An Update on the Campus Collaborative and Community-Building Initiatives

Dear members of the Columbia community:

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. These conversations have highlighted our belief in the role of academic institutions as beacons for reason, resilience, and hope and our shared commitment to nurturing a university where all can thrive, bringing together different voices, fostering understanding and collaboration, and rejecting all forms of discrimination, harassment, or violence.

In that spirit, I write today with an update on the Campus Collaborative, an initiative that was launched earlier this fall. This effort is designed to harness the ideas, energy, and perspectives of our community—faculty, students, and staff alike—to create an environment where everyone can flourish, both individually and collectively.

The Campus Collaborative notified the first set of award recipients last week, funding a series of pilot projects that reflect a wide range of creative approaches to fostering connection across our campuses. From arts initiatives to cross-cultural dialogue, including an expanded Listening Table program, to new methods of engaging with critical contemporary issues, these projects embody the spirit of collaboration that is at the heart of this initiative. With the funding of these projects, we will also be launching the Campus Collaborative Network to bring together awardees and other community members to ensure that we are identifying and addressing the most important opportunities to improve our collective experience. Later this month, University Life will announce additional awards for student-led projects as we seek to engage as many of our students as possible in these next steps.

Even as a primary goal of the Collaborative is to build connections across the University, there is no doubt that our local environments play a critical role in our sense of belonging and community. Thus, the Collaborative has created a dynamic compendium of educational, training, and other resources that can support community-building efforts within units, departments, and schools. This resource will continue to grow as we learn from our experience about the most effective approaches to creating an inclusive community, serving as a platform to share current evidence, innovative tools, and best practices.

As we move forward, we will be highlighting our progress on the Campus Collaborative website. I hope that you will visit the site, learn more about the initiative, and consider how you can contribute. We will continue to accept applications for new pilot projects on a rolling basis and welcome suggestions for resources that can be included in the compendium.

As ever, I am deeply inspired by the talent, generosity, and commitment of our Columbia community. I look forward to working alongside all of you as we continue to innovate, share ideas, and build connections that will shape the future of our institution. Together, we can create a stronger, more inclusive Columbia for generations to come.

All my best,

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