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
Ghost Light, Meet the Dramaturgs is a Theatre series featuring Columbia Dramaturg students, faculty, and alumni, learning about their work, aspirations, and pandemic passion projects.
Several Columbia filmmakers are featured as part of the Criterion Channel’s current 2021 lineup.
Mengtai Zhang ‘19 and Lemon Guo ‘18 collaborated on Diagnosia, a virtual reality experience running at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam from November 17 to 28, 2021.
Alumnae So Young Shelly Yo '18 and Ellie Foumbi ’17 were both chosen to participate in Tribeca’s 2021 Writing in Unreal Program.
Theatre student Rebecca Miller Kratzer is directing Mae West’s The Drag at Fordham University. The show runs from November 10 through 20.
Film student Cecilia Otero was accepted into the 2021 Film Independent Producing Lab.
Jackson’s multivocal debut poetry collection features a chorus of Black women’s voices throughout time, including Jackson’s great-grandmother, the church ladies of her Philadelphia youth, Missy Elliott, and Black feminist scholar Hortense Spillers.
Acting alumnus Javier Padilla ’19 starred in The Huntington’s production of Witch.
Four films by Columbia filmmakers are set to screen at the 12th edition of the DOC NYC film festival between November 10 and November 18, 2021.
Theatre Directing alumnus Adam Marple '10 is directing Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth at The American University in Cairo, Egypt where he is Assistant Professor of Directing.
Two Columbia alumni have been recognized by the Sundance Institute. They are: Lauren López de Victoria ’19, named as an inaugural Sundance Producers Intensive Fellow, and Cyril Aris ’17, whose project Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano was selected to receive a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grant.
Assistant Professor Adama Delphine Fawundu ’18 was among the winners of the 2021 Anonymous Was a Woman Awards.