Campus & Community

Columbia University has marked Commencement since 1758, and for the past 100 years, outdoors on Low Plaza in front of the proud eyes of Alma Mater. On May 20, the Class of 2026 carried that tradition forward as the University’s 272nd academic year closed with the conferral of 18,000+ degrees upon graduates of 19 schools and affiliates, representing all 50 states (plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico) and 140 countries from around the globe.

Over the past week, the graduating class was also celebrated through school ceremonies, festive fêtes, and beloved traditions like the lighting of the Empire State Building.

Although rain was predicted during a record heat advisory, the weather held out for graduates of two Commencement ceremonies, with sunny skies in the morning for graduate schools and blessed, intermittent cloud cover in the afternoon for undergraduate schools. It was a fitting tribute to a century of Commencement, rain or shine, on the Morningside campus.

Christopher Brown spends a lot of time thinking about the past. A Professor of History at Columbia, Brown's work focuses on Britain and the British Empire, principally in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As the nation celebrates its semiquincentennial, Professor Brown discusses the importance of inspiring a love of history in future scholars and leaders.

We also speak with University Archivist Jocelyn Wilk about a recent acquisition to Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Also known as the RBML, the library preserves the documents, books, pamphlets, maps, and other items that tell the story of the people who built the school once known as King's College. 

This video offers a closer look at Professor Brown, the RBML, and how Columbia helps protect the memory and memorabilia of the early years of the university and the United States.