Owl Magazine | 2023-2024

THE OWL

T HE A LUMNI M AGAZINE OF C OLUMBIA U NIVERSITY S CHOOL OF G ENERAL S TUDIES

The GS Legacy of Inclusivity

The Power of Philanthropy

NextGen Public Health Scholars

A Dean for the Future

THE OWL

The Alumni mAgAzine of ColumbiA universiTy sChool of generAl sTudies

Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 Dean

Curtis

Jill Galas Hickey

Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations

Aviva Zablocki Senior Director of Alumni Relations

Editor

Deborah Kirk Diablo Custom Publishing

Associate Editor

Noah Kutzy Director of Communications

Project Manager

Chris Olson Diablo Custom Publishing

Contributors

Nancy J. Brandwein

Eric Butterman

Shantel Clarke-Ross

Christina Gray ’15

Joanne Green

Kathrin Havrilla-Sanchez

Jill

Natalie Jankowski

Carrie

Noah Kutzy

Siena Iwasaki Milbauer

Dana Pasini

Debbie Rosenberg-Bush

Aviva Zablocki

Built on Diversity

As institutions of higher education rethink their pathways to achieving diversity, the School of General Studies reflects on its long-standing commitment to inclusivity—and looks forward to further realizing that goal.

Creating Pipelines for Tomorrow’s Public Health Leaders

An innovative collaboration between GS, the Mailman School of Public Health, and Hostos Community College encourages diverse students to become the next generation of public health leaders.

The Power of Philanthropy

Three generous donors—René Plessner ’60CC; Orina Chang ’01, ’04BUS; and Karen Shapiro ’73—are committed to creating transformative opportunities for GS students.

A Dean’s Time

In her six years as dean of GS, Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 has proved to be a dynamic leader with an impressive record of achievements and an inspiring vision for the School’s future.

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

Dear GS Alumni and Friends,

As we conclude the Spring 2024 term at Columbia GS and prepare for our beloved annual celebrations—Class Day, Commencement, and Reunion—I am so pleased to share with you this issue of The Owl, with stories highlighting the past, present, and future of GS. Our wonderful School was founded more than 75 years ago to give educational opportunities to returning veterans from World War II, and in the years since has become a home for nontraditional students of all kinds. Today, the student body is a dynamic mix of individuals whose perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences make the Columbia classroom like no other.

Diversity has always been part of our DNA. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year to prohibit race-based affirmative action in college admissions, schools across the country had to rethink their approaches to recruiting and admitting diverse students. Fortunately, GS already has in place many of the pathways and pipelines that ensure a diverse student body—from strong partnerships with community colleges and military organizations to a welcoming environment for artists, parents, and returning students. Our cover story (“Built on Diversity,” page 16) explores our rich legacy of inclusivity as well as our vision for the future.

Building off this legacy of creating diverse pathways and pipelines to Columbia, I am thrilled that this issue highlights one of the most exciting new pathways not only to a Columbia GS education but to graduate school and an essential career (“Creating Pipelines for Tomorrow’s Public Health Leaders,” page 22). An innovative collaboration among Columbia GS, the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and Hostos Community College, modeled on past partnerships, creates opportunities for diverse students interested in public health careers to bring their experiences and perspectives to Columbia and better serve their communities. The NextGen Public Health Scholars Program works with students in their first year at Hostos, mentors them through their associate degrees, enrolls them in GS to complete their undergraduate studies in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and then brings them to the Mailman School of Public Health to complete a master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology. The first cohort of this critical partnership started their undergraduate studies at Columbia in the fall of last year, and GS looks forward to their continued success at Mailman and their future careers as public health leaders serving our local communities.

Creating opportunities for students to come to Columbia GS, and thrive while here, is something we take great pride in, but we can’t do it alone. Thanks to the generosity of our donor community, we are able to offer scholarships and assistance to many deserving students. In these pages (“The Power of Philanthropy,” page 26), we feature three philanthropists whose contributions make an enormous difference in our students’ lives, and whose motivations, perspectives, and leadership are an inspiration to future generations of Columbia GS supporters.

Having welcomed our new Columbia University President, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, to her first Columbia GS Convocation in August, I was so thrilled to be able to attend her inauguration as Columbia’s 20th president on October 4, 2023 (“A Beacon in This World,” page 4). Since she began her tenure, President Shafik has been so supportive of GS and our students. I look forward to working with her to improve the lives and experiences of GS students along with all Columbia undergraduate students, to which she has already expressed a strong dedication. Collaborating with President Shafik makes me not only grateful for what we have accomplished in my six years as dean, but supremely optimistic about what lies ahead (“A Dean’s Time,” page 30).

