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COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
THE HIDDEN REALITY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
Alumni
News
South Field in 1897, when
it was still farmland.
PHOTO: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
ARCHIVES
49 Message from the
CCAA President
50 Bookshelf
52 Obituaries
56 Class Notes
104 Alumni Corner
MESSAGE FROM CCAA PRESIDENT KYRA TIRANA BARRY ’87
CCASIP Enjoys Success in
Inaugural Summer
Columbia College
Alumni-Sponsored
Internship Program
2012 Employers
Alvarez and Marsal
AOL Ventures
Carlisle Development Group
Comprehensive Cardiology
Due West Education
First DataBank
Judge Alvin Hellerstein
Met Council
NBC Universal
Nutrition 21
NYC Government Political
Campaign
Peppertree Engineering
Public Art Fund
Sidley Austin
StormHarbour
The Conference Board
The Jed Foundation
The Kitchen
TZP
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
3rd Circuit/Judge Joseph
Greenaway Jr. ’78
Each fall brings the promise that comes with the start of a
new school year. The Columbia College Alumni Association
Board of Directors is particularly energized for
the Dean Valentini era. The board was busy this summer
planning for the current year and brainstorming
how we can help improve the Columbia experience for all students,
current and former.
Columbia College students were hard at work this summer
as well, expanding their intellectual horizons or applying some
of their new skills in the workplace. The CCAA is proud to have
played a part in facilitating this opportunity for the 27 students
who participated in the first year of the Columbia College Alumni-
Sponsored Internship Program (CCASIP), which was developed
in response to students’ desire to interact more with alumni and
with CCAA’s conviction that the alumni network is one of Columbia’s
strongest assets.
This joint Center for Career Education (CCE) and CCAA board
program was spearheaded by CCAA’s Career Education Committee
and its then–co-chair, Michael Behringer ’89. A group of
alumni leaders reached out to fellow alumni to ask them to host
a student intern for the summer. The response was overwhelmingly
positive. Through every step of the process — from the high
numbers of students who applied
for the positions to the
enthusiastic feedback from the
interns, their employers and
their mentors — it was clear
that the students relished the
engagement and commitment
of College alumni. Thank you
to everyone who participated.
We look forward to expanding
this program for summer 2013.
Another committee initiative
inaugurated this past year
is the Alumni Dinner Series, in
which an alumnus/a hosts a
dinner with 10–25 students to
speak about his or her career
and life track. John MacPhee
’89, Dan Futterman ’89 and Jared
Hecht ’09 spoke to students
about careers in medicine/
pharmaceuticals, the arts and
entrepreneurship, respectively.
Students were grateful for the
opportunity to learn directly
from alumni about their careers,
and expressed hope for continued
engagement with alumni.
Alumni interested in hosting
a student in the workplace
next summer or hosting students
at a career-focused dinner
should contact Kavita Sharma,
CCE dean: ks2173@columbia.
edu or 212-854-3561.
Career Education
Committee Members
Michael Behringer ’89
Adam Beshara ’96
Ganesh Betanabhatla ’06
The 2012–14 Career Education
Committee is co-
Stephen Buchman ’59
Gerrard Bushell ’83
chaired by Sherri Pancer
Wolf ’90 and Eric Mendelson Eugenio Cano ’95
’87, ’89 Business. The committee Frank Cicero ’92
works with CCE and the Alumni
Office to develop, advise on Eric Mendelson ’87
Jess Drabkin ’79
and promote career programming
and to facilitate opportu-
Neda Navab ’08
Michael Novielli ’03
nities for interactions between
Ted Schweitzer ’91
alumni and students. The committee
meets regularly to review Gerald Sherwin ’55
programs, to identify alumni for Andrew Sohn ’04
programs and to support CCE. Sherri Pancer Wolf ’90
The committee welcomes nonboard
participation.
Wolf has been a member of the CCAA board since 2000 and
a committee co-chair since 2011. She was a member of her 20th
Reunion Committee and the Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task
Force, and a Columbia College Women mentor. She is a member
of the New England Regional Columbia Club and has been a
member of the Alumni Representative Committee since 1996.
Wolf brings to the committee more than 15 years of experience
with start-ups in a variety of financial and operational roles. She
is the CFO at JOOS, a rapidly growing nutrition and wellness
business. Wolf lives in Boston with her husband, Doug Wolf ’88,
and their three children.
Mendelson lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Kimberly,
and their three children. A member of the CCAA board since
2008, Eric, his brother, Victor ’89, and father, Laurans ’60, ’61
Business, and their families recently endowed the Mendelson
Family Professor of American Studies. Mendelson is co-president
of HEICO Corp. (NYSE:HEI) and has been an employee of
the aerospace company since 1990.
Although neither lives in the tri-state area, both Sherri and
Eric have a meaningful impact on the Columbia community,
with the CCAA board and on Columbia students. Columbia’s
reach is growing around the world and we encourage all
alumni to be an active part of the Columbia family. This summer,
alumni hosted students in locations ranging from Beijing,
China, to Chelsea, NYC. I encourage each of you to join us this
year in advancing career opportunities for the next generation
of Columbia graduates.
SUMMER 2012
48
FALL 2012
49