GS student Ana-Maria Szilagyi, who is committed to a career in human rights, was selected as a 2017 Kathryn Davis for Peace Fellow. As one of just 100 recipients of this prestigious award, Szilagyi will pursue an intensive immersion program in German language at the Middlebury Language School this summer. The Kathryn Davis Fellowship provides sponsorship for individuals to receive training in foreign language and policy who have demonstrated interest in international studies, international politics and economics, peace and security studies, or conflict resolution. The Language Schools at Middlebury College are world renowned for language study that offer students complete immersion in the language to improve cultural fluency and linguistic competence.

Szilagyi applied for the fellowship to bolster her ultimate desire to work on refugee resettlement and public policy reform in Germany. In the summer of 2016, Szilagyi volunteered at a school for refugees in Turkey, offering classroom instruction for those previously unable to obtain a formal education. As a senior in the Dual BA Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po, she is pursuing a Joint Major in Economics and Philosophy, and has a long term goal of funding a pan-European NGO that advocates for refugees and disseminates practical ideas for receiving them.

“The organization I envision will help families with the practical steps they must take to register their children in school, which means helping them grapple with a host of alien cultural assumptions. The NGO will also teach local languages, easing immigrant integration and giving children every chance for success in their new learning environment.” Szilagyi said. 

Born in Piatra-Neamț, Romania, and having lived in Italy and the United Kingdom prior to her enrollment, Szilagyi is representative of the internationally minded student body the program attracts. “The Dual BA Program gave me the opportunity to study at two institutions with different but complementary intellectual approaches while living in two countries with distinct political and cultural traditions,” Szilagyi said.
 

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As the Columbia University School of General Studies celebrates its 70th anniversary, the "GS at 70" series highlights critical moments in the creation and growth of the School.

by Robert Ast '08

“And what shall be their education? Can we find a better than the traditional sort?”

Socrates’ question to Adeimantus in Plato’s The Republic has been at the heart of the School of General Studies mission since its founding in 1947. However, on a University-wide level, it grew increasingly vexed in the late 1980s, as the nature and content of a college education received scrutiny that was academic, political, and, above all, new. “Multiculturalism. Eurocentrism. Political Correctness. Culture Wars. Many of the terms that dominate the current debate on higher education were virtually unknown ten years ago,” notes Timothy P. Cross in An Oasis of Order, a 1995 essay on the history of Columbia’s Core Curriculum.

The Columbia Core was precisely the type of curricular model in question. At its foundation lay the texts of the Western canon, widely influential yet authored by a narrow coterie of dead white men. Like the student activism campaigns urging divestment from the apartheid regime in South Africa—which, at Columbia, included hunger strikes and a barricade of Hamilton Hall—that spanned the decade, the discussions over the canon and its continued relevance to undergraduates at GS and Columbia’s other undergraduate schools reflected a heated national debate.

The issue of greater representation of women and people of color on syllabi took on increased resonance with Columbia College’s admission of women in 1983. While most classes had long been coeducational, thanks to the women students of the School of General Studies, Barnard College, and Columbia’s graduate schools, the presence of women in the College spurred a re-evaluation of the Core’s list of exclusively male authors. Faculty struggled to balance historical impact and inclusiveness, a negotiation that persists today as the Core continues to be revised and reimagined.

Perhaps the most poignant distillation of the historical moment was provided by GS student Laura Hotchkiss Brown ’89, who created a banner featuring the names of women authors in the same typeface as those of the male authors and orators engraved on the façade of Butler Library. After she and four friends were arrested on Butler’s roof when they attempted to unfurl the banner during the 1989 Commencement ceremony, she worked with GS Dean Ward Dennis, University Librarian Elaine Sloan, and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender on an exhibition in the fall of 1989, during which the banner was displayed.

As with the Core, other aspects of Columbia’s academic structure were being reevaluated to better represent the entirety of the undergraduate and graduate student bodies. The unification of faculty members in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences into a single body, rather than separate faculties for Columbia College, the School of General Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of International and Public Affairs, had been discussed with increasing enthusiasm since it was first proposed in 1957.

In 1987, a presidential commission reported that at least 90 percent of faculty members in Arts and Sciences departments taught in at least three of the four faculties that would be merged, noting that it made “little or no sense” to maintain separate faculties that were “no longer distinguished by the character or qualifications of the professors who serve in them but only by the age of their students or the level of their instruction.”

A single faculty would facilitate a holistic consideration of the University’s academic endeavor: “In our present circumstances, there is virtually no issue that concerns one school that does not concern, directly or indirectly, the others as well,” the report stated. While there were some initial concerns, all faculties ultimately supported the merge, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences held its first meeting in December 1991—a moment that, like the changes to the Core, helped to define Columbia as the institution it is today.

To join the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the School of General Studies, alumni, students, and staff are encouraged to register for Reunion 2017 to be held June 1-4.

"GS at 70"
1947: The Founding of GS

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On Friday, May 12, 2017 at Faculty House, the New York Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society initiated more than 40 GS students at its annual Induction Ceremony.

GS elects no more than 10 percent of its graduating class to the General Studies Division of the Columbia Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, established in 1952. Students are selected on the basis of their character, integrity, and academic achievement. With grade point averages above 4.0, they are among the top in their class. However, as Secretary of the Columbia Phi Beta Kappa chapter Dean Victoria Rosner pointed out, there is much more to the inducted students than the numbers on their transcripts.

“One of our graduates came back from drug addiction and homelessness, working her way back to a stable life by cleaning houses…Another one of the students we honor this afternoon started at Columbia in 1992, but was forced to withdraw because of a family crisis. Following distinguished service in the Air Force, he has come back to Columbia finish what he started.”

Students have overcome not only personal challenges but professional ones as well. One inducted student balanced a full-time dance career with the New York City Ballet while attending GS, while others were veterans making the transition back into civilian life.

Speaking to the new members, vice president of the Chapter Dean Peter J. Awn said, “You are extraordinary. The work you have done here at Columbia is truly amazing…It is what you do in the classroom, and your intellectual achievements, that have created the credibility of this extraordinary college.”

Inductees included students from the Joint BA program between GS and the Jewish Theological seminary, the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, and, for the first time, the Joint BA program between Columbia and the City University of Hong Kong. 

Inductee Amro Harb received the Phi Beta Kappa Prize, which is awarded to the candidate who best represents the ideals of the society—intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views, and a broad range of academic interests. Harb was honored for his extraordinary academic record and his achievements in the field of neuroscience and behavior.

Upon pledging to “be true and faithful to Phi Beta Kappa, uphold its standards, obey its laws, and seek to reflect credit upon [their] affiliation with this venerable fellowship of learners,” the exceptional candidates became full-fledged members of Phi Beta Kappa.

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society, and its initials represent the society's motto: "love of learning is the guide of life." Roughly ten percent of U.S. institutions of higher learning have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and among those institutions, only about ten percent of arts and sciences graduates are selected for membership, making it one of the highest academic honors for undergraduate students in the nation.

To be inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, students must be recommended by faculty who work closely with them and are members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Recommendations are based on the students' academic programs and their ability to support the society's ideals of academic, social, and community-based programs.

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The School of General Studies celebrated the Class of 2017 at its 70th anniversary Class Day ceremony on Monday, May 15. Dean Peter J. Awn, who has served as dean for 20 years and will be stepping down after this academic year, opened the ceremony by welcoming the 585 graduates, more than 1,800 guests, faculty, and administrators.

