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
PEN has announced its longlist for the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards.
Alumnus Jay Scheib '02 directs and alumna Benita de Wit '16 associate directs the tour of Bat Out of Hell a musical about Join Strat, the forever young leader of rebellious gang, The Lost, as he falls in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler of post-apocalyptic Obsidian. The production is currently finishing its critically acclaimed UK tour. The musical features many of Meat Loaf’s iconic hits including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, and Paradise By The…
Alumnus Scott Ebersold '15 to direct and alumna Anika Chapin '14 to dramaturg a staged reading of The Peculiar Tale of the Prince of Bohemia and the Society of Desperate Victorians. When Prince Florizel learns that his father the King of Bohemia is dead, he seeks to escape the throne. He and his chaperone Colonel Geraldine are invited to join a secret society — The Suicide Club. Club members play a deadly card game nightly with higher stakes than the Prince has ever known. Realizing the deck is stacked against them, the Prince and Geraldine become inextricably linked…
In This Hope: A Pericles Project, a new play dramaturged by alumna Hannah Hessel Ratner ’11 and directed by Anna Brenner '11, is part play and part ritual. Led by an all-female/multi-cultural ensemble, the production mines a well known story to create something completely in the present. The those forced to flee a homeland and journey over the sea, experiencing great loss and sacrifice only to discover love and build a new life has been passed on since antiquity and still resonates to this day.
Alumna Samantha Chanse '12 has been awarded The Lark 2019-2020 Venturous Playwright Fellowship. Chanse will be awarded $50,000 over two years, as well as a Production Subsidy Grant of up to $50,000 to support a production of the play at a theater of her choosing. The fellowship supports the advancement of ambitious, risk-taking, and innovative plays by providing concurrent residencies for playwrights, and advocating for production of their plays by partner theaters.
Alumna Sondra Perry '15 was recently named the ninth winner of the Nam June Paik Award by the Kunststiftung NRW, the arts foundation founded by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1989. Perry received a $28,000 award in November at the Westfälischer Kunstverein in Münster. According to the website, “the renowned Nam June Paik Awards (established in 2002) [is conferred] for outstanding electronic and digital artworks that take risks, cross cultural boundaries and take an interdisciplinary approach in the spirit of the late pioneering artist Nam June…
Alumna Elif Uras '03 recently published her first monograph alongside a site-specific installation, The Source, in Instanbul, Turkey. Turkish-born, Uras is a painter and ceramicist whose site-specific installation, The Source, was realized under the leadership of Galerist as part of Kale Group’s 2018 project in support of ceramics in art and will be on view at a historic storefront in Istanbul between November 24 and December 30.
The Colony, a thesis play by playwrighting alumna Gina Stevensen ’18, is the winner of the American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival. The new play festival features live staged readings of five new plays from five exceptional up-and-coming playwrights from all over the United States. The staged reading will take place on Thursday, January 3 at the American Stage in St. Petersberg, Florida. To make a reservation visit American Stage’s website.
Alumnus Harrison David Rivers '09 won the 2018 Relentless Award for The Bandaged Place. The Relentless Award was established by The American Playwriting Foundation in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman after his passing. It is dedicated to Hoffman’s pursuit of truth in the theater and it’s the largest annual cash prize in American theater awarded to a playwright in recognition of a new play.
Current Student, Ryan Patrick Lonergan's feature film, Kill the Monsters, premiered in June at Frameline, the largest LGBTQ film festival in the world.
Two alumni were recognized at the MedFilm Festival in Rome.
Costa Brava Lebanon, a feature film project co-written & directed by alumni Mounia Akl '17 and co-written by Clara Roquet '16, participated in the TorinoFilmLab's Feature Lab, where it won a 4 TFL Co-Production Award and Grant of € 200,000.