Every Day Is Valentine’s Day at Kent Hall

Stand in front of Kent Hall and take in the classical design by McKim, Mead and White. Now, take a look above the second story windows. Among the recurring decorative elements, you will find engraved putti or little, chubby cherubs holding garlands and flowers. That’s right: there are “cupids” in front of Kent Hall, the […]

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Sylvia’s In Morningside Heights?!

Long before pop-ups became a thing, the Columbia Dining Services’ Guest Chef Program brought the Harlem landmark restaurant Sylvia’s to the John Jay Hall dining room. On February 4, 1997, students not only got to sample the restaurant’s classic dishes, but they were also treated to a performance by the jazz band Funky Bud, featuring […]

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A World Room Welcome

The announcement of Columbia’s 20th University President, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, was held last week at the Journalism School’s World Room. Journalism Dean Jelani Cobb welcomed guests to the World Room and shared a bit of the history of the Statue of Liberty stained glass window that anchors the room. A history, which he rightly claimed, […]

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Enheduanna and Columbia

For the Fall 2022 semester, the LitHum reading list was expanded to include The Exultation of Inana by the Sumerian poet and high priestess Enheduanna, 2285-2250 BCE. Inscribed clay tablets from circa 1750 BCE with the text of this work are currently on display as part of the Morgan Library exhibition She Who Wrote: Enheduanna […]

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When Physics and Classical Archaeology Converged

In 1895, at the memorial service for Augustus Chapman Merriam, Professor of Archaeology and Epigraphy, one of the speakers was Ogden Nicholas Rood, Professor of Physics. He started his remarks by stating: “One would suppose that there was no possible connection between archaeology and physics.” But both professors shared a commitment to scrupulous and deliberative […]

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