A Welcome Message from Laila Maher
Dean of Student and Alumni Affairs
Now more than ever it is crucial for artists to be supported as they pursue their craft. The life of an artist as well as that of a student involves much more than the classroom and the work itself, and this is where the Office of Student Affairs comes in. In addition to guiding new students through the process of transitioning to the School of the Arts, we plan the School-wide orientation, School of the Arts Convocation, and support student groups, events, and activities.
We also play a critical role in connecting School of the Arts students to the larger university and necessary services, and help students navigate many of the central offices including Health Services (which houses the Office of Disability Services, Insurance, Immunization, and Counseling and Psychological Services), Columbia Residential, Public Safety, University Life, the International Students and Scholars Office, and the Registrar's Office. Our office also helps to uphold many of the School and University-wide policies and we manage the School’s disciplinary procedures.
The Artists’ Resource Center, also part of our Office, maintains information on funding opportunities and career resources for students and alumni at the Columbia University School of the Arts, and provides consultations to students and alumni to help them look for professional development opportunities and more.
After graduation, the Office of Alumni Affairs provides more than 7000 alumni artists, creators, and leaders with opportunities to stay connected with the School of the Arts, the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA), and one another through alumni programming, benefits, a monthly newsletter, and collaborations with CAA Arts Access.
Our ultimate goal is to support our students and alums while they pursue their education as valued members of our dynamic community and as they navigate their time after graduation.
Student & Alumni News
Roundabout Theatre Company hired four Archives Fellows through the Columbia@Roundabout program. They are: playwriting student Devon Kidd, directing student Liz Peterson, and dramaturgy students Danielle Feder and Austin Tooley.
Playwriting alumna Callan Stout ’17 was named a winner of The Film Fund's 2020 Narrative Contest for a short film adaption of a play with her collaborators, current Columbia undergrads Arielle Friedman and Lucy Blumenfield.
Tickets are now on sale for the 33rd annual Columbia University Film Festival(CUFF).
Yesterday, the 2021 Guggenheim fellowships were announced, and several Columbia Faculty and Alumni are among the recipients.
In a virtual ceremony last night, PEN America announced the winners of their 2021 Literary Awards, conferring the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction to English and Comparative Literature Professor Saidiya Hartman for her book, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments(W.W. Norton & Company, 2020).
Nonfiction alumna Michele Herman '85 will publish her debut novel,Save the Village, in February, 2022 through Regal House Publishing.
Theatre alumnus Mark H. ‘18 was the latest featured speaker to visit the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Africa at Noon lecture series.
'Disclaimer', written and performed by alumna Tara Ahmadinejad ’14 returned to the Public Theater’s Under The Radar Festival in January.
Alumna Amber Chardae Robinson ’15 appears in the recent hit film Judas and the Black Messiah which is currently streaming on HBO Max and playing in select theaters.
Four alumni have been selected to participate in The Salon's inaugural Salon Mentorship Program.
Two Columbia filmmakers and their scripts were selected to participate in the second edition of the program in Saudi Arabia.
It Doesn't Have to be This Way, a debut novel by alumnus Alistair Mackay '18, has been picked up by South African publishing house Kwela Books, an imprint of NB Publishers.