Finally, I am pleased to note that our alumni profiles have been expanded to include a profile of an alumnus from our international dual degree programs. Anton Fredriksson ’15, a graduate of the first four-year cohort in our Dual Degree Program with Sciences Po, is profiled (“The Dual Edge,” page 46) alongside Maria Phegan ’14 and Marcelle Abell-Rosen ’97.

I hope you enjoy this issue of The Owl, and the people, stories, and accomplishments represented in its pages. I look forward to seeing you at Reunion 2024 and to celebrating our achievements, as well as our bright future.

In community,

Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 Dean

At her inauguration, Columbia’s first woman president, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, shared her vision for the University’s growth

After formally beginning her tenure as the first woman to lead Columbia University last summer, President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik was officially inaugurated as the University’s 20th president on October 4, 2023, in a ceremony held on the steps of Low Library.

A distinguished economist, President Shafik has been in leadership positions in a range of prominent international and academic institutions. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a bachelor of arts in economics and politics in the early 1980s, she continued her education at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), earning a master of science in economics followed by a PhD in economics from St Antony’s College, Oxford University.

Following her Oxford years, President Shafik began her career at the World Bank, becoming its youngest-ever vice president at age 36. In 2017, she returned to academia as the president of LSE, which she helmed until arriving at Columbia.

In her ceremonial remarks, President Shafik reflected on Columbia’s history, the importance of education to her own

personal journey, and her hopes for the institution’s continued growth. She highlighted the function of Columbia as a gathering place for great minds from diverse backgrounds. “I’m thinking in particular of our students at the School of General Studies,” she said, “who bring to these discussions a wealth of nontraditional life experiences.”

Addressing the new president on behalf of the Columbia student body, GS student and University Senator Bruce Goumain ’25 said, “Together, under your leadership, we will write the next chapter of Columbia’s history, one that will undoubtedly be filled with innovation, compassion, and unprecedented transformation.”

To conclude her speech, President Shafik shared her vision for Columbia as an institution that’s not only a friend to its neighbors but also “a beacon in this world.” She said, “Our work is to learn and to teach and to dispatch ambassadors of knowledge and talent to the places that need it most. We will build this on the legacy of the Columbians who came before us and who live through us, as our legacy will live on for future generations.”

A Beacon in This World

PHOTO: DIANE BONDAREFF

Student Lounge Dedicated to Dean Emeritus Peter J. Awn

The popular gathering place in Lewisohn Hall was renamed after the beloved dean

On May 3, 2023, the student lounge in Lewisohn Hall was dedicated to honor the legacy of Peter J. Awn, who served as Dean of the School of General Studies for 20 years. Dean Awn’s gifts as a scholar, teacher, and mentor were legendary, and his warm smile and vibrant personality endeared him to students during his daily visits to the lounge.

In 2019, Dean Awn passed away from injuries sustained after being struck by a car. Shortly thereafter, 30 donors came together and raised $3.5 million for the Dean Peter J. Awn Scholarship Fund and to name the lounge in his honor.

At the dedication, then-president of Columbia University Lee C. Bollinger shared a statement about Awn’s lasting impact on GS and the greater Columbia community: “Peter touched all of us with his presence and generosity of spirit,” Bollinger said. “He spent his life thinking

of others and finding ways to bring out the best in everyone. As I have said before, he loved the School of General Studies in the deepest sense and understood that the people in General Studies were unique— people whose extraordinary talents and drive to learn and succeed had awakened in them at an age other than age 17, and who could feel that special sense of justice when the world is right because there actually is a place where you could fit in and be recognized as such for your gifts and ambitions. ... I know if he were physically here today he would insist we all focus our love and support on the students of General Studies instead of him. But I will insist we do both.”

A memorial plaque, revealed by benefactors Larry J. Lawrence ’69 and Marcella Stapor ’59, now hangs on the east wall of the lounge, which has long served as a lively hub of student life.