"The creation of GS 70 years ago represents a milestone in the evolution of undergraduate education at Ivy League universities," Awn said. “The presence in the classroom of both traditional and untraditional students enhances significantly the quality of intellectual discourse among students and faculty, and makes the Columbia undergraduate experience unlike that at any other Ivy League university.”

The Class of 2017 embodies the term “untraditional.” Graduates range in age from 20 to 67, and hail from 31 states and more than 49 countries. Thirty-five percent of all graduates are new Americans and international students. This year’s class also includes 102 U.S. military veterans—the largest cohort to graduate from an Ivy League university since World War II.

“There are two major factors that make GS unique,” Awn said. “First, we actively recruit students who have taken an untraditional path and mainstream them fully into a traditional and rigorous undergraduate program. Second, we are the incubator for innovative dual and joint BA programs that offer students a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge international education.”

Among the crowd were 25 graduates from the Joint Program with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 61 graduates from the Dual BA Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po, and 11 graduates from the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between Columbia University and the City University of Hong Kong.

University President Lee C. Bollinger spoke next, and stressed not only the importance of the mission of the School of General Studies, but the inherent value of pursuing a nontraditional path. He went on to say a few words about Dean Awn’s tenure.

“For two decades, he has led—but more importantly, created—this extraordinary institution. Personally, I can testify to his having had profound influence on the development of General Studies and the University. Truly profound. But what defines Peter as dean is his utter devotion—his love, really—of you: the students of General Studies,” Bollinger said.

Class Day Keynote Speaker Julia Bacha ‘03, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, Guggenheim Fellow, and the creative director at the nonprofit Just Vision, emphasized how different her personal and professional life would look were it not for the existence of GS, as she would not have been able to pursue a liberal arts education in her home country of Brazil.

She encouraged graduates to recognize a shared and urgent responsibility to drive what the world pays attention to, describing attention as a valuable and finite currency that shapes the development of the world around us.

Bacha continued, illustrating how this phenomenon has shaped the way the world views the conflict between Israel and Palestine. While visiting the region to work on her first film, she realized that while a lot attention was being paid to the region, it was the wrong kind of attention—with the media focusing on violent actors and failed agreements, while civilians working to end the occupation and conflict through civil disobedience went unnoticed.

“Attention is a currency—valuable and finite. But what we sometimes fail to remember is that this currency is one of the most powerful forces shaping the world today…Choosing where we place our attention is one of the most political acts one can take in the world today,” Bacha said. “By choosing the way we look at the world, we can change it.”

In her address to the Class of 2017, Salutatorian Rozanne Gooding Silverwood described how GS—and a medicine walk she took in Riverside Park—helped her regain a lost love of writing.

As a result of several struggles her children were experiencing, including a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, Silverwood simply stopped writing, feeling that words no longer held any meaning.

She eventually decided to apply to GS, and found that the rigor and pace of her classes gave her relief from the devastation she was experiencing in her personal life, referring to homework as “sacred medicine.” However, when it came time to begin working on her senior thesis, the feelings of self-doubt returned. That’s when she decided to take a medicine walk, which she hoped would provide guidance.

“I spied a couple of red-tailed hawks. As soon as I saw them, one hawk leapt off the ledge, and with wings tucked in a glorious freefall as if I were some sort of delicious prey, she dove straight at me…suddenly, in a spectacle of avian grandstanding, the hawk opened her wings and swept right over the top of my head. And when I turned around to see where she’d flown, I found her perched on a tree branch right behind me. She looked directly at me as if to say ‘woman, there is no good reason why you should not be writing with the same mastery that I fly.’ I went home and began to write with a fearless intensity,” Silverwood said.

Rozanne graduates summa cum laude with a degree in cultural anthropology with a focus on Native American studies, and completed her senior thesis on “The Indigenous Uncanny: The Erasure and Resurgence of Chickasaw Identity,” an ethnography concerning the efforts of her Chickasaw ancestors to preserve her family's indigenous identity. She was also inducted into to the GS Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. 

“Certainly, this honor of salutatorian obligates me to keep writing, but more importantly, I hope to never again forget what it feels like to fly,” Gooding said.

Following Silverwood’s speech, Jesse Dean ’08, the co-chairman of the General Studies Alumni Association (GSAA) presented the GS Alumni Key Award to Erin Giventer for academic achievement and outstanding service to the School, and Justin Nathaniel Carter ’14 presented the Campbell Award to Franklin Forbes for exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit.

Upon the presentation of the 2017 degree candidates by Dean of Students Tom Harford, Dean Awn introduced the Class of 2017 valedictorian Colin Valentini.

“Colin is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he attained the rank of corporal. He served in combat in Afghanistan as a vehicle commander for a mobile assault platoon. We would have to go back to the time of the post-WWII GI Bill to identify another occasion on which a military veteran was valedictorian,” Awn said.

In Valentini’s valedictory address, he explained how his decision to join the Marine Corps after graduating from high school set him on a path to discover the direction he wanted his life to take.

“There was no romance about my deployment to Afghanistan. But perhaps I learned even more important lessons about what it means to be part of a team, and care for the Marine next to you more than you care about yourself. These lessons stayed with me even as I transitioned out of the military,” Valentini said. “Once out of the Marine Corps, however, I was faced with the same question. What should I do next?”

The Marine Corps had taught him to seek out excellence and set challenging goals for himself, but he felt that no serious advancement would be possible without a college degree. He decided to apply to GS, where he enrolled in an introductory precalculus course.

“I learned as much as any other service member about discipline, teamwork, and perseverance, but had forgotten equally as much about high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry,” Valentini said. “I didn’t know it at the time, but that course would prove to be the most important and influential I would take here.”

This course awakened a curiosity that he had not previously been aware of, and provided an outlet to answer a question that ceaselessly recurred in his mind: “Why?”

“I found that mathematics provided the means to search for fundamental truths that made a difference in my life. For you, it may be art, or english, or biology, or theatre. It could be a centuries-old academic discipline or a product of the last few years. It took me a long time and a very unconventional path before I stumbled upon what made me curious, but it has been a guiding light ever since,” Valentini said.

Valentini graduates summa cum laude with a degree in applied mathematics. He was also inducted into the GS Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. Upon graduation, he will join the team at Goldman Sachs, where he will be working in their credit risk analytics group.

“Congratulations to the graduates, your families, loved ones, and friends. You embody, in a spectacular way, the mission of GS and Columbia. I hope you will stay involved with your Columbia family for many years to come,” Awn said.

This year’s graduates join a variety of industries, including the arts, finance, law, and health care, where they will work for organizations such as McKinsey & Company, Google, the National Institutes of Health, Morgan Stanley, the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Microsoft. Many will pursue advanced degrees at institutions including Princeton, Harvard, Sciences Po, MIT, and the London School of Economics. 

Media Coverage

Largest Dual BA Program Graduating Class Celebrated at Class Day

Peabody Award-winning filmmaker talks about importance of attention at GS Class Day

CC, SEAS, and GS announce class day speakers

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As the Columbia University School of General Studies celebrates its 70th anniversary, the "GS at 70" series highlights critical moments in the creation and growth of the School.

by Robert Ast '08

To be a student on a college campus in 1968 and consider oneself an agent of history was, if grandiose, not necessarily incorrect.

