhattanville campus.
Columbia Neighbors

Columbia Neighbors is where the university connects with its local community, its new friends and neighbors, anyone who looks to the diversity of ideas and experiences in our community and sees the possibility for shared growth, being of service, and connection. 

The Columbia Womens Basketball team holds a trophy
Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week captures moments from around the University and New York City. The series is curated by University Photographer Eileen Barroso and Jennifer Pellerito.

All Students with cutouts of students
University Life

University Life is focused on enhancing the student experience across Columbia’s 17 schools and colleges. It serves as a student life hub for the University and is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive campus culture where students can thrive in all dimensions of their lives. 

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