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
Seven Columbia faculty members and alumni were recently named 2019 Guggenheim Fellows. The list of awardees includes Poetry Professor Shane McCrae, Visual Arts Professors Suzanne McClelland and Mark Dion, Writing alumni Helen Schulman '86 and Catherine Lacey '10, and Visual Arts alumni Fabienne Lasserre '04 and Aki Sasamoto '07.
In recent theatre news, Columbia swept the 2019 Obie Awards. Adjunct faculty member Leigh Silverman won an Obie for Sustained Excellence in Directing and alumna Heather Alicia Simms ‘96 won an Obie for Performance in two plays by faculty member Lynn Nottage at Signature Theatre, Fabulation, or the Re-education of Undine, and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.
Big St. Germain by Jack T. Calk ’19 and directed by Lillian Meredith is the final play to be presented as part of the New Plays Festival 2019 featuring seven new plays by the graduating MFA playwriting class.
Nonfiction alumna Marin Sardy '13 releases her debut memoir, The Edge of Every Day, on May 21, 2019 through Penguin Random House.
Fiction alumnus Aaron Hamburger '01 has a new novel, Nirvana is Here, available through Three Rooms Press. An honest story about recovery and coping with both past and present, framed by the meteoric rise and fall of the band Nirvana and the wide-reaching scope of the #metoo movement, Nirvana is Here, explores issues of identity, race, sex, and family with both poignancy and unexpected humor. Intertwining stories are reminiscent of the tenderness and haunting nostalgia of André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name blended with the raw emotion of Kurt Cobain’s lyrics.
Halston, a documentary by alumnus Frédéric Tcheng '07 will be released theatrically on May 24th.
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.
The Little Goddess, written and directed by current student Gauri Adelkar, and Nice Talking to You, written and directed by current student Saim Sadiq, and co-produced by alumnus Joseph Capotorto '18 and alumna Federica Belletti '18 have been shortlisted for the 2019 BAFTA Student Film Awards in the Live Action category.
Chinese Opera and a Modern Drama by Ruoxin Xu ’19 (Playwrighting) and directed by Miriam Grill ’19 (Directing) will be the fifth play presented as part of the New Plays Festival 2019 featuring seven new plays by the graduating MFA playwriting class.
The Visitors by Elisabeth Frankel ’19 (Playwriting) and directed by Kathleen Capdesuñer will be the fourth play presented as part of the New Plays Festival 2019 featuring seven new plays by the graduating MFA playwriting class.
Alumna Gnaomi Siemens '18 was awarded The Poetry Society of New York Micro-Residency at The New York Public Library.
Alumna Carlie Hoffman ‘16 had her first collection of poems,This Alaska, picked up by Four Way Books, forthcoming in 2021.