In 1960 college students in Greensboro, North Carolina and Nashville organized and carried out influential lunch-counter sit-ins protesting segregation, which led to a new era of student activism through organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, known for its members’ roles as Freedom Riders and its voter registration initiatives. The Civil Rights Movement became the wellspring from which other activist movements focused on equality—the feminist, gay liberation, and Chicano movements, among others—drew encouragement and strategic inspiration while making significant strides throughout the decade.

The politicized campus was not only an American phenomenon, with students in many countries—including West Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, and France—all mounting major demonstrations in 1968. Protests tended to feature a mix of local concerns and larger ideological issues, but often centered on the Vietnam War. For many young American men, who could obtain a draft deferment while enrolled in college, the war and the campus became intertwined.

“Everybody started reading, when they were about 17 years old, what your options were to avoid the draft,” said Paul Teitelbaum ’17GS, who was a Columbia College freshman in 1968. “‘Do I go to Canada?’ ‘Do I burn my draft card?’ Everybody was aware of these things and paid very serious attention.”

The Columbia student uprising in 1968 began with a rally protesting the University’s effort to build a gym on public land in Morningside Park and its ties to military research, which then spiraled into the occupation of several buildings on campus, beginning with Hamilton Hall and Low Library. As normal operations were suspended and additional buildings “liberated,” the campus became a destination for individuals who wanted to show support, join the occupation, or just check out the scene. An attempt was made to occupy Lewisohn Hall, but students, faculty, and administrators from the School of General Studies intervened and set up a 24-hour guard on the building.

“The Columbia strike got bigger every day, and it welcomed people from outside the University,” Teitelbaum said, recalling the occupation of Low. “I sat in the President’s office—anybody who walked in the window was good. That’s why it was so dangerous, and that’s why [the administration] hesitated so long before they moved on it.”

While a diversity of opinion could be found on the uprising, the GS community was unanimous on another issue of the day: allowing the school to grant the Bachelor of Arts degree. For reasons that had long since become obscure, GS students received a Bachelor of Science degree for every course of study, even fields in the humanities. Students and some faculty saw this as one of many problems in administrative logic that needed to be addressed during this eventful year in Columbia’s history.

On April 30, 1968, the NYPD stormed and cleared Low Library and Hamilton Hall, resulting in more than 700 arrests and roughly 150 injuries. In response to the uprising, Columbia implemented a number of changes, such as the formation of the University Senate, to give both students and faculty greater participation in the governance of the University.

One such example of this greater involvement came in support of allowing GS to grant the Bachelor of Arts degree. A multifaceted campaign involving GS students, faculty, alumni, and constituents from other schools—including the Columbia Spectator editorial board, which endorsed the GS B.A. by citing Confucius: “In education there are no class distinctions”—brought the matter to the central administration, and in December 1968 the University Council granted GS the right to award the B.A.: a significant step toward equality that continues to have an impact today.

To join the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the School of General Studies, alumni, students, and staff are encouraged to register for Reunion 2017 to be held June 1-4.

"GS at 70"
1947: The Founding of GS

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As the Columbia University School of General Studies celebrates its 70th anniversary, the "GS at 70" series highlights critical moments in the creation and growth of the School.

by Robert Ast '08

In 1904, when Columbia created the Extension Teaching program as a vehicle for members of the community to take courses at the University, just two percent of Americans 23-years old or older held a bachelor’s degree. By the end of the 20th century, access to higher education had become far more widespread, and the student profile had changed as well: more than 70 percent of American undergraduates had delayed enrollment in college—opting instead to attend school part time or work full time—or were otherwise considered “nontraditional” according to academic researchers.

Since its founding as an undergraduate college in 1947, the primary focus of the School of General Studies (GS) has been providing a rigorous undergraduate education to this nontraditional student population. However, for nearly half a century, GS also managed a number of initiatives more reminiscent of its beginnings in University Extension, such as continuing education and summer courses. To draw focus and resources back to the School’s core mission, GS Dean Caroline Bynum began planning for an administrative reorganization that was finalized in 1995 during the deanship of Gillian Lindt. In the new structure, the undergraduate degree and Postbaccalaureate Premedical programs remained at GS, while other offerings were housed in the newly-created Division of Special Programs.

With the restructuring completed, Lindt announced her resignation and subsequent retirement. Columbia University President George Rupp selected, as her successor, a scholar who had served both Columbia and GS with distinction in a variety of ways. Peter J. Awn had been chair of the Department of Religion, a recipient of the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates, and the faculty advisor who helped create the GS Honor Society. In an interview with the Columbia Spectator, Lindt cited Awn’s “experience and energy,” noting that he was “uniquely qualified” for the role and “the hard work necessary to make GS the institution it was designed to be.” Few, however, could have anticipated the truly transformative nature of his tenure.

Under Awn’s leadership, GS moved from a school largely unknown outside of New York to one that draws students from throughout the U.S. and all over the globe, launched an admissions recruitment campaign that made Columbia the leader among elite universities in educating military veterans, established innovative dual-degree programs with partner institutions throughout the world, and implemented full integration of GS students into the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. Awn oversaw a period of flourishing that not only brought GS into the 21st century and left it well-positioned for the future, but also expanded the possibilities for what a nontraditional education could be—the most significant chapter yet in the history of a truly unique institution.

From June 1-4, 2017, GS alumni, students, and staff celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the School of General Studies. To view event photos, please visit the Columbia University School of General Studies Alumni Facebook Page.

"GS at 70"
1947: The Founding of GS

1968: The Fight for Equality

1991: Academic Integration at Columbia

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This fall, the School of General Studies welcomes nearly 660 incoming students who began the week-long New Student Orientation Program (NSOP) on Monday with breakfast in Low Memorial Library. Inside, GS staff and Orientation Leaders greeted the new students and provided NSOP schedules for the week. New students were placed in small orientation groups and guided by Orientation Leaders, current students who introduced them to campus and facilitated socializing throughout the week.

Following breakfast, students heard from University President Lee C. Bollinger and Dean Peter J. Awn on Low Plaza, who gave their welcoming remarks to the new students. President Bollinger and Dean Awn stressed the spirit of intellectual discovery and free speech. “One has the duty to challenge ideas,” stated Dean Awn, encouraging incoming students to view their education as an opportunity to expose themselves to differing perspectives, and to sharpen their critical thinking abilities. President Bollinger reflected on the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia and discussed the role Universities have to play in the current political and cultural climate.

Thomas Harford, Dean of Students, led a GS orientation tradition by asking members of the audience to rise as he described different categories, such as 96 incoming students having served in the U.S. military, 68 students being born abroad, 77 students belonging to the School’s innovative joint degree program with Sciences Po, 14 students belonging to the joint program with the City University of Hong Kong, and 32 students in the joint program with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, to being a parent, working full-time, or being a born-and-raised New Yorker.

Each of these identity traits—and several students belong to more than one—emphasize the broad definition of diversity at the School of General Studies. The multiplicity of experiences among GS students contributes priceless value to the undergraduate experience at Columbia University, as acknowledged by faculty, administrators, and students alike.

Incoming students also heard from current GS students, including Samantha Demezieux, the General Studies Student Council president, and Eytan Penn, the GS NSOP Student Chair. In their speeches, current students described the supportive community at GS, extending a warm welcome to new students. Andre Galis, Postbac Premed student and president of the Premedical Association addressed fellow students.

