Three hundred and sixty-three days ago, just short of a year, we sent out the first issue of the Stand Columbia Society’s weekly newsletters. We did so with a simple conviction: that institutions matter, that history matters, and that accountability to both is not optional. The chaos then engulfing Columbia—and what we suspected was yet […]| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR This week, the Stand Columbia Society is honored to share a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation with our dear friend Dean Emeritus Robert E. Pollack, CC ‘61, longtime professor of biology, and one of Columbia’s most quietly formative moral voices of the last half-century.| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR Two weeks ago, Columbia announced its fully-constituted presidential search committee. The committee’s composition is heartening: small enough to work, broad enough to listen, and representative of the diversity of viewpoints in our community. And as its members continue their work, we thought there might be quiet value in returning to first principles. The Stand […]| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR This week’s piece will be boring and legal, but very important. After the settlement with the federal government, we wanted to track Columbia’s progress to see if it was making changes. We are glad to report that it is, with revisions to the University Statutes. The post Issue #059: Columbia University is Following Through on its Commitments appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR The Stand Columbia Society generally analyzes facts, not rumors. In the past few weeks, many media outlets have commented on a “deal” between Columbia and the Trump administration, but the fact remains that no deal has been announced. However, last week’s statement by Acting President Claire Shipman is something real. But like with many […] The post Issue #057: Parsing the Shipman Statement on Combatting Antisemitism appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR A little over a week ago, President Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (“OBBB”) into law. You can read the full legislation here. To be clear: the Stand Columbia Society is politically neutral. The Stand Columbia Society therefore focuses its discussion on the OBBB insofar as its impacts Columbia. Today’s issue will break […] The post Issue #056: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Reshapes Columbia’s Financial Model appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR The post Issue #055: We Modeled the Breakup of Columbia University. It Went About How You’d Expect. appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR The post Issue #054: What If There Is No Deal? appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
ICYMI: Trump posted on his social media (and it was later reported in the New York Times) that it was “very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so” with Harvard University (which has acted “extremely appropriately”), although others briefed on the discussions assessed it as “highly unlikely.” We think […] The post Issue #053: Litigation as Mirage: Implications of the Dismissal of the AAUP/AFT Lawsuit appeared first on Stand Columbia Society.| Stand Columbia Society
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Education issued a press release stating that it had formally notified Columbia University’s accreditor (the Middle States Commission on Higher Education) that the Department’s Office for Civil Rights has found Columbia in violation of Title VI. (For reference, here is our issue explaining accreditation.)| Stand Columbia Society
For excellence in teaching, learning and research| Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR Today, Columbia University and the federal government announced a deal. You can read details of it here. The Stand Columbia Society believes this agreement represents an excellent outcome that restores research funding, facilitates real structural reforms, and preserves core principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. It delivered much of what the Stand Columbia […]| Stand Columbia Society