The following message from Dean Josef Sorett was shared with Columbia College students at the start of the 2024 Fall Term.

Dear Columbia College Students,

Fall term is here, and I am pleased to welcome each of you to campus at the start of our academic year. This annual season of transition and growth allows each of us to consider, and embrace, the possibilities ahead — even as we continue to reflect on what has come before.

Of course, this is also a time of transition for the wider University. Our new interim president, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, has already shown genuine enthusiasm in engaging with students and hearing their perspectives. I look forward to working with President Armstrong as our community forges a path forward, while coming to terms with the lasting impact of last year’s events and the reverberating conflicts at their root.

At Convocation, I presented several questions to the Class of 2028 that I now pose to our entire community in the hopes of providing both a starting point and a framework for the work ahead. I ask that you draw on your capacities for curiosity and humility while contemplating your own answers:

Are you willing to disagree, and to admit when you are wrong? Are you willing to stand up? Are you willing to sit down and listen? Are you open to having your mind changed?

Reflecting on these questions with the earnestness they demand requires respect for yourself, for those around you and for the spaces that make this collective introspection possible. Each of you, and all that you hold within you, deserves to be seen, heard and valued. And, for our community to thrive, that obligation must be reciprocal. We owe each other — students, faculty, alumni and staff — the same respect owed to us.

I continue to believe in this community, just as I believe in each of you. Thank you for your partnership. As you pursue your education, we will continue to learn from one another and grow alongside each other.

With respect,
Josef Sorett