The School of General Studies convocation highlighted the diversity of students and their experiences, and celebrated the beginning of their journey as undergraduate students at Columbia University. Throughout the week, students will be invited to social mixers, workshops about campus resources and academic practices at Columbia, as well as outings throughout New York City. NSOP is instrumental to new students’ integration at Columbia, and provides numerous opportunities to meet new and returning students, as well as alumni, before classes begin on September 5.

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By Sharanya Sivakumar

On October 25, 2017, Peter J. Awn, Dean of the School of General Studies, received the Making a Difference Service Award in recognition of his service and dedication to Columbia University at the annual Community Impact Gala Benefit Auction.

Dean Awn has served the Columbia University community for more than 35 years as a professor of Islamic and comparative religion and for the past 20 years as dean of the School of General Studies (GS). Under his leadership and vision, GS has strengthened and expanded its undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and dual-degree programs while ensuring greater diversity and a distinct academic experience for the School’s nontraditional students, including its veteran students, more than 400 of which are currently enrolled.

Dean Awn is a recipient of the Great Teacher Award by the Society of Columbia Graduates, and the first recipient of the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Award for distinguished teaching and research. His book, Satan’s Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi Psychology, a study of Sufism, received the book award from the American Council of Learned Societies.

Dr. Michael Massimino was also honored at the event, receiving the Outstanding Community Service Award. Dr. Massimino is the Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, and a veteran of two NASA space flights.

Community Impact is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to serving disadvantaged people in the Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Washington Heights communities. Community Impact strives to advance the public good by fostering meaningful opportunities for students, staff, and faculty of Columbia University in order to provide high-quality programs and instill the importance of life-long service.

There are currently more than 900 student volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to making the vision of Community Impact a reality. To learn more or get involved, visit the website.

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Today, President Lee C. Bollinger sent the following message to the University community announcing the appointment of GS alumna Lisa Rosen-Metsch as the next dean of the School of General Studies as of January 1, 2018.

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

I am writing to announce the appointment of Lisa Rosen-Metsch, currently the Stephen Smith Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, as the next Dean of the School of General Studies. The School is, of course, unique in higher education, and as an alumna of the joint program between General Studies and Jewish Theological Seminary, Lisa knows it well. Following her time at Columbia, she completed her doctoral studies at the University of Florida.

Lisa is an internationally recognized scholar in the prevention of HIV among populations with substance use disorders. Her research has helped to re-shape national policy for the care and treatment of HIV, including through the design and testing of new strategies for expanding the reach of testing and the level of engagement of vulnerable populations. One current project focuses upon implementing and testing a mobile HIV treatment and prevention clinic to serve low income neighborhoods in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her pioneering research in the field has resulted in more than 180 peer-reviewed publications. During Lisa’s time as Chair of the Sociomedical Sciences Department, she advocated locating public health within social, cultural, economic, historical, and political contexts. She presently serves on the executive committee of the Center for Justice, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to refocusing the criminal justice system on prevention and healing.

I want to take yet another opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to Dean Peter Awn, for his extraordinary and longstanding commitment to the School of General Studies. With his typical generosity, he agreed to stay on as dean beyond his planned departure so that we could take the time needed to find a worthy successor. I also want to thank the members of the search committee, my co-chair David Madigan, Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and all those whose views contributed to this announcement, including the students and alumni who have provided invaluable guidance during the process. We are fortunate to have Professor Lisa Rosen-Metsch join our outstanding group of University deans.

Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger

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President Bollinger Names School of General Studies Alumna Lisa Rosen-Metsch as the School’s New Dean

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Most days, David Treatman can be found studying at Columbia University. But on top of the demanding coursework and numerous extracurricular activities, he can also be found downtown, working as a co-producer both on- and off-Broadway. Dividing his time between college life and a busy production schedule, he is not your typical undergraduate student.

“The beautiful thing about GS is that there is no ‘normal.’ There is this sort of camaraderie that makes it so much easier to be a non-traditional student,” Treatman said.

Treatman began his foray into theater—and the world of production—in high school. After having starred in school musicals including Rent and Legally Blonde, he got the opportunity to direct The 39 Steps his senior year. To acquire performance rights for his school, he worked with Broadway and West End producers, sound designers, and lawyers, forming connections which would be instrumental leading up to his current projects.

Upon arriving at GS, Treatman continued his involvement in school theater—but was also inspired to move towards commercial production.

“I have wanted to be a producer ever since watching Mel Brooks’ The Producers in middle school,” Treatman said. “So I was actively scouting for opportunities.”

Those opportunities would begin to materialize through a friendship with Alan Koolik, a Columbia Engineering student.

“When we met and realized that we were interested in the same profession, we split the work of thinking about our ‘in,’” Treatman said.

The perfect “in” seemed to fall into their lap. Over the course of a summer internship, Koolik heard that the company he was working for was seeking new producers forPuffs—a show which, coincidentally, Treatman had already seen four times. The play seemed to be the ideal opportunity for a number of reasons, and they decided to take on the project.

Puffs continues to succeed spectacularly, and Treatman has been approached by numerous producers and playwrights with new opportunities. Recently, he accepted an opportunity to produce Tony Kushner’s revival of Angels in America, which features an all-star cast including Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield.

“When I started looking seriously for ways to start producing, I found it a bit difficult to get taken seriously because of my age compared to the older “elite” of Broadway producing,” Treatman said. “I am really very excited about [the revival] because it has given us a seat at ‘the big boy table’ so to speak.”

While offers for future producing opportunities keep flowing in—including from The Public Theater, where Hamilton began—Treatman still finds time to stay involved on campus. In between taking courses at two institutions as a student in the Joint Program with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, he participates in sailing, a political action club, Hillel, and five different theater clubs.

“I love having a foot in each community. Being a student at two schools at once has been a monumental help in learning how to balance all of these opportunities,” Treatman said. 

Join CAA Arts Access in partnership with the GS Alumni Association to see Puffs on Thursday, December 7! After the show, Columbia alumni and students are invited to stay for a special conversation with David Treatman along with other members of the Puffs team.

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The new Dual BA Program between Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University is now accepting applications for Fall 2018 admission. Highly-qualified students will have the opportunity to study in both Ireland and the United States, earning two bachelor’s degrees in four years.

The Program transcends traditional study abroad opportunities by providing the opportunity to undertake a rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education in two distinct academic, social, and cultural environments at two world-renowned research universities.

Students begin their college educations in one of four academic tracks in Dublin, where they undertake the intensive undergraduate curriculum at Trinity, one of Europe’s most distinguished institutions of higher education. After two years in Dublin, students matriculate at Columbia, where they complete the requirements for a major and fulfill the Columbia Core Curriculum featuring a variety of disciplines, including literature, art, music, science, and the humanities. Upon completion of the Program, students graduate with two bachelor’s degrees, one each from Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University.

Please visit the Program website for more information about the academic experience, student life, upcoming in-person and online information sessions, the admissions process, and more. The application deadline for Fall 2018 admission is February 1.
 

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On Tuesday, December 12, students, faculty, alumni, friends, and family gathered at Faculty House to celebrate the accomplishments of 95 students who will graduate from the School of General Studies this February. Dean Peter J. Awn opened the ceremony by welcoming the attendees and encouraging the graduates to stay engaged with the School.

