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AROUND THE QUADSCAMPUS NEWSTASK FORCE: President Lee C. Bollinger has announced the formation of a Task Force for Undergraduate Education consisting of deans - including Dean of the College Austin Quigley - and prominent faculty members, to “reflect on what we are doing well and consider opportunities for improvement of this essential part of our intellectual community.” According to a statement from Bollinger to the Columbia community, “The task force will review a number of broad aspects of our undergraduate education, including how well our curriculum serves the rapidly changing needs of an increasingly globalized world - a world that will require precisely the combination of highly specialized knowledge and broad general learning to which Columbia has long been committed. We will also explore the balance of general education and disciplinary specialization, inter¬disciplinary learning and ways we can continue to take advantage of our location in New York City.” Bollinger’s statement added, “In our early meetings, we will identify ways in which students, alumni and other members of the Columbia community can be involved.” PRESIDENTS: More than 1,200 students, faculty, staff and local media representatives crowded into Roone Arledge Auditorium on November 15 to hear President Bill Clinton and President Václav Havel of the Czech Republic discuss the challenges facing today’s emerging democracies. The event in Lerner Hall was part of a series sponsored by the Kraft Family Fund for Interfaith and Intercultural Awareness. President Lee C. Bollinger, who moderated the conversation between the former heads of state, pointed out that during the last century, there have been 30 new democracies, many of which are still struggling to become viable. He said that Clinton and Havel, both of whom have made the transition from the “poetry of political change” to the “prose of governing,” were ideally situated to provide these fledging democracies with advice on how to sustain their efforts. Havel said that the new democratic leaders should “think in terms of decades and act accordingly.” Clinton said that such leaders could find no better source of inspiration than Havel himself, who, along with Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, managed to change the course of history through nonviolence. The conversation covered many topics, including how one goes from being a head of state to a productive private citizen. “I made up my mind that I would not be someone who spent the rest of his life wishing I were still president,” said Clinton. “That seemed to be a stupid way to waste a day - and also an arrogant thing.” MANHATTANVILLE: On November 14, the University announced that the Business School will be part of the first phase of the proposed expansion in Manhattanville. The University expects the new Business School building to be completed in five years. The first stage also will include the Jerome L. Greene [’26] Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior, led by Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientists; a new home for the School of the Arts; and a permanent site for a new University-assisted public school for math, science and engineering geared toward high-performing students from Upper Manhattan in grades 6-12. It also will include the renovation of existing buildings, such as Prentis Hall and the Studebaker Building. For more information about the Manhattanville expansion, visit http://neighbors.columbia.edu/pages/manplanning/index.html. GATES GIFT: The Earth Institute has received $15 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to advance scientific research and efforts to slash poverty, disease and hunger in Africa. Under the leadership of Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, an interdisciplinary team of experts in agriculture, engineering, hydrology, public health and other disciplines has been implementing a dynamic strategy for achieving sustainable development in some of the world’s poorest countries. Due in large part to their efforts, thousands of people across a distinct agriculture zone in Africa now have access to clean water and alternative fuel sources, life-saving medicine, nutritious meals and income-generation opportunities.
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