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
When she was just nine years old, Savona Bailey-McClain went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time on a field trip with her elementary school in the Bronx. She vividly remembers her mother tenderly loaning her a scarf and special pin for the trip. When she got there, everything changed: seeing and thinking about art became core to her identity.
Decades later, as a young woman settled in Harlem and working full-time at a mental health clinic for children, still taking every chance she got to immerse herself in the art world, she noticed something: People she met every day felt shut out by museums and galleries, intimidated before they even reached the front door.
“I never could quite understand why people were so intimidated,” Bailey-McClain told Columbia Neighbors. “It is a very American problem, and I just said, ‘What if I helped to bring art into the open public space where people could see it every day?’”
Photo of the Week
This past year, 450 Columbia, Barnard, and Teachers College employees and retirees generously donated nearly $250,000 for grants distributed to 47 local nonprofits to combat hunger, provide crucial social services, champion arts and culture, and bridge educational gaps for local youth in STEM, literacy, and the arts.
COLUMBIA HISTORY
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.
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Out and About
More Stories
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For National Mentoring Month, Ozdemir (CC'25) spoke with Neighbors about the power of mentorship and his work with the Double Discovery Center.
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Richard Hagen is the new full-time director of the Bridge to the PhD program in STEM.
Interim Provost Dennis Mitchell announces programs, funding opportunities, and resources for the Columbia community.
This Columbia College senior is aiming for a career in sports psychology.
More than 950 toys and 250 coats were donated as part of the 25th Annual CCS Toy Drive and Coat Drive.
The stories behind photos that took first place in the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement’s 2023 photo contest.
Beqaj will graduate this spring with both a medical degree and a master’s in biomedical sciences.
Sarah Wang has done everything from cheerleading to studying economics and mathematics during her time at Columbia.
Test your knowledge of 2023 at the University with questions on Nobel laureates, our new President, Columbia's summer blockbuster connections, and much more.
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