Columbia’s Response to Other Pandemics

Students sent home mid-semester; online classes; non-essential staff and faculty working remotely; the cancellation of commencement. As the Columbia community continues to deal with the ever evolving COVID-19 health crisis, you may be wondering how Columbia responded to previous pandemics and health crises in New York City.  There are two interesting tales to be told. […]

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News from RBML’s Archivists | February 2020

New finding aids: School of Social Work Records, 1898-circa 2000s, bulk circa 1930s-1980s “Records of one of the oldest schools of social work in the United States, founded in 1898 as the New York School of Philanthropy and affiliated with the Charity Organization Society of New York City. The school merged with Columbia University in […]

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Spot the Differences: Columbia University campus view from 1903

Becky Chapin from the Geneva Historical Society recently shared this postcard with the University Archives. The postcard features a great shot of a very early Low Library and the Morningside campus. It also includes University President Nicholas Murray Butler’s signature and date, May 23, 1903. Look very carefully at the picture and see how many […]

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New Exhibition | Insistent Change: Columbia’s Core Curriculum at 100

In 1919 Columbia instituted a course of study known as Contemporary Civilization. It grew out of a War Issues course offered during World War I. Every student was required to take the course in order to provide a forum to analyze and discuss primary texts relevant to contemporary problems. Insistent Change shows how the course […]

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