Interim President Armstrong Welcomes Columbia’s Students

To Our Fantastic Columbia Students:

I have spent the last few weeks getting to know many of you during orientation. Building upon my great conversations with the NSOP leadership, I attended a barbeque with resident advisors and orientation leaders, welcomed members of the football team, greeted first-years moving into the residence halls, met with members of the student government, gave out backpacks to SEAS students, joined the academic resources fair, and crashed welcome events for incoming graduate students.

One theme has come up over and over again in these conversations. When I ask our students what they love most about Columbia, they talk about how Columbia embraces each of them as an individual and understands the unique role that each person plays in creating the larger University community. And in doing so, Columbia empowers each of its members to be freer, braver, and more themselves.

Your peers told me that the experience of being a Columbian, of living and learning here with our brilliant scholars in this diverse and incredible city, has transformed the way they see themselves and what they can achieve. They explained that being at Columbia has pushed them to do things they never dreamed they could do, be part of things they never thought they could be part of, and think about things differently, in ways they never could have imagined.

Even as these conversations have celebrated the effect that Columbia has on your individual journeys, I also heard about how important it is to find ways to care for yourself on this journey, to balance the energy around you with the time and space you need to thrive in this environment. So many people shared the importance of connections and community in that balance, and the key role that friends, colleagues and organized student groups play in creating and supporting those connections. Of course, I also want to encourage you to take advantage of the exceptional team who is here to support you this year, including your resident advisors, academic advisors, student life teams, professors, and student health professionals. I am building my team now and know that team will be critical for my own journey over the next year.

As I welcome you to the start of this new academic year, I know that we have work to do to stay true to our mission to impart, create, and advance knowledge and build the campus climate you all deserve, where everyone can learn and thrive. As I said in my Convocation Address to the newest undergraduates, “Everyone needs to feel engaged, that their voices matter, and that they belong here.” A lot of people who care deeply about this institution have been doing this work for some time, and as Interim President, I have pledged to build on those efforts and put the right processes in place going forward. You are critical for those processes, and I look forward to sharing more specifics about how you can get involved in the weeks to come. At the same time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with ways that I can join student events. The best part of my job is getting to spend time with all of you.

Please know that I am listening. Nothing is more important than your Columbia experience. My approach to supporting that experience must be grounded in conversations I have and will continue to have with you and your peers. I want to make sure that this University is a place that embraces you, educates you, and pushes you to make the most of your time here. I want everyone to feel what I have heard over the last weeks from so many students—that being a Columbian will transform your life. You deserve nothing less.

Again, welcome and welcome back. I look forward to seeing you.

All my best,

Katrina A. Armstrong
Interim President
Columbia University in the City of New York