By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 10/10/12 4:44pm

Goodbye to Some of That

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Departing Columbia J School Dean Nick Lemann is Looking Forward to Some Time Off

Columbia Journalism School Dean Nicholas Lemann announced he is leaving his post via email this morning. Deanships come in five year increments. Mr. Lemann is stepping down after his second term. He will return to Columbia after taking a sabbatical, during which he plans to work on an a book (he hasn’t decided on the topic) and contribute to The New Yorker, where he is a staff writer. In a phone conversation with the Observer between meetings this afternoon, Mr. Lemann said he’s looking forward to the time off.

“I entered the workforce three days after graduating from college and I’ve been working ever since,” he said. Read More

By Matt Chaban 6/04/12 6:10pm

Creeping Ivy

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Cap and Green

The Class Is Always Greener: Columbia’s Manhattanville Campus Earns Top Sustainabilty Grade

With the exception of a deadly construction accident in March, things have been fairly quiet on the western front of Harlem. Starting nearly a decade ago, Manhattanville became one of the most hotly contested corners of the city, as Columbia University first worked to have the neighborhood rezoned for a new 17-acre campus, approved in 2007, followed by the state leading an eminent domain case on the school’s behalf to repossess the land of two local business owners, which culminated in 2010. (Since then, the city’s focus has shifted south, to another university-led redevelopment.)

All the while, Columbia has gone about the work of creating the most environmentally progressive neighborhood in the entire five boroughs, all from whole cloth.

Last week, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded Columbia’s new campus with LEED ND Platinum, the highest rating in the council’s new-ish neighborhood development program. It is only the fifth project in the state to earn such recognition, and the first to achieve LEED ND Platinum. The designation means that the project has embraced the goals of accessibility, density, design and environmental efficiency, creating a model for future development.

“We like to think of it as a three-legged stool: environment, economy, equity,” Jason Hercules, director of the LEED ND program, told The Observer. “Manhattanville excelled in all three.” Read More

By Laura Kusisto 9/13/10 7:15pm

Creeping Ivy

A Weary Columbia Moves Full-Speed Ahead

Columbia’s prez, Lee Bollinger, almost breaks a sweat when he talks about the school’s plans to move ahead with expansion plans, reports Crain’s. “A note of impatience frequently creeps into the voice” of the ever-polished Mr. Bollinger when he talks about Manhattanville, says the article.

Apparently the former law prof found himself nonetheless Read More

By Steve Cohen 1/21/09 3:21pm

The Pageant of Democracy Continues

Inauguration day, 2009 was a thrilling affirmation of the United States and the most hopeful day I can remember. The American President is both our head of government and our head of state. He is both prime minister and king. And before about two million people, and millions more on TV and the web, President Read More

By Steve Cohen 11/20/08 3:02pm

Food for the Holidays

On November 19 Columbia University and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office held a conference on The Politics of Food. The half-day conference was devoted to one of New York City’s biggest challenges: ensuring that the public has ready access to high-quality food. Speakers included Columbia President Lee Bollinger, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, New York Read More

By Matthew Schuerman 12/18/07 11:00pm

Columbia’s Expansion Enters Endgame

Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, knew from the get-go that in order to expand, he had to win over Harlem. He and his aides went to great lengths to get neighborhood leaders to see what a new campus could do for them.

Somehow, months or even years later, Harlem, or at least Read More

By Niall Stanage 9/25/07 3:54am

Columbia 1, Ahmadinejad 0

It all came out alright in the end. After days of tabloid fury and protests on-and-off campus about the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Columbia University, the event itself was an unexpected success.

That outcome had much less to do with the remarks of the Iranian leader than with the contribution of Columbia Read More