“Thank you for what you have contributed to the Columbia community. I fervently hope you will continue to do that as alumni. Stay involved and stay engaged with your fellow Columbia alumni, but just as importantly, with the current student community. It means an enormous amount to know that people who have been through things similar to themselves have gone on to live fulfilling lives,” Awn said.

This February’s graduates majored in diverse subjects including biological sciences, creative writing, economics, political science, human rights, Hispanic studies, and many more. Eleven were inducted into the GS Honor Society.

Senior Class President Roya Hegdahl followed Awn’s welcome, again stressing the importance of staying involved with the Columbia community after graduation, before introducing Professor Lisa Rosen-Metsch, incoming dean of the School and an alumna of the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between the School of General Studies and List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rosen-Metsch expressed her excitement to begin her tenure as dean in January, and spoke to the many qualities she believes make GS students unique and crucial members of the undergraduate Columbia community.

“GS students enrich the Columbia curriculum just by who we are and what we bring to the table. We are military veterans, we are dancers in the ballet, we are chefs, international students, new Americans, actors, and students completing two degrees. In short, when I look around this room, we are simply fabulous, and I have to say that diversity is a key feature of GS. I know that you will always carry this incredible Columbia education with you. I can speak from experience to say that my degree has served me well,” Rosen-Metsch said.

The ceremony was concluded by Dean of Students Tom Harford, who harkened back to Orientation, reminding graduates of how far they have come since then, and reminding them that they will always be a part of the community.

“You’re GS people—you were part of this community before you got here, you just didn’t know it. It’s your unique background that led you to us, and it’s your unique background that means you’re a GSer for life, and you’re part of a community that you can never leave, because it’s in your core. Stay scrappy, stay unique, stay intelligent, and keep your GS spirit. Congratulations to you all,” Harford said.

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The following message was sent to GS students on Monday, January 1, 2018.

Dear Students,

It is with deep sadness that I write to share with you the passing of Hannah Weiss, a second year student in the undergraduate Joint Program between Columbia University School of General Studies and List College at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). Hannah, her parents, and her brother were killed yesterday in a tragic plane crash in Costa Rica. Born in Philadelphia and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Hannah was studying sustainable development and Jewish ethics in the program.

Hannah was an active member of the Columbia and JTS communities, co-founding Sustainable Kraft to introduce sustainability initiatives to the Kraft Center and serving as a greening intern at JTS. Passionate about food policy, Hannah was a research associate at the Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center and an associate producer for the Eating Matters podcast on the Heritage Radio Network. She was also active in the Jewish community, serving as a Hebrew school teacher at B'nai Jeshrun, where she taught second grade, and designed a curriculum for a family elective concerning the Jewish values of social justice and philanthropy.

Hannah saw herself as an agent of positive change, devoted to improving the world in which she lived. She worked passionately on behalf of important causes, including sustainable agriculture and greater access to affordable, healthy food for all. She was also a vocal champion of gender equality, who friends and classmates knew as someone who would never accept the status quo and would always push forward in pursuit of progress and social justice.

While the last thing I would have wanted to do in my first communication as Dean to the GS community, at the start of a new year, would be to share news of this painful loss to both our school as well as JTS colleagues and classmates, I hope that we can all follow the example Hannah set in working toward changes to make a better world.

Whenever we lose someone within our community, we are all affected, whether or not we knew the person well. Please know that your academic advisor, the staff at Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), and members of the Office of the University Chaplain are all available to provide you with any additional support you may need at this time. I have listed contact information for these resources below.

With deepest sympathy,

Lisa Rosen-Metsch
Dean

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Counseling and Psychological Services
5th and 8th Floor Lerner Hall
The CPS clinician on call may be reached at (212) 854-2878. Regular services will resume on Wednesday, January 3.

Office of the University Chaplain
On-call during the winter break. Email chaplain@columbia.edu to arrange a time to speak.

Columbia Health
Contact (212) 854-7426 for after-hours services. Regular services will resume on Wednesday, January 3.

GS Dean of Students Office
(212) 854-2881
gsdeanofstudents@columbia.edu
Regular services will resume on Wednesday, January 3.
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On Monday, January 8, the School of General Studies welcomed nearly 230 incoming students at the New Student Welcome, the kickoff event of the New Student Orientation Program (NSOP), held in Roone Arledge Auditorium in Lerner Hall. Dean of the School of General Studies, Lisa Rosen-Metsch, opened the ceremony by welcoming students to the GS and Columbia communities.

“I had the chance this morning to meet so many of you, and I know firsthand the transformative impact of a Columbia education. You are about to embark on a journey that will challenge you academically, socially, and ultimately, professionally. I challenge you to embrace this opportunity,” Dean Rosen-Metsch said.

Dean of Students Tom Harford spoke next, continuing a GS Orientation tradition by asking incoming students to rise as he described different categories, including 28 having served in the U.S. military, 45 being born abroad, 86 being first-generation college students, to being a parent, working full-time, or being a born-and-raised New Yorker.

Incoming students also heard from Kirsty Jardine ‘15GS ‘16PH, co-chair of the GS Alumni Association, as well as current GS students, including Samantha Demezieux, President of the General Studies Student Council, Jacquie Viggiano, GS NSOP Student Chair, and Chelsea Faison, Vice President of Medical School Fair Operations of the Premedical Association and a Postbac Premed student. In their speeches, each enthusiastically welcomed the incoming class, sharing personal experiences and stressing the unique and supportive nature of the GS community.

Throughout the remainder of Orientation Week, students mingled with each other at meet-and-greets, attended workshops about campus resources and community standards, and went out on the town together, touring museums, catching Broadway shows, and ice skating at Rockefeller Center. NSOP is instrumental to new students’ integration at the University, and provides numerous opportunities to meet new and returning students, as well as alumni, before classes start.

An Overview of the Spring 2018 Entering Class

The School of General Studies continues to be one of the most diverse undergraduate colleges in the Ivy League, and this year’s incoming class is no exception, counting among them a former classical pianist, military veterans, former professional actors and musicians, first-generation Americans, professional athletes, to name only a few.

The presence of GS students in the Columbia classroom enables the University, already one of the most ethnically and economically diverse undergraduate communities in the Ivy League, to define diversity on much broader terms—a truly global diversity of socio-economic background, age, life and career experience, and perspective.

• 20% of the incoming students are international students
• 38% of the incoming students are first-generation college students
• 26% of the incoming students are Pell Grant eligible
• 14% of the incoming students are U.S. military veterans

Enrollment

Undergraduate: 172
Postbac Premed: 54

Demographics

Age range: 18 – 64 years old
Women: 45%
Men: 55%
Students who are married: 22%
Students with children: 16%
U.S. residents from 22 states

Citizenship

Six foreign countries are represented, making up 20% of the incoming class. International students come from China, Germany, Israel, Kenya, South Africa, and South Korea.

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On Tuesday, February 20, faculty, staff, friends, and family gathered to celebrate the induction of 94 students into the Honor Society of the School of General Studies at its spring 2018 Induction Ceremony in Low Memorial Library. The GS Honor Society, created in 1997 to celebrate the academic achievement of exceptional GS scholars, inducts students who have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.8 in more than 30 points of academic coursework at Columbia University.

The ceremony opened with a welcome from Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch, followed by remarks from Dean of Academic Affairs Victoria Rosner.

