A Message of Thanks and Pride

Dear members of the Columbia community:

The end of the semester at Columbia is like a sprint to the finish line. Here’s what I heard from students enjoying our on-campus “Block Party” on Thursday: one paper needs just the right conclusion; the last problem set was just sent; the portfolio is almost ready for display; the group project gets one more run-through on Sunday; and we need another photo with Alma Mater. This year, the weather has been such an ally in highlighting the beauty of our campus in spring, offering vivid tableaux in every direction of the hurried and hopeful final days of the term.

Tents and bleachers are rising, and next week, students and faculty will be getting ready for finals, while our wonderful staff will be preparing the campus for my favorite moment—Commencement—where we will honor more than 16,000 new graduates and their families.

This has been a memorable—and tumultuous—year. But it’s also been typical in many ways, filled with moments like those above, and with countless extraordinary achievements and transformative experiences that have defined Columbia for generations.

Just in the past few months, Columbia faculty have received Guggenheim Fellowships, been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, been named honorary fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, won Sloan Research Fellowships, and been elected to both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors.

We can also mark a great year for Columbia’s student athletes, including our first Ivy League football title since 1961, a third-straight Ivy League championship for the women’s basketball team and their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, an Ivy League title for our men’s tennis team, the selection of a Columbian as Ivy League Women's Tennis Player of the Year, and the men’s and women’s fencing teams finishing second in the nation at the 2025 NCAA Championships.

One thing that has been made clear to me, by faculty, staff, and students, is that we must take control of Columbia’s narrative, and start to better reflect to the world what we see and experience here. On this sunny Saturday, I hope we can all take pride in our remarkable accomplishments, and in the everyday yet meaningful experiences we all share here. There are so many more stories like these across the University, and I hope we can all begin to tell them.

Best of luck on finals!

Sincerely,

Claire Shipman
Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York