Born in Brooklyn to Lebanese Christian parents, Awn studied theology and philosophy and was ordained a Jesuit priest before earning his PhD in Islamic religion from Harvard University. He came to Columbia in 1978 and, for two decades, dazzled with his wit, warmth, and deeply felt interest in the well-being of his students. Upon being named dean in 1997, Awn found a new calling. He would carry forward the work of his predecessors and fulfill the promise of a special undergraduate school created to realize and support the vast potential of nontraditional students. He embraced what was distinctive about GS, recognizing that the experiences of students who had lived in the world would add invaluable richness in the classroom. In all his activities, he revealed a curious intellect, an open heart, an infectious enthusiasm, and an irrepressible determination to lift up others.

in February 2023

On August 28, 2023, Columbia GS welcomed 495 new students to campus to begin the fall semester. Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik joined deans, University leadership, students, and alumni in speaking to the incoming class about the journey they were about to begin and how their diverse experiences would serve them well in academia.

Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 began Convocation by celebrating the achievements of the incoming class and welcoming them into the vibrant GS community. “As have thousands of GSers in our history, you are about to embark on a life-changing journey,” she said. “Your stories weave together to create a beautiful tapestry of voices, experiences, and expertise that is the very essence of GS. Now more than ever, your pursuits at Columbia and the convictions, dedication, and perspectives you bring to your studies are needed in our communities.”

Following Dean Rosen-Metsch’s introduction, President Shafik likened her own journey to those of the new students. “Like you, I am new to this campus, having started as Columbia’s 20th president in July,” she said. “And I say as someone who has experienced change once or twice in my life, beginnings are exciting, and hard, and everything in between. They introduce us to new people and ideas, challenge us to adapt to new situations, and open our eyes to new ways of thinking about the world and our place within it.”

President Shafik praised the diversity of GS students, forging their own paths in life and using their experiences to better connect with and understand the world around them. “That is the genius of Columbia

A Warm Welcome

Incoming Class Welcomed at Convocation 2023

General Studies, after all. The school was founded on the idea that life is not linear, that talent is found across backgrounds and experiences, and that our community is made stronger by embracing diversity in every sense of the word,” she said.

After President Shafik’s remarks, Executive Vice President of the Arts and Sciences

Amy Hungerford, GS Dean of Students Marlyn Delva, Dean of the Postbac Premed Program James Colgrove, and Executive Director of the Center for Civic Education Christopher R. Riano ’07 spoke to the new students, encouraging them to make the most of the experiences ahead of them.

To end the ceremony, General Studies Student Council President Nasser Odetallah ’25 reflected on the transformative power of a GS education. “This place will challenge you, inspire you,” Odetellah said, “and make you consider the new chapters your life might take once you have left this place.”

total new students (414 undergraduates, 81 Postbac Premed) first-generation college students students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree age range married students

A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

Meet five alumni who are giving back to the city that they— and GS—are proud to call home

After seven terms as a United States Congressman for Pennsylvania, Peter H. Kostmayer ’71 shifted his focus to advocacy and philanthropy. He returned to New York, the city of his birth, in 2005 as CEO of Citizens Committee for New York City, a position he held for 15 years before retiring. Citizens Committee provides grants to community initiatives and small businesses with a focus on empowering low-income communities and entrepreneurs from historically marginalized populations. During his time as CEO, Kostmayer extended Citizens Committee’s programming to include LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities and increased the reach of the organization.

Recognized alongside his husband, Doug Hirn ’14LAW, by Citizens Committee at its 2022 New Yorkers for New York gala, Kostmayer said, “That’s really the history of Citizens Committee for New York City, that we have really tried to empower neighborhoods and immigrant groups,” adding that the goal has always been to ensure that individuals and communities feel they “have a voice.”

Gale A. Brewer ’97 is a respected fixture of the New York political scene, most notably serving as Manhattan Borough President (2014-2021) and on the City Council representing the 6th District (2002-2013, 2022present). Across roles, Brewer has been a fierce advocate for her constituents. She has successfully championed legislation requiring paid sick leave for hourly workers, striking criminal history queries from initial employment applications, and ensuring that caregivers are covered under antidiscrimination protections. Brewer has also led the way on numerous important investments in neighborhoods, schools, and organizations across Manhattan.

After graduating from GS, she continued to maintain close ties with Columbia, returning as an instructor at Columbia and Barnard and delivering the keynote address at GS’s 2014 Class Day ceremony.

“Columbia’s commitment to returning and nontraditional students is unparalleled,” said Brewer.

“Increasingly, older, wiser, and more experienced students are entering higher education—demonstrating that learning truly is a lifelong process. I cherished my time at Columbia all the more with perspective from the wider world and with a clear sense of what I wanted to accomplish.”

