News Briefs

New Provost and Chief Operating Officer Take Office

Angela V. Olinto, a pioneer of astroparticle physics, became the University’s newest provost on April 1. She was most recently dean of the Division of the Physical Sciences and the Albert A. Michelson Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Chicago.

Olinto’s research has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the inflationary origins of the universe, the cosmological effects of magnetic fields, the structure of neutron stars, and the highest energy cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos. The implications of her work touch on everything from the workings of the universe to the evolution of life on this planet.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. She is a fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served on many advisory committees for the National Academy of Sciences, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Olinto has received numerous teaching awards, including, most recently, the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring at Chicago in 2015.

Cas Holloway began as Columbia’s chief operating officer on Feb. 5. As a member of the University leadership team, Holloway will provide strategic oversight in key administrative areas including Facilities and Operations, Human Resources, Columbia University Information Technology, Columbia Health and Columbia Technology Ventures.

Holloway has had a distinguished career as a public servant, business leader and entrepreneur. After earning a degree from Harvard, he started his career at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; he went on to graduate from Chicago Law, clerk for a federal judge and work as a litigator for two New York law firms. From 2006 to 2014, Holloway worked in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, eventually being appointed deputy mayor of operations. During the last decade he held leadership roles with Bloomberg and startups Unqork and Shiftsmart. Most recently, Holloway was a consultant to early-stage technology companies on their public sector strategies and advised organizations on a wide array of local, state and federal issues.

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Trilling and Van Doren Awards

Eleanor Johnson, associate professor of English and comparative literature and director of the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, and Sharon Marcus, the Orlando Harriman Professor of English and Comparative Literature, have been honored with the 49th annual Lionel Trilling Book Award and the 63rd annual Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching, respectively. The awards are given annually by the Academic Awards Committee of the Columbia College Student Council.

Johnson was honored for her book Waste and the Wasters: Poetry and Ecosystemic Thought in Medieval England (2023), which, according to the committee, “subverts common notions of the medieval era to make a gripping statement on climate change with clear and profound implications for the present day.” Her capacity for speaking to both the past and the present, and to literary and social analysis, fortified the committee’s verdict: “Professor Johnson’s scholarship speaks to the world.”

The committee awarded Marcus for her engaging and accessible teaching, concluding that she is “an outstanding and passionate professor with a fierce dedication to her students’ undergraduate education.” Marcus cultivates student- led discussions that she contextualizes with other readings and concepts that tie in. This high participation rate and inclusiveness made it evident to the committee that all of her students have a “strong grasp of the text and its key themes.”

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Class of 2028 Admissions Decisions

On April 1, Undergraduate Admissions announced that 2,319 students were offered admission to the Class of 2028 by Columbia College and Columbia Engineering.

These students were selected from the third largest applicant pool in Columbia’s history. In total, 60,248 students submitted their applications through the Early Decision and Regular Decision cycles. The admitted class includes students from all 50 states (as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands) and 108 countries.

“The students we admitted are so much more than their impressive credentials,” said Jessica Marinaccio, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid. “Through their essays and extracurriculars, research projects and maker portfolios, they have revealed remarkable depth, dedication and inspiration.”

A full schedule of in-person and virtual programming this summer, including alumni-hosted receptions in locations around the world, will allow admitted students and their families to get to know Columbia and their future classmates.