The CU Amateur Radio Club is not a broadcasting radio station (what we now know as WKCR). Amateur radio involves two-way communication between radio operators known as “hams.” Hams used to exchange QSL cards to confirm two-way radio contact between stations. In our display case, we feature some of these colorfully illustrated postcards. These include […]
Category: Columbia University Archives
A Football Championship Revisited
In the latest issue of Columbia College Today (Fall 2025), Charles Butler writes an amazing story about a recent “you-gotta-be-kidding” coincidence in Columbia football history. Last year, junior Jack Smiechowski helped Columbia win the Ivy League Championship (tied with Harvard and Dartmouth) and this year, as a senior, he is one of the co-captains. The […]
New Acquisition | A King’s College Diploma from 1775
Last summer we held a small exhibition focused on the diplomas awarded by King’s College, as Columbia was known before the Revolutionary War. The tradition of handing out diplomas at Commencement was started by King’s College’s second president, Myles Cooper, in 1763. We had in our holdings examples from 1763 to 1774. So what happened […]
The Baby Cup
In our current exhibition, Windows into the Past, we feature the Columbia College class photo albums from the 1850s to the 1890s. These volumes include photographs of the College president, faculty, staff and students as well as some campus views. But every so often, you will find a baby picture. Why are there babies in […]
On View | Windows into the Past: Columbia College Class Albums, 1856-1890
How do you capture your college memories? Columbians in the late 19th century took advantage of the new art of photography to collect their classmates’ images in keepsake volumes. A new exhibition in the RBML Chang Octagon showcases these photo albums and offers some insights into student life at Columbia before the move to Morningside […]