Update from Interim President Armstrong to Alumni
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. Your dedication to the University and your sincere guidance keep us true to our values. This is always important, but never more so than during challenging times. Please know that we are deeply grateful for your support and engagement over the past year. I want to personally thank you for all you do on Columbia’s behalf.
In the five weeks since I came to Low Library, many new initiatives have been set in motion to advance our priorities for this academic year. My purpose in sharing these initiatives with you is to give you greater insight into how I am approaching this role and to encourage a higher level of alumni engagement.
As you get to better know me, you will learn that I am committed to directly listening to the concerns and aspirations of every member and stakeholder in our large and diverse University community. I believe it is the only effective way to support our mission, uphold Columbia’s values, and lead the University.
To that end, I have been joined by members of my leadership team in talking to our students in a variety of settings, from welcoming them back to campus on move-in day, at barbeques, new student orientation, and activity fairs, to participating in more structured conversations with student leaders and organized student groups. This is time enormously well spent. Two immediate outcomes have been the creation of the University International Student Hardship Fund and a collaboration between University Life and Facilities and Operations to provide spaces for students to gather, meet, and grieve together. I have been reaching out in a similar fashion to our faculty, staff, and Upper Manhattan neighbors.
An urgent priority of ours is to ensure that our campus is a place where every member of our community can reach their fullest potential and where discrimination, bullying, and intimidation are rejected. You know and I know that we are better than that, and that such behavior has no place at Columbia. We are moving swiftly in this direction through the creation of the Campus Climate Collaborative, a project enlisting both students and faculty, and through my appointment of a President’s Advisory Committee on Institutional Voice, tasked with examining whether University communications are in line with our commitment to open inquiry and freedom of expression. This is vitally important work, and the moment is ripe for these re-evaluations and the productive changes they will bring.
As we have seen, condemning discrimination and harassment is necessary but not, on its own, sufficient. Accordingly, we have created a new Office of Institutional Equity to serve as a centralized resource for addressing reports of discrimination and harassment and to ensure that cases are handled fairly and expeditiously. Similarly, we have strengthened the resources available for managing protests and demonstrations consistently and in a manner that sustains, without interruption, the core activities of the University. Those resources include the appointment of a new Rules Administrator to support the implementation of our Rules of University Conduct and the creation of a framework for responding to situations that affect our academic mission or our community’s safety.
I do not need to tell you that we have lived through a year of trials and challenges. Now we move forward, strengthened by the support and insight provided by you and the many thousands of others who comprise the vibrant Columbia community. As I said, I will be listening to and learning from all of you and will keep you informed of our progress.
All my best,
Katrina A. Armstrong
Interim President
Columbia University in the City of New York