Juneteenth: Now a University Holiday

The University Senate recently passed a resolution designating Juneteenth as an official University Holiday. After two years observing the day, Juneteenth has now been added to the University holiday calendar for this year and moving forward. The University calendar is always changing and evolving, but some holidays have a longer history than others.  […]

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Now Available | Columbia Bicentennial Anniversary Records

In 1954, Columbia marked its first 200 years with a year-long celebration. There were conferences, convocations, a weekly radio show, a commemorative US postage stamp, and a very special reception dedicated to the long-term Morningside Heights neighborhood businesses. From Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, attending the Charter Day Dinner to John Courtsounis, the peanut vendor […]

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What’s Cooking at Columbia: A Recipe Book

In 1942, the Columbia University Committee for War Relief published a recipe book containing the favorite dishes of Columbia’s faculty, entitled What’s Cooking at Columbia. The book sold for one dollar at the campus bookstore and according to the student newspaper, The Daily Spectator, all proceeds from the book went “to help cook Hitler’s goose.” […]

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Engineering Women: “Firsts”

Columbia College did not admit women students until 1983 for its first coeducational class, the Class of 1987. But that did not mean that there were no women undergraduate students at Columbia. Both the School of Engineering and General Studies were already co-ed. And in the 1970s, three women engineering students were claiming firsts and […]

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