“These students are not everyone’s idea of ‘typical American college students.’ Many of them are international in their origins, and all of them are global in their outlook. They have a maturity of experience that comes from life experiences including military service, parenthood, career achievement, immigration, and artistic endeavor, and many have come back from significant challenges. Any number of these students are the first in their families to attend college. Yet here they are at the pinnacle of undergraduate academic success at Columbia. Each one of them, whatever their backgrounds, has worked hard to earn a place here,” Dean Rosner said.

Among those inducted this spring are students enrolled in the School’s dual-degree programs with List College of Jewish Theological Seminary, Sciences Po, and the City University of Hong Kong, as well as students from countries all around the world, including Russia, Greece, China, Israel, France, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Georgia, Sweden, the Dominican Republic, Canada, and Morocco.

“Given the well-known rigor of the Columbia undergraduate education, this achievement places these students at the very top of a student body that is already among the most elite in the world of university education. These students, that is to say, are the best of the best,” Dean Rosner said.

The chief aim of the GS Honor Society is to cultivate interaction among those committed to intellectual discovery and academic excellence. The only group of its kind at the University, the Society offers opportunities throughout the year for its student and alumni members to interact with one another, as well as with the faculty who enjoy working with such outstanding scholars.

Spring 2018 GS Honor Society Inductees

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“GS is a place where everyone is unique in their own way,” said Michael Wedd, a current student at the college.

He admits he is no exception: in the upstate New York farmhouse where he grew up, he was forbidden from watching TV, surfing the internet, listening to most radio stations, or going to school. He taught his siblings and himself subjects like chemistry and biology with textbooks he found around the house, and learned to play piano by listening to a family radio that was always tuned to a classical music station.

“I hated not knowing things,” he said while describing the thirst for knowledge, which drove his self-education. Becoming a concert pianist in his early teens, he would practice piano for up to eight hours a day and study in the time left over. He pored over textbooks and conducted science experiments with his brothers, moving onto a new subject only once he had exhausted the last. He excelled in piano and music composition, training with a top Russian concert pianist and performing around the Northeast.

But by 21, a hand injury had ended his musical career. He was, in his own words, “in a low place” as he left his upstate New York home for Brooklyn to work in construction.

But a few months later, he found out about GS from a stranger on the subway who encouraged him to apply. “I can’t do that,” Wedd said when she first brought it up, telling her about how he lacked conventional transcripts and had never had a formal education.

But over time she convinced him. He applied to GS with the second essay he had ever written in his life, the first being for his GED. Now, he is set to graduate as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the most prestigious honors for undergraduates in the United States, with a 4.04 GPA.

“I thought I was going to fail that first semester,” he said of coming to GS without a formal education. “I studied maybe 12 to 18 hours per day my freshman year.” He was amazed by the “all-you-can-eat buffet” of knowledge at Columbia and has taken full advantage of it, taking courses in subjects ranging from philosophy to computer science while majoring in cultural anthropology, which he loves for its broad scope.

However, he has focused on one area both in class and outside of it: autism. Wedd has personal connections to the condition, and last August he cycled 1,000 miles alone across Alaska to raise thousands of dollars for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “That was crazy,” he said while explaining he still had lingering trench foot from the rainy experience. He also started the first autism-focused student group at Columbia, Spectrum Collective.

“I wanted to stop ‘silo thinking,’” Wedd said, referring to a phenomenon in which different disciplines fail to communicate about the same subject matter. He has succeeded in bringing together students and faculty from various research areas—biomedicine and teaching are two common ones—and lets the group’s members choose their own ways to be involved, be it online discussion, meeting attendance, or anything else they may suggest. He hopes the group’s dynamic format will help it continue to thrive long after he graduates this May.

Wedd is also making a splash in Columbia’s Department of Music, where he studied the intersection of music therapy and autism. He recently organized a symposium of leading experts on the subject. His thesis, “Autism and Music in Other Words,” uses field notes from his time volunteering at The Music Settlement in Cleveland to explore how queer theory can be applied to neurological differences such as autism. He proposed the term “neuroqueer” as an alternative to traditional autism diagnoses and “neurodiversity,” a new movement with growing popularity in autism research. Many of the ideas he explores contradict the current leaders in the field, yet he presented his thesis to those very same leaders during the symposium—and asked for their feedback.

The hundred or so people listening, including the experts, admired and respected not only Wedd’s research but also his courage as an undergraduate.  “You are very brave,” said Dr. Michael Bakan, considered America’s preeminent authority on autism and music.

One of Wedd’s core tenets is that labels are dangerous. He explained, while discussing his thesis, how others often conceptualize those with an “autism” label as having certain qualities or attributes that they may not possess.

 As a former concert pianist, self-educated Ivy League student, and long-distance cyclist, he certainly flouts any labels or pre-conceived notions himself. After graduation, Wedd will continue this nontraditional story while working for an emerging startup as a 2018 Venture for America Fellow.  

“I’m really going to miss this place,” he said. “The interesting person at the party is everyone at GS.”

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Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch has announced the featured speakers for the Columbia University School of General Studies Class Day ceremony and reception on Monday, May 14.

Class Day, which will take place on Monday, May 14 at 8:30 a.m. on South Lawn of the Morningside Campus, is a special event that celebrates GS graduates, and each one is presented by name to President Bollinger, Dean Rosen-Metsch, and assembled faculty and guests.

Class Day Keynote Speaker | Sasha Cohen '16

This year’s Class Day keynote speaker is School of General Studies alumna Sasha Cohen, an Olympic medalist, U.S. Olympic Committee representative, contributing documentarian, and writer.

After several years as a gymnast, Sasha made the switch to skating at the age of 7, and began training seriously at age 11. In 2001, Sasha suffered a broken back, but against all odds, recovered quickly and qualified for the 2002 Olympics, where she placed fourth. She received a gold medal in the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and took home the silver medal at the Olympics that same year. In addition, she is a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and placed among the top three in 20 consecutive competitions since 2003.

In 2002 she performed at the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II to celebrate the Queen of England’s 50-year reign. Sasha took a four-year break after the 2006 Olympics to pursue other opportunities, including skating tours, modeling and acting. During her competitive hiatus, Sasha studied for a semester with the intensive Moscow Art Theater at Harvard University and guest starred in Project Runway, Hell’s Kitchen, Las Vegas, CSI New York, Blades of Glory, and Moondance Alexander. Following her competitive career Sasha worked as an “Inside Edition” correspondent at the Academy Awards, an Olympic Analyst for “Good Morning America” and Yahoo Sports, and a speaker at Columbia University's TEDx conference.

Sasha enrolled at GS in 2011. During her time as a student, Sasha continued to tour and perform with Stars On Ice and completed a summer internship with Morgan Stanley. Outside of her studies, Sasha supported Figure Skating in Harlem, a nonprofit organization that aims to empower girls of color through education and access to the artistic discipline of figure skating, and Robin Hood, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City. Sasha graduated magna cum laude in 2016 with a degree in political science.

Sasha continued to pursue her interest in media after graduation as a News Associate at 60 Minutes and as Head of Content at Zig.

