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ALUMNI CORNER
CELEBRATING AND SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY
BY CHARLES J. O'BYRNE '81
PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
We’ve made it. It’s time to celebrate.
This fall, Columbia begins the year-long celebration
of its 250th anniversary. Among the first major
events, on Thursday, October 16, is a book signing
and party for Professor Robert McCaughey’s
scholarly history of the University, Stand,
Columbia, part of a full weekend’s worth
of special activities, including a campus-wide 100th
birthday salute to Alma Mater on Friday, October
17. You’re invited to these and to many other
celebrations throughout the year, and I hope that
you’ll find an opportunity to join the festivities.
[Editor’s note: Please see the Columbia250
calendar.]
The College is making a special effort to bring
this celebration to as many members of our family
as possible — events are scheduled around
the country and the globe. Dean’s Day/College
Day will take place in New York as well as several
other cities: Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston
and Miami. Columbia will have a special celebration
in Asia and take part in the festivities at next
year’s Henley regatta. This year’s Alexander
Hamilton Dinner, which will honor one of the College’s
most talented artists, concert pianist Emanuel Ax
’70, will be yet another opportunity to mark
our 250th in a special way.
There will be no shortage of such honorees in
the years ahead. It probably comes as no surprise
to you that this year’s entering class has
once again set records for academic excellence and
other achievements. The Class of 2007 was selected
from a record applicant pool of more than 14,660,
making the College, once again, one of the most
competitive schools in the world.
I’d like to take a moment in this column
to share with you some news that may not be as well
known to you. One of President Lee C. Bollinger’s
first appointments was that of Susan Feagin, whose
title now is executive v.p. for development and
alumni relations. Feagin is no stranger to Columbia.
A 1974 graduate of the School of General Studies,
she served Columbia as a development officer before
she assumed leadership positions at Harvard and
Michigan.
Feagin “gets” Columbia. She knows
the University’s strengths, and she is honest
about its weaknesses. She approaches challenges
with energy and enthusiasm. She understands the
College and appreciates its place in the larger
picture of University development and alumni relations.
She has developed a close working relationship with
Dean Austin Quigley and provides real support to
Derek Wittner ’65, our talented associate
dean of alumni affairs and development, and his
staff. Feagin frequently seeks the opinion and advice
of the College’s alumni leadership, and she
always is ready not only to listen but to work with
the College as we move ahead. Her decisive leadership,
creative approach and willingness to work with the
College has introduced a new espirit de corps
on campus that augurs significant changes for the
way we experience our ties to the University.
Feagin’s leadership reflects the role that
Bollinger has assumed since coming to Columbia.
Bollinger will be on hand with Dean Quigley this
fall to welcome the Class of 2007, just as he spoke
of the indispensable place of the Core Curriculum
when he addressed the Class of 2003 at Class Day
in May. Bollinger cares deeply about the College
and its needs, from the teaching of the Core to
performance on the playing field. He and the new
provost, Alan Brinkley, a distinguished historian
whose courses on 20th-century American history were
over-subscribed by undergraduates, are committed
to undergraduate education and to all of the issues
and concerns that are of such importance to the
College family: financial aid, student advising,
career counseling and athletics, to name but a few.
This year’s 250th celebration comes at a
propitious time for the College and its alumni.
Following the dean’s
leadership, it important for us to challenge
ourselves to think anew about the College and its
relationship to the University. Finding new ways
to participate in the University’s life and
to support its larger mission — from strengthening
the Arts and Sciences faculty to sharing in the
joy and responsibility of renovating Hamilton Hall
— are but some of the possibilities that lie
before us.
The commitment of Bollinger and exceptional senior
officers such as Feagin invites us to consider more
closely our role as leaders in the University’s
alumni community. The relationship between the College
and the University has not always been an easy one,
but I am convinced that the University’s leadership
is determined to make it stronger and more beneficial
than ever. It’s incumbent upon each of us
to be generous and broad in our support of their
efforts.
Speaking of fresh efforts, I’d like to formally
welcome the new members of the Alumni Association
Board of Directors: Gene Davis ’75, Jeremy
Epstein ’67, Andrew Fink ’91, David
Glaser ’78, Joel Klaperman ’67, Daniel
Maclean ’64, Donald Margolis ’63, Rachel
Posner ’99 and Ronald Simons ’82. They
were chosen by the board to fill vacancies, and
I am grateful to each of them for their willingness
to serve for the balance of this board’s tenure,
which ends in Spring 2004.
I’d like to close with a tribute to Professor
James P. Shenton ’49, who passed away on July
25. His love for the College, commitment to teaching
and lifetime of service as a public intellectual
on and off campus should be remembered and celebrated.
Shenton will live on in the memories of former students
and colleagues who were enriched by his pedagogy
and stimulated by a life marked by originality and
commitment. I can think of no better way of remembering
Shenton than by renewing our support and commitment
to Alma Mater in this special year.
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