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In its landmark 2003 ruling "Grutter v. Bollinger," the high court found that “student body diversity is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race in university admissions.” As a result, the University of Michigan Law School—and thousands of undergraduate and graduate schools throughout the nation—could continue to consider race as one of many factors that go into admissions decisions.

In May, 15 graduate students at the School of International and Public Affairs traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea—a research trip to one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes. The students were able to take photographs (currently on exhibit at SIPA) that provide a fascinating glimpse into a version of the daily life of North Koreans. They are scheduled to present their research findings at an October 2 panel discussion entitled “A First Glimpse of North Korea.” North Korea is rarely visited by the general public, in part because it has been dominated by a…

Richard Peña has been enthralled with film for as long as he can remember. As a 9-year-old perusing the shelves of the 96th Street branch of the New York Public Library in Manhattan, the young Peña gravitated towards the section on cinema. “It seemed odd to me that there were books on film. I just never imagined that such a thing existed,” he said. Peña checked out a book called \"The Liveliest Art,\" a history of cinema that is still widely used as a college textbook. “I became very interested in seeing the films it spoke about, and from that point on I became an avid viewer and seeker…

Study Finds that Least Educated Whites in U.S. Have Lost 4 Years Off Their Lifespan Since 1990 The MacArthur Research Network on Aging, chaired by Dr. John W. Rowe, has published its latest research showing a widening gap in life expectancy between Americans with higher education and those without a high school diploma. The gap has increased dramatically among whites, with those who lack a high school diploma suffering dramatic declines in life expectancy. The biggest gap, however, persists between college-educated whites and blacks who don't complete high school. The provocative paper…

The incoming class of about 400 students are the first to be offered a redesigned curriculum that takes a new approach to training students to address 21st century public health concerns, from the global obesity epidemic to emerging infectious diseases to the impact of climate change.

Martin Chalfie, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Biological Sciences, was awarded the first Golden Goose Award, honoring basic science research that initially seems obscure but leads to findings with significant health and economic benefits. 

Scientists generally think that reduced insulin production by the pancreas, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, is due to the death of the organ’s beta cells.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford University’s School of Engineering today announced that Mark Hansen has been named East Coast director of the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation. Hansen will join Stanford engineering professor Bernd Girod, who was the founding director of the Institute and will now serve as West Coast director. Hansen's appointment is the latest in a series of moves on the part of Columbia Journalism School to expand its digital offerings.

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new software that can simultaneously calculate the carbon footprints of thousands of products faster than ever before.

Maria Hinojosa, a groundbreaking news anchor and reporter for NPR, PBS and CNN who has covered the marginalized and powerless in America and abroad for over 25 years, is the recipient of the 2012 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism announced today. Hinojosa, anchor for NPR’s \"Latino USA\" and PBS' \"Need to Know,\" was selected in recognition of the courage and independence she has shown over the course of her career reporting on those whose stories might not otherwise make it into the mainstream media. The John Chancellor…

In the aftermath of 9/11, Mary Marshall Clark began noticing that a deep stillness had fallen over New York City. “It had never been so quiet,” the librarian recalls. “It was unnerving, and I wondered what lay beneath the silences.”

Michael Sheetz of Columbia University was named co-winner of this year’s Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for discoveries related to cytoskeletal motor proteins, agents that move cargo within cells, contract muscles, and enable cell movements.

Two Columbia professors have won prestigious Lasker Foundation Awards for their work in biological sciences. 

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford University’s School of Engineering today announced that Mark Hansen has been named East Coast director of the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation. Hansen will join Stanford engineering professor Bernd Girod, who was the founding director of the Institute and will now serve as West Coast director. Hansen's appointment is the latest in a series of moves on the part of Columbia Journalism School to expand its digital offerings. “Mark Hansen has about as wide a range of interests, talents, and accomplishments…

Earlier this summer, Islamic militants in the West African nation of Mali destroyed the tombs of Sufi Muslim saints in the fabled city of Timbuktu.