Update on Morningside Campus Access

Dear members of the Columbia community:

I am writing to share with you how we are thinking about access to the Morningside campus over the upcoming weeks. The concerns we are balancing go beyond having to display a Columbia ID to gain entry, or the time consumed by waiting in line at our campus gates, though in no way am I dismissing or diminishing those frustrations. Decisions about access are an expression of our institutional identity, character, and values, and therefore I want to be as transparent as possible in explaining our thinking and what lies ahead.

Columbia will continue to exist as Columbia only to the degree we remain open to and engaged with the world beyond our gates. Everything of significance that occurs here-our teaching, research, scholarship, patient care, and public service-depends on this. Indeed, across higher education, no university is more deeply associated with or gains more from its location. The importance of place to this institution is embedded in our very name. We are proudly “Columbia University in the City of New York,” a defining element of our identity that we celebrate and recognize as foundational to our distinctive contributions to society.

At the same time, I have heard from many students, faculty, and staff, in discussions both formal and informal, about the importance of having a campus environment that enables the dialogue, connection, and empathy we need to learn from and move beyond the events of the past year. Many of you have expressed your gratitude for the intimate atmosphere of our campus this September and the opportunity to immerse yourselves in your academic work and all the things you cherish about this special community. Many others, including those beyond our campus, have appreciated the need for our community to take the necessary time to be together, to heal and move forward. Concerns about the uncertainty of the political environment over the next weeks have been central to many of these conversations. Many people have also highlighted how disruptions on our campus can affect our Morningside Heights and other community neighbors.

Given these conversations, I have decided to continue our current restrictions on Morningside access for the time being, while moving thoughtfully and deliberately toward a fully reopened campus, a destination I hope to arrive at in a matter of weeks, not months. Proceeding in this measured way will help to preserve the current campus atmosphere valued by so many of you during this period of uncertainty.

The current limits on access are temporary, and we fully anticipate they will soon come to an end. I am mindful that history provides too many examples of institutions that retreat from active engagement with the world around them. That is not and will not be the case here. We will not let continuing uncertainty govern us for the longer term.

Based upon additional feedback from our community, we will also be making several important modifications to our campus access system:

• The existing color code system will be simplified and reduced to three categories: O (open), I (ID only, all gates), and R (ID only, restricted gates).
• Signage, guest registration, and staff training will continue to be monitored and upgraded.
• The security presence on campus will continue to be adjusted as appropriate.

Over the last weeks I have had the great pleasure of speaking with many members of our community about the history of the Morningside campus and the robust, ongoing dialogue about how best to align that campus with our values and our aspirations. I look forward to continuing those discussions as we work to ensure that our campus spaces advance our academic mission, strengthen our engagement with the City of New York, and create an environment supporting individual and collective wellbeing.

All my best,

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