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
Twenty-eight Columbia filmmakers participated at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, with several winning top honors, several won.
Two Columbia alumni have been nominated for the 2016 Drama Desk Awards.
Alumna and adjunct professor Mia Alvar ’07 won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, which “honors an exceptionally talented fiction writer whose debut work—a novel or collection of short stories—represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise.”
Three members of the School of the Arts community have received 2016 American Academy of Arts and Letters. Poet Henri Cole ’82 won the Award of Merit Medal, which carries a $25,000 prize, and fiction writer Rachel Kushner ’01 won the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award, which carries a $20,000 prize; both graduated from the Writing Program. Theatre Professor Lynn Nottage received an Arts and Letters Award in Literature, which carries a $10,000 prize.
Catherine Lacey ‘10 has won a 2016 Whiting Award for Fiction. Lacey, author of the acclaimed novel Nobody Is Ever Missing (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014), has two books forthcoming from FSG: a second novel and a short story collection.
Numerous Columbia filmmakers will screen this year at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The crop of films selected for this year’s Tribeca truly show the collaborative nature of the Columbia film program: Each film has multiple alumni and faculty working in all facets of production.
“Meet the Makers” is a profile series highlighting the experiences of current Film students and faculty here at Columbia. I recently sat down with Erlendur Sveinsson, a second-year Directing concentrate from Iceland, to get his take on life as a Columbia Film student.
Meet the Makers is an ongoing interview series highlighting current Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program students and faculty. I sat down with Markus Wulf, a second-year MFA film student, a few weeks ago to find out more about what brought him to the program.
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.