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

Chloe Harrah
We Asked, You Shared: Columbia Graduation Memories in Photos and Advice

As students, families, and friends gather across campus to celebrate this year’s graduation, we invited members of Columbia’s Class of 2025 to pause, look back, and share moments that defined their time here.

From late-night study sessions and unforgettable friendships to proud academic milestones and moments of quiet resilience, their reflections paint a vivid portrait of what it means to be a Columbian. Their photos and words offer gratitude, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of nostalgia that just might bring a tear to your eye.

Are you a member of the Class of 2025? We’d love to hear your Columbia story, too: share your photos and reflections with us!

Photo of the Week

Commencement from 1987 in a picture from 2025
Commencement Time Capsule

Columbia is excited to honor our 2025 graduates for the next several days! Here, we look back at Commencement Day on Low Plaza in 1987. 

QUIZ

Commencement in 1926
How Well Do You Know the History of Columbia’s Commencement?

From graduation tchotchkes to special speakers, test your knowledge of Columbia's Commencement.

COLUMBIA HISTORY

Frances Perkins 1910GSAS
Library of Congress
The Architect of Social Security

Perhaps no Columbian has affected daily American life more than Frances Perkins (GSAS 1910). As secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (HON’08), Perkins—the first woman to hold a cabinet position—responded to the Great Depression by proposing far-reaching economic protections for American workers and retirees. These radical plans included a minimum wage, a forty-hour workweek, universal health insurance, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and social security.

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Avery Hall blobs.

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Out and About

More Stories

Grab your tissues: We asked the Class of 2025 to share their photos, memories, gratitude, and advice in anticipation of Commencement Week. 

On May 13, Acting President Shipman visited labs across disciplines that are advancing bold solutions to today’s most urgent challenges.

Johnson will serve alongside David Greenwald (LAW’83), who became co-chair in 2023. 

A block party was a great way to celebrate the end of the semester and the arrival of sunny spring days! 🎉

With graduation festivities around the corner, here's who we expect to speak to our graduates in celebration of their accomplishments.

From baseball milestones to research breakthroughs and an interstellar first, Columbians are making major strides in their fields.

The night of May 21, the Empire State Building will glow blue for #Columbia2025 grads. Here’s where to capture the best photos with it.

From graduation tchotchkes to special speakers, test your knowledge of Columbia's Commencement.

For Samia Breir, coming to Columbia University was about “being in the right place at the right time with the right people.”

Test your knowledge of the past month's news and events at Columbia with questions on Ivy League titles, developmental psychology, and much more.

GSAPP student Anika Tsapatsaris has spent eight years at Columbia, relishing every moment.

From public health researchers to student athletes, Columbians made the most of the year's shortest month