Announcements

Since the start of the semester, I have had the privilege of engaging with many members of our community who care deeply about Columbia and our future. 

Since I last wrote to you, I have been fortunate to meet and hear from many Columbia alumni, and I am grateful for your insights and feedback.

At the beginning of this semester, I set out several priorities for this academic year, first among them affirming Columbia’s mission and placing our mission and principles at the center of our decision-making. 

Presidential elections are moments of civic engagement that shape the country’s policy agenda and political direction for the coming four years.

I write to share that Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, has informed me that she will be stepping down as Dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Senior Vice President of Columbia University Irving Medical Center at the end of the academic year. 

I am writing to update you on our current situation on campus, our understanding of what different groups are planning given the significance of the week ahead, and our preparations to support you and the Columbia community.

Over the many years that I have spent studying and practicing medicine, I have come to believe that excellence requires both a focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for each person and on doing our best to support their individual journey through complicated and challenging times. 

I am immensely pleased to announce the appointment of Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, as the inaugural Director of the Columbia Initiative in Cell Engineering and Therapy (CICET). 

I am writing to share with you how we are thinking about access to the Morningside campus over the upcoming weeks.

As I write the first of what will be regular communications to you in my capacity as Columbia’s Interim President, I must begin by saying that Columbia would not be what it is without our incredible alumni community.

Throughout the events of the past year, our Columbia community has been engaged in an ongoing discussion about how the University can best fulfill its academic mission of teaching, learning, and research while creating and sustaining an environment that enables free expression, rigorous debate, and open dialogue.

As I shared with you several weeks ago, one of my priorities for this year is to strengthen engagement across our University, including the meaningful dialogue of leaders at all levels with the many groups and communities that make up this vibrant institution.