PHOTO: CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NEW YORK CITY

Longtime New Yorker Evelin Collado ’10 is passionate about supporting New York City’s underserved communities. As Director of Budget and Legislation for former City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Collado helped shepherd the Municipal Voting Rights Bill into law, giving all permanent New York City residents the right to vote in local elections regardless of immigration status. Collado has also advocated for taxi drivers’ rights, helped obtain dedicated resources for ethnic media, and was part of the successful movement to unionize New York City Council aides. She currently serves as Manhattan Borough Director for the Office of the City Comptroller.

Collado’s GS pride is strong. “The GS population is one of the best assets that Columbia has,” she said in 2022 during new student orientation. “We bring so much life experience to the table, and the classrooms I participated in were so much richer because of the GS students who were there.”

A native of South Africa, Kirsty Jardine ’15, ’16PH brought her passion for public health from Johannesburg, where she was an EMT and emergency services volunteer, to her new home of New York City. At GS, Jardine was the first student accepted into GS’s dual degree program with Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, graduating from GS with her bachelor’s degree in 2015 and earning her master’s degree from Mailman in 2016. Subsequently, Jardine worked for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and most recently was the Senior Director of IT Strategy and Performance for the New York City Housing Authority.

Jardine has also had a big impact within GS, serving as co-chair of the General Studies Alumni Association. “One of the best pieces of advice my GS advisor ever gave me was to say, ‘whenever you walk into a room, never be afraid to sit at the table,’” Jardine shared. “GS really did give me the courage to realize that I can do anything.”

Returning citizen Daudi Justin ’18 is a champion for equality within the legal system, both as a New York City public defender and as coplaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) seeking to expand jury accessibility. Justin served nearly two years in prison after taking a felony plea deal on a drug-related charge, and following his release, attended Borough of Manhattan Community College before transferring to GS. He has since graduated from CUNY School of Law and is now an attorney with Neighborhood Defender Service, a Harlem-based public defender practice.

Justin may be working in New York courtrooms daily, but under current New York State law, he is barred from serving on a jury because of his felony conviction. The NYCLU suit challenges this exclusion by arguing that it disproportionately disenfranchises Black New Yorkers. “Jury service matters because everyone has a right to participate in a democracy,” said Justin of why he is pushing so strongly for change. “I think every defendant has a right to have the members of his peers in the jury system.”

PHOTO:

REECE

T. WILLIAMS, GOTHAMIST

Benjamin Arenstein ’18 Awarded Fulbright Grant

Benjamin Arenstein ’18, a graduate of the Joint Degree Program with Columbia and the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), was awarded a 2023-2024 Fulbright grant. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Chicago specializing in modern Hebrew language and literature.

Arenstein’s Fulbright grant supports his research into Soviet émigré writing in Israel during the 1950s through the 1980s, studies he is conducting at the University of Haifa. The goal of the project is to illuminate how literary networks established between the Soviet Union and Israel during these decades advanced innovations in narrative creation, an endeavor which complements and enhances Arenstein’s interests in language, cultural exchange, and the connection between places and the literature they foster.

Arenstein previously received a 2018 Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Award to teach English to college-age students at the Namangan Technological Engineering Institute in Namangan, Uzbekistan.

COLUMBIA GS BY THE NUMBERS

GS students named 20232024 Columbia World Projects Social Impact Fellows

GS students named fellowship winners during the 2022-2023 academic year

Students inducted into the GS Honor Society in December 2023

Members of the Class of 2023 inducted into the New York Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

Incoming GS undergraduate and Postbac Premed Program students welcomed to campus on August 28, 2023

GS students graduated in 2023

PHOTO COURTESY OF BENJAMIN ARENSTEIN

Equipping Veterans with Tools for Success

In partnership with national nonprofit Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP), Columbia University hosted its sixth Warrior-Scholar Project Humanities Academic Boot Camp in July 2023. Helmed by faculty from Columbia and other New York City institutions of higher education, including members from Columbia’s Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI), the boot camp is an invaluable gateway for veterans preparing to transition from service members to college students. Through an intensive curriculum filled with hands-on experiences and camaraderie, the program gives veterans the resources and confidence to succeed in their higher education pursuits.

“Getting off the train at Penn Station and hopping on the subway toward Morningside Heights, I was overcome with a sense that I had arrived,” said participant David

Ulicki, who served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.

This sentiment was echoed by Alexandria Durrant, an active-duty service member in the U.S. Navy. “To attend the boot camp at Columbia University felt unreal,” Durrant said. “You really felt motivated to achieve excellence in any way you could, academically and personally.”