Currently, Sasha works as a disruptive change analyst for Morgan Stanley, speaks for the US Olympic Committee, and volunteers with several charitable organizations. She also continues to write, with pieces published inSports Illustrated and the New York Times, including an op-ed about the challenge of adjusting to, and finding meaning in, post-Olympic life. In 2016, Sasha was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Class of 2018 Valedictorian | Justice Betty

The valedictorian of the Class of 2018 is Justice Betty. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Justice knew from the age of four that she wanted to run for political office in her home country, and in the ensuing years pursued volunteer positions at varying levels of government on more than a dozen political campaigns, spoke at political conventions, and founded a civic entrepreneurship startup—the Political Youth Network. She represented Canada in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship in 2012 and 2014, when she was named one of the top 20 best high school public speakers in the world. Her interest in politics is driven by a fundamental commitment to improving the daily lives of individuals in the areas that affect them most: access to education, healthcare, and employment.

At age 17, Justice was admitted to the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, and moved to France in the fall of 2014. She served as vice president of the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, the student representative on the Columbia Alumni Association 2023 Task Force, a volunteer coach for Youth for Debate in New York City public schools, a GS Tour Guide and Ambassador, a Columbia representative to the United Nations Youth Forum, and an organizer for Columbia’s first women’s conference, She Opened the Door. In addition, Justice has remained active in Canadian politics during her time as a student in the Program, frequently traveling between New York, Toronto, and Ottawa to speak about youth engagement and female representation in government.

A member of the GS Honor Society, Justice has been named to the Dean’s list every semester, is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, and is a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship. She graduates with two bachelor's degrees: one in social sciences from Sciences Po, and one in political science from Columbia. After graduation, Justice will return to Toronto to join McKinsey & Company.

Class of 2018 Salutatorian | Marysol Yoo

The salutatorian for the Class of 2018 is Marysol Yoo. After graduating from high school in New Jersey, Marysol moved to Texas to attend the University of Texas at Austin. Due to a combination of financial issues, depression, and anxiety, she dropped out in the spring semester of her first year and began working in construction and landscaping full time, while taking night courses part time at Austin Community College.

In 2016, Marysol moved to New York City and enrolled at GS, where she found a purpose for her studies and life. With deeper insight into psychology and the importance of seeking knowledge on human behavior—gained while working with Professor Nim Tottenham in her Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab—and a background as a fitness enthusiast, she went on to found My 1 Body 1 Life, a nonprofit whose mission is to emphasize the interconnectedness and importance of mental and physical health while making holistic health accessible to all.

During her time at GS, Marysol has performed research, run campaigns, and managed social media marketing for The Human Network, a non-profit organization designed to connect entrepreneurs and thought leaders with mentors and corporate investors to seamlessly integrate volunteering into people's everyday lives. She has also served as a fitness instructor for the Trans Wellness Initiative, an organization that provides a safe, comfortable, and private environment for the transgender community to exercise and be physically active.

Marysol was named to the Dean’s List in each of her semesters at GS, and was inducted into both the GS Honor Society and Columbia University Psi Chi Honor Society. She was also awarded the Clayton A. Blaylock Scholarship and was chosen as a Gilman Scholar. Looking to the future, Marysol's chief aim, before eventually attending business school, is to empower people by providing them with resources and inspiration to take control of their own health and lifestyle through her non-profit.

Baccalaureate Service | GS Speaker

GS student Mary Reilly will speak at the Baccalaureate Service, which will take place on Sunday, May 13 at 10 a.m. in St. Paul’s Chapel.

For more on graduation activities and ceremonies, as well as a graduation checklist, please see the Graduation section of the GS website, a comprehensive source of information for questions about academic regalia, guest lodging, and much more.

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On the evening of Tuesday, May 1, the School of General Studies celebrated the academic excellence and outstanding leadership of students at the Academic Prizes and Student Leadership Awards Ceremony. Guests of the award winners joined faculty and administrators in recognizing the achievements of more than 100 students in the GS undergraduate and Postbac Premed programs. The ceremony was held in Low Memorial Library.

Award for Leadership Excellence

Alumni Key Award: Kevin Edward Graves
Awarded to a graduating senior for exceptional achievement and ongoing commitment to leadership and service to the School of General Studies community.

Campbell Award: Pawel Maslag
Awarded to a student leader who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by Bill Campbell '62CC, '64TC.

Dean's Citation, Undergraduate: Dennis Zhao and Samantha Demezieux
Dean's Citation, Postbac Premed: Chelsea Ora-Christine Faison
Awarded to a graduating student who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to outstanding leadership and service to the School of General Studies community throughout their academic tenure. 

Honorary Owl Award: Alex Wallace Loznak, Columbia College
Awarded to a Columbia student at a school other than GS who has made a contribution to the School of General Studies community through their leadership and service this academic year. 

Change Agent Award: Raisa Flor, Michael Higgins, Leyla Martinez, Isaac Infinite Scott
Awarded to a group of students who have made impactful contributions through their dedication to
equity, inclusion, and social justice to the School of General Studies and the Columbia community.

Spirit Award

Awarded to a select group of students who have made outstanding contributions through their dedication to leadership and service to the School of General Studies and Columbia University.

Undergraduate
Justice Betty, Jennifer Blandon, Ramond Hilrey Curtis, Benjamin Kyle Gersten, Jonathan Michael Harper, Sang Bum Ra, Jacquelyn Viggiano, Hannah Weiss, Sondra Woodruff

Postbac Premed
Marilou Virginia Fonti, Andre Darian Galis, Riva Letchinger, Allison Bernice Lonstein

Service Award 

Awarded to students who have distinguished themselves this academic year with a dedication to service and leadership within the School of General Studies and Columbia University community.

Undergraduate
Athena Guizar Ablang, Michelle Angela Amor, Humaira Awal, John Steven Ballew, Michelle Edejer Capuno, Estrella Verenice Castillo, Jesse Benton Cherry, Jonathan David Criswell, Adam Hawkins Croxton, Robert Gibson Dunn, Christopher Durham, Mark James Franklin, Melody Gomez, Sarah Rachel Haiken, Lucas Didrik Haugeberg, Roya Dawn Hegdahl, Damian Hernandez, Marc Nathan Hersch, Sitara Iva Herur-Halbert, Julia Dewey Hewitt, Yasmeen Abdullah Ibrahim, Cesar Idarraga, Anna Joe, Hana Joy, Crosby Ross Kisler, Albert Evan Kohn, Yona Aryeh Kornsgold, Alissa Ruth Kruidenier, Jake Law, Irina Liu, Eric Philip Lunzer, Sara Elizabeth Lytle, Jasmine Alexis Janay Mason, Sharisse McClure, Orly Michelle Morgan, Nathaniel Jison Padre, Michelle Laone Page, Tamila Pashaee Alamdari, Ethan Penn, Michael Anthony Price, Matthew Feng Cheng Quek, Joshua Francis Rivers, Nicole Rodgers, Michael Ethan Rovner, Loriebel Sal-long, Roy Segal, Kai Segall, Chris Sinclair, Sharanya Sivakumar, Katarina Skoko, Piragathesh Subramanian, Kevin Ruhi Tayebi, Elizabeth Ulanova, William Andrew Veitch, Simon Bartholomew Xu, Hoi Yan Shek, Reina Yi

Postbac Premed
Huda Abas Algasas, Donna Chesnova, Yelizaveta Vladimirovna Gribkova, Sarah Judith Jednak, Stefanie Lisette LaGalia, Michelle Sahar Nosratian, Kevin Matthew Paul, Ashley Marie Seidensticker, Adam Ray Taylor, Emily Willard

GS Student Council (GSSC) Excellence in Service Awards

Awarded to a faculty member, a teaching assistant, and an administrator who have made exceptional contributions to the School of General Studies community and its student body.

