Japan Storm - Columbia College - Columbia University

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CAMPUS NEWS
n ON THE RISE: Columbia’s endowment
rose 23.6 percent, to $7.8 billion, in
Fiscal Year 2010–11, the second year in
a row that the University has achieved
the largest percentage increase in the Ivy
League. Harvard announced an increase
of 21.4 percent, to $32 billion, while Yale
and Princeton announced increases of 22
percent apiece to $19.4 billion and $17.1
billion, respectively. Columbia was the
only Ivy to surpass the S&P 500’s 22 percent
gain for FY11. “For every measurable
period, since the Investment Management
Co. was established in 2002, Columbia has
produced excellent returns,” said Senior
E.V.P. Robert Kasdin, who sits on the board
of the company that manages the University’s
endowment. For example, during
the past decade, Columbia has had annualized
returns of 9.9 percent, just behind
Yale’s 10.1 percent but ahead of Harvard’s
9.4 percent.
n NO. 4, AGAIN: For the second consecutive
year, Columbia placed fourth in
U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking
of national universities. Princeton
moved up one spot from a year ago into
a tie with Harvard for No. 1, with Yale
remaining third. Five schools tied for
fifth: Caltech, MIT, Stanford, Chicago and
Penn. Duke completed the top 10. U.S.
News’ ratings are based on peer evaluations,
graduation and freshman retention
rates, faculty resources, student selectivity,
financial resources, graduation rate
performance and alumni giving rate. For
more information, go to usnews.com and
search for “best colleges.”
n GLOBAL CENTERS: Columbia has
opened two new Global Centers, in Santiago,
Chile, and Istanbul, Turkey, and
plans to open another center in Nairobi,
Kenya, in early 2012. They join existing
centers in Beijing, China; Amman, Jordan;
Mumbai, India; and Paris, France.
According to a University statement
announcing the opening of the center
in Istanbul on November 1, “Columbia
Global Centers provide flexible regional
hubs for a wide range of activities and
resources intended to enhance the quality
of research and learning at the University.
They establish interactive partnerships
across geographic boundaries and
academic disciplines by bringing together
scholars, students, public officials,
private enterprise and innovators from
many fields. … The centers also support
a significant expansion of opportunities
for Columbia students to do hands-on
research and service-learning abroad,
particularly those who may not want to
WINTER 2011–12
18
spend a full semester or academic year
off-campus.”
n REPRIEVE: A freak snowstorm blanketed
the Northeast on October 29 and
knocked out power for more than one
million people in the region, among them
many high school students who were facing
November 1 deadlines for their early
decision applications to many schools —
including the College. As phrases such as
“nervous breakdown” and “if the power
doesn’t come back I’ll cry” began to appear
on social media sites, Columbia and
about 75 other schools responded by extending
the deadline, in Columbia’s case
to November 4. Columbia also extended
the deadline for early decision financial
aid to November 18.
n TRUSTEE: Rolando T. Acosta ’79, ’82L
was elected to the Board of Trustees, the
University’s 24-member governing body,
at the trustees’ meeting last June. He began
his six-year term at the start of the 2011–12
academic year in September. Previously,
he was on the boards of the College and
the Law School alumni associations.
Acosta was elected as a New York State
Supreme Court justice in New York County
in 2002. He was selected, along with
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor,
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held at Homecoming on October 15 for the 48,000-square-foot Campbell Sports Center at the Baker Athletics
Complex. Wielding the shovels (left to right) are President Lee C. Bollinger, lead architect and faculty member Steven Holl, Athletics Director M.
Dianne Murphy, Trustees Vice Chair Philip Milstein ’71 and Trustees Chair Bill Campbell ’62, ’64 TC, the facility’s lead benefactor.
PHOTO: GENE BOYARS