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
Visual Arts Alumna Abby Robinson ’22 presented several works with Tilton Gallery at this year’s Independent Art Fair, hosted at Spring Studios in the Tribeca art district from May 11 to 14, 2023.
We talked about balletic influences, ethnoautobiography, and decentering whiteness in theatre with Playwriting student Luz Lorenzana Twigg, who is now preparing to graduate.
This week, we caught up with Visual Arts alumna Abby Robinson ’22.
Here, we talk to Nonfiction student Donna Lee Davidson about prescriptive percussion, jazz clubs, and the all-encompassing importance of rhythm.
Visual Arts Alumna Lizzie Zelter ’22 was selected by the The Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with the School of the Arts and the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, to display two paintings in the Columbia Philosophy Building’s Cafe Nous from July 2022 through June 2023.
Expansive, often intricate installations are especially prevalent this year, artists mapping new imagined worlds into the gallery spaces.
School Girls: Or, The African Mean Girls Play by Playwriting alumna Jocelyn Bioh ’08 will make its U.K. premiere at London's Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in summer 2023.
Acting student Trí Lê has been cast in the ensemble of Shakespeare in the Park’s 2023 production of Hamlet.
Each year, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation partners with Columbia University to award a series of grants to recognize projects that excel in their depictions of scientific themes or characters.
Playwriting alumnus Matt Barbot ’17 has been awarded a $10,000 commission by Miami New Drama and the Black List to develop a new play alongside the artistic team at Miami New Drama.
The Silk Factory, a new memoir from alumnus Michael Hickins ’86 (CC ’83), is coming next month from Amsterdam Publishers.
Writing alumnus Raffi Joe Wartanian ’21 has been named the first Poet Laureate of Glendale, California.