A President’s Degree and a Long-Lost Letter

As Columbia gets ready to host Commencement in person once again (May 18 for the Class of 2022 and May 19 for the Classes of 2020 and 2021) and in honor of Presidents’ Day, we look back to Commencement 1861. During the Commencement exercises in June 1861, Columbia President Charles King announced that the College […]

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Mystery Solved: The Presidential Keys to the University

At each presidential inauguration ceremony at Columbia, the Chair of the Board of Trustees presents the new President with the charter and keys to the University. In 1993, President George Rupp was notably struck by the very large crown-topped keys. Today we reveal the origins of the presidential keys to the University. […]

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Now Available | Shoup Tax Mission to Japan Records

We recently received some materials from Ellen Ruth Mayer, whose grandfather was former Emeritus Professor of Economics Carl Shoup. The records offer a personal record of the Shoup Tax Mission to Japan in 1949-1950 and its continuing legacy. These are now available to researchers as part of the Department of Economics records. […]

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Now Available | Columbia University Web Archives 1996-2010

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and see what Columbia’s website looked like before now? Since July 2010 the University Archives has been helping our users do just that. As part of its mission to preserve and provide access to the institutional history of Columbia in all formats, the UA has […]

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