Looking at Ourselves

Viewpoints from inside and outside the Columbia community about the impacts of the University.

Write Columbia’s History
Columbia's history, as seen by those who have studied, taught, and worked here.

Ric Burns at Columbia's Birthplace
The historical importance of Lower Manhattan.

Butler Did It
Professor Hilary Ballon, chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, discusses how President Nicholas Murray Butler transformed Columbia from a commuter school into a national university.

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Our Past Engaged: Four Turning Points in Columbia's Recent History
On April 7, 13, 20, and 27, distinguished historians, invited respondents, and audience members examined important and contentious aspects of Columbia's past—issues of both historical significance and contemporary relevance.

Stand, Columbia
Robert McCaughey spent six years researching Columbia's history.

Looking Back
The George Washington University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (Columbia College 1959) on the University’s first 250 years.

Parting Thoughts
The 2004 valedictorian lauds remarkable physicists and other Columbians ahead of their time.

Columbia Present Video ViewPoint

Journalist Claire Shipman (Columbia College 1986; SIPA 1994) on the character of Columbia students.

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NBA Commissioner David Stern (Law 1966) on Columbia and the city.

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Columbia Future In Print

President Lee C. Bollinger considers the future of universities.

"Building on Columbia's Relationship with Harlem," from the Amsterdam News.

"The Idea of a University," from The Wall Street Journal.

"Universities Must Think Global," from the Financial Times.

Columbians Ahead of Their Time

From Sid Luckman to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Columbians have often been ahead of their times.

columbia through time

Check out the exclusive C250 timeline, chronicling Columbia’s rise from a tiny college to one of the world’s preeminent universities.

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