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
Stage Management students Cassie Marie Cushing and Vanessa Rebeil produced On Teeth and Longing, an online benefit performance that streamed last week, December 10th.
Our Word recently hosted poet Tracy K. Smith '97 and fiction writer Paige Morris for a panel on translation, race, and gender called Translating Identity.
Alumna Cherien Dabis '04 is set to direct the feature film The Fighting Shirley Chisholm about the story behind Chisholm’s historical 1972 run for the US presidency. Dabis refreshes the project after it had already been in development at Amazon in 2018 with a different director attached.
Kamari Carter ’19 and Julian Day '20 collaborated on the piece “BLISSVILLE” that is now being shown in a dark space group exhibition titled Edge of Light.
Belly of the Beast, a documentary produced by alumna Angela Tucker '05, had its premiere on PBS this week, and is now available to view on their site. The trailer is available here, and the link to watch the film is here.
“XXYX Queer Africa: More Invisible” by Playwriting alumnus Nick Hadikwa Mwaluk ’09 has been included in The Best American Essays 2020, edited by André Aciman.
Theatre alumna Ashley Tata ’12 is the director of Con Alma, a live digital performance of classic songs from the Mexican and Jazz tradition and original works by composer Paola Prestini and vocalist and composer Magos Herrera.
Adjunct Assistant Professor Kate Loewald , Founding Producer of The Play Company (PlayCo), and Theatre alumna Annie Wang ’20, PlayCo’s Communications and Marketing Manager, will assist in the presentation of the virtual performance This Is Who I Am via PlayCo’s collaboration with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
NPR's Book Concierge recently released its list of best books of 2020, naming several titles by School of the Arts alumni and faculty among them.
Broken Keys, a feature film written and directed by alumnus Jimmy Keyrouz '16, was selected as Lebanon's nominee for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards 2021. If chosen to be included on the Academy’s nomination list, the film would mark Lebanon’s third Oscar entrance in its history.
Adjunct Assistant Professor and alumna Katrine Øgaard Jensen ’17 was selected for the Danish Arts Foundation’s two-year fellowship ‘The Young Artistic Elite.’
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.