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
Film and Media Studies alum Carolyn Condon Jacobs ’15 has received this year’s Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Dissertation Award for her piece, Sanitizing Cinema: Public Health and the Regulation of American Motion Pictures, 1896-1920.
Film alum Kevin McMullin '14 has sold his short story "BOMB" to 20th Century Studios in a competitive bidding war, with legendary director Ridley Scott attached to the project.
Numerous Columbia alums are having their work screened at the 62nd New York Film Festival (NYFF62). The high profile festival, held annually at Lincoln Center and arthouse theaters spanning all five boroughs, plays host to major films and filmmakers from across the globe for a series of screenings, premieres, and events.
Columbia alums abound in Good Bones, the new play from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames, which made its New York premiere in September at the Public Theater.
Director of Visual Arts Graduate Studies and Assistant Professor Adama Delphine Fawundu ’18 has debuted a new large-scale, site-specific installation titled Ancestral Whispers at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park. The installation is part of Fawundu's role as the inaugural Artist in Residence for the Prospect Park Alliance's ReImagine Lefferts initiative.
The Public Theater's inaugural Judith Champion New Work Series will feature work by Directing alum Shayok Misha Chowdhury '16 and a play directed by Adjunct Assistant Professor Saheem Ali '06.
Writing alum Carolyn Jack '16 explores family trauma and the world of opera in her debut novel The Changing of Keys, released in August by Regal House Publishing.
Visual Arts student Lukeson Michael Igwe and alum Andie Carver ‘24 were selected as 2024 recipients of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant. The Foundation was created in 1955 by Charles Glass Greenshields in memory of his mother, Elizabeth.
Several projects by School of the Arts filmmakers, including faculty, alumni, and students are on the slate for this year's Gotham Week Project Market.
Visual Arts alum Meaghan Elyse ’23 has a new show at The Boiler, ELM Foundation titled Lighthouse of Moth. Reflecting upon waste, violence against the earth and other bodies, this work asks: can the frequency of a body be felt across a room? Across the earth?
Calvin Atkinson presents Sally for the School of the Arts's first Directing Thesis production this year. Sally is a reworking and reimagining of Jerome Kern’s forgotten 1921 gem that queries the iconic “rags to riches” story and examines the early American musical itself. Featuring a new book by playwriting student Meg Ledford and new orchestrations by New School MM composer Calvin Hitchcock, the show interrogates the American Dream as it seemed to be in the 1920s, from today’s vantage point.
Writing alum Rachel Kushner ’01 was officially confirmed to the 2024 Booker Prize shortlist on Monday, for her novel Creation Lake.