GSSC Excellence in Teaching Award: Daniela De Silva
Mathematics, Barnard College

GSSC Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award: Moira Pirsch
English & Comparative Literature, Columbia University

GSSC Excellence in Administration Award: Tessie Scroggins
Educational Financing, School of General Studies

Academic Prizes

Professor John Angus Burrell Memorial Prize: Judith Kilzer
Awarded for distinction in English and comparative literature.

Jonathan L. Gross Award for Academic Excellence: Yi Da Jeremy Ng
Awarded for excellence in computer science.

Computer Science Department Award: Mark Tongshuai Bao
Awarded for excellence in computer science.

Lillian L. Hacker Prize: Yiftach Yarmar
Awarded for excellence in the study of sociology.

Herbert H. Lehman Prize: Benjamin Makani Fortun
Awarded for excellence in the study of history.

Jennifer A. Pack Prize: Judith Kilzer and Marysol Yoo
awarded for excellence in the study of psychology.

Stacy M. and Russell D. Paul Prize: Millis Faust and Juliana Nitis
Awarded for excellence in the study of psychology.

Arthur Ross Foundation Award: Lou Abramowicz
Awarded for excellence in political science.

Judith Lee Stronach Memorial Prize: Eli Elad Aizikowitz and Jonah Chananya Goldman-Kay
Awarded for outstanding contributions in art history or archaeology.

Dean's Prize in Anthropology: Michael George Wedd
Awarded for excellence in the study of anthropology.

Dean's Prize in Creative Writing: Kimberly Caroline Viders
Awarded for excellence in the study of creative writing.

Dean's Prize in Economics: Shizuka Inoue
Awarded for excellence in the study of economics.

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The School of General Studies celebrated the Class of 2018 at the GS Class Day ceremony on Monday, May 14. Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch opened the ceremony and welcomed more than 1,800 guests, who joined faculty and administrators in recognizing the accomplishments of the 512 members of the graduating class, 164 of whom are New Americans or international students, 55 of whom will be graduating from the Dual BA program with Sciences Po, and 106 of whom are U.S. Military veterans, the most of any Ivy League university and the largest cohort of U.S. veterans to graduate from Columbia since World War II.

The ninth Dean of the School of General Studies and first alumna Dean, Dean Rosen-Metsch also welcomed special guest Milton “Mickey” Meshirer, a GS alumna whose granddaughter is graduating with the Class of 2018. Mickey started at GS in 1949, just two years after the creation of the school. Though his studies were interrupted by military service in Korea, he returned to GS following his service and graduated in 1954. “He joins us 64 years later to celebrate his granddaughter’s accomplishments and we get to congratulate Mickey and his family’s legacy at the School of General Studies,” Rosen-Metsch said.

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger spoke next and remarked that “General Studies is a truly, truly unique, rare institution; there’s nothing else like it in the United States and possibly the world. And that’s something that Columbia takes enormous pride in. Columbia wouldn’t be Columbia without General Studies.”

Following President Bollinger was President Frédéric Mion of Sciences Po, Europe’s leading university in the social sciences. He spoke of the common history of Sciences Po and GS and the collaborative, groundbreaking Dual BA Program that began eight years ago between the two schools. He implored the students with some parting words as they prepare to graduate.

“The future is yours. The time has come for you to get out into the world and as you go forth, I beseech you to be ambitious in proportion to the dreams that we harbor for you; I beseech you to be generous in proportion to the gifts that have been so lavishly bestowed upon you; I beseech you to be humble in proportion to the number and magnitude of the challenges with which our planet is faced; I beseech you to be joyful in proportion to the gloom that so many feel it is their duty to spread; and I beseech you to give as much love as you possibly can.”

Class Day Keynote Speaker Sasha Cohen ’16—an Olympic medalist, U.S. Olympic Committee representative, contributing documentarian, and writer—was introduced by Columbia Senior Lecturer in Economics, Sunil Gulati. Cohen encouraged graduates to look around them and appreciate what being a student at Columbia means to them. “You’re here because you wanted to be here,” she said.

She elaborated on her figure skating career and training for the Olympics, and after retiring from competitive skating at the age of 25, was not sure what was next. “I was spending half of my free time at the public library and I was hungry for a structured education. I decided to apply to Columbia School of General Studies.”

Cohen concluded by sharing pieces of advice she’s learned since graduating from GS: “Destinations are overrated, it’s about the journey”; “Define what success means for you”; and “Just show up every day; even when you think you cannot…you can’t control how things turn out, but you can show up.”

In her address to the Class of 2018, Salutatorian Marysol Yoo described how she went from being “just a nerd drop-out,” holding down multiple jobs, and overcoming seeing herself as a failure to becoming a GS student. After traumatic experiences during childhood, depression and anxiety surfaced, which led her to leave college. Citing research about fixed mindset versus growth mindset in regards to achievement, she shared how these elements influenced her life and helped her after dropping out of college. “My story turned from being one that was disabled, by my situations both present and past, to one that has a deep understanding that nothing in life is a failure; rather perhaps it is not a success…yet.”

Following these speeches, Kirsty Jardine ‘15GS, ‘16PH, Co-chair of the General Studies Alumni Association, presented Kevin Graves with the Alumni Key Award for academic achievement and outstanding service to the School, and Dean Rosen-Metsch presented the Campbell Award Pawel Maslag for exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit.

Upon the presentation of the 2018 degree candidates by Dean of Students Tom Harford, Dean Rosen-Metsch introduced the Class of 2018 Valedictorian, Justice Betty. A graduate of the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, “Justice knew from the age of four that she wanted to run for political office in her home country, and in the ensuing years pursued volunteer positions in government and on more than a dozen political campaigns,” said Rosen-Metsch.

In her valedictory address, Betty encouraged her fellow graduates to think back to their four-year-old selves and remember what their dreams were. “We can still preserve our propensity as four-year-olds to dream without limits. As we walk across this stage, we walk through a confluence of dreams, abilities, and opportunities,” said Betty.

She spoke about a moment at orientation when Dean Harford asked the incoming students to stand if: they were the first in their family to go to college, a Dual BA student, a veteran, working full time to support themselves while attending GS, a community college transfer student, a parent, and whether they were new to New York or a native New Yorker. “After a few moments, we were all proudly standing,” said Betty. “Many of us have done the impossible, having followed a non-traditional path, contending with college life struggles, alongside real lifestruggles, from working full time to raising a family. And our presence today—and our successes—are proof of what can happen when we take the opportunity or take a moment in our busy lives to dream.”

A member of the GS Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Beta Kappa, Betty graduates summa cum laude with two bachelor’s degrees: one in social sciences from Sciences Po and one in political science from Columbia. Upon graduation, she will return to Toronto to join McKinsey & Company.

“As the first class to graduate in my first semester as Dean, you will always hold a special place in my heart,” said Rosen-Metsch. She went on to conclude: “You embody in a spectacular way the mission and vision of Columbia School of General Studies and Columbia University.”

This year’s graduates join a variety of industries, including the arts, finance, law, and health care, where they will work for organizations such as McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, Google, the National Institutes of Health, IBM, and Teach for America. Many will pursue advanced degrees at institutions including Harvard, Sciences Po, Oxford, Yale, and Stanford.

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