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
Theatre alumna and Adjunct Assistant Professor Katherine Wilkinson ’19 is the director of the world premiere of Bloom Bloom Pow, a queer climate-doom comedy play.
Melis Aker ’18 has been named Signature Theatre’s inaugural LaunchPad Resident Playwright. Her appointment comes after an open selection process to which over 230 playwrights submitted more than 500 plays.
Theatre alumnae Nana Dakin ’18 and Annie Jin Wang ’20 have been named members of the newest cohort of theatre makers for the Writer Director Lab at Soho Rep. The cohort consists of four two-person teams of creators that will spend 18 months working on brand new theatre projects.
Most students at the School of the Arts are settling into their first weeks of classes, but Theatre Management and Producing student Jonathan Hogue is gearing up for the Off-Broadway return of his show Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical.
The winners of the 2022 Emmy Awards have been announced and several projects worked on by Columbia filmmakers are among the awardees.
Visual Arts alumna Júlia Pontés ’22 is among the inaugural recipients of the Environmental Art Grant, a new program launched by Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW) in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Film alumna Ida Yazdi ‘22 has been selected as a finalist from a pool of over 500 applicants to participate in the STARZ TaketheLead Writers Intensive. The program is a collaboration between Starz, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles.
I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive, a new memoir by alumna Lynn Melnick ’97, is forthcoming as part of the University of Texas Press’s American Music Series. The book will be released on October 4, 2022, and is available now for preorder through the University of Texas Press.
Playwriting alumna Gethsemane Herron ’19 received a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting last month. The prestigious award, which includes a prize of $30,000 in unrestricted funding for each recipient, is one of the nation’s most significant awards for playwriting.
Alumnus Shayok Misha Chowdhury '16 and fifth-year Directing student Hazel McKibbin have been named honoraria recipients of the esteemed 2022 Princess Grace Awards.
This year, alumna Daria Polatin ’07 logs an accomplishment many writers only dream of: adapting her own novel for the screen as the creator and showrunner of Netflix’s newest thriller series, Devil In Ohio.
Tribeca has announced the Audience Award winners for their 2022 festival, naming Our Father, The Devil, by Ellie Foumbi '17, Best Narrative Feature.