Both Durrant and Ulicki praised the boot camp’s warm culture. “My time at Columbia renewed my faith in humanity,” said Ulicki. “The intersection of service members and PhDs was a beautiful sight to behold. And the professors’ grace and candor allowed us to open up to them and believe them when they reassured us [that we could do this].”

“It is important for young people of all backgrounds to see what happens in college-level humanities classes, and

The Columbia-hosted Warrior-Scholar Project Boot Camp is an empowering experience for veterans pursuing higher education

to think about how those classes might be useful to them as professionals and citizens,” said faculty member Professor Hannah Farber of Columbia’s Department of History.

“The Warrior-Scholar Boot Camps are a win-win,” said Professor Fiore Sireci, a specialist in social history, philosophy, and literature at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and a writing consultant for the WarriorScholar Project. “They introduce vets and active-duty service members to academic life, giving them an opportunity to realize their intellectual strengths. The boot camps are also a win for institutions like Columbia, where future veteran students will bring a level of diverse experience and commitment that enriches everyone in the classroom.”

“This was one of the best decisions I’ve made for bettering myself as an individual,” added Durrant. “I wish every military personnel wanting to go to college knew about this amazing opportunity.”

Deep Dives

Four GS students discuss their eye-opening research projects

Of the many characteristics that make Columbia a unique and exciting place, its status as a top research university provides invaluable opportunities for students to do deep dives into wideranging projects. At last year’s annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, over a dozen GS students presented their work alongside undergraduate peers from across the University. Here, four of them describe their recent efforts.

Analyzing Data Privacy and the Student Experience

Griffin Fadellin ’24

Undergraduate, anthropology major

“My coworkers and I are research assistants for a qualitative study on the effects of data surveillance on college students, under Dr. Madi Whitman from the Center for Science and Society and Professor Gil Eyal in the Department of Sociology. Through a survey and waves of interviews, we hope to learn what data privacy means to students and how the realities of data collection impact the student experience. As undergraduate researchers, we help conduct, transcribe, and analyze interviews, collect and cite recent articles and studies, and we have the option of pursuing further lines of inquiry.

Exploring the ways in which culture shapes our everyday lives has been a passion of mine since I first encountered anthropology at community college. I had never really considered a technology-oriented approach to social science research, but learning about feminist science, technology, and STS [sociotechnical systems] theory and methodology has broadened both the research questions I would like to pursue and the methods I can bring to a future research career.”

Studying Red Tides in the Long Island Sound

Dominique Jenssen ’24

Undergraduate, environmental science major “Before Columbia, I was a research assistant at Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota, where I studied cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Superior. As I transitioned [to Columbia], I familiarized myself with the different aquatic ecosystems of New York. This soon led to an interest in harmful algal blooms, a continued threat to the Long Island Sound. I joined the Tzortziou Lab in October 2022 as a research intern in partnership with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in pursuit of better understanding and protecting the coastal ecosystems I so dearly love. My work with the lab focuses on the specific phytoplankton that cause a specific type of harmful algal bloom called a red tide. To better understand these occurrences, part of my day-to-day work is assisting in analyzing images of these incredible microorganisms and determining which types of phytoplankton

are abundant in the Long Island Sound when red tides occur.

Through this research I have had incredible networking opportunities and professional development such as interacting with various private and governmental agencies, presenting at conferences, and working on outreach projects. Beyond professional skills, I found my research enhanced my academic pursuits as I had real-world applications for many of the concepts we are learning in the classroom.”

Preserving an Islamic Scholar’s Legacy

Sami Omaish ’25

Dual BA Program with Sciences Po, urban studies major “I worked on a faculty-sponsored project through the Undergraduate Research Fellowship. This was a Digital Humanities project led by Dr. Lila Abu-Lughod from the Department of Anthropology, compiling the life and work of Dr. Michael Gilsenan, former professor of anthropology and Islamic studies at NYU. While I didn’t

have much background in anthropology before completing this project, I had just completed two years specializing in the Middle East at the Menton campus of Sciences Po.

My dad’s family comes from Jordan and Syria, and since I spent most of my childhood in the U.S., I have been working to reconnect with this part of my heritage. Thus, it was the focus on the Middle East that drew me to this project. I worked with a research partner to transcribe and edit a series of interviews Dr. Gilsenan completed with other scholars, primarily those specializing in Middle East and Islamic studies. I am so thankful to have been exposed to the work of both Dr. Gilsenan and Dr. Abu-Lughod, as much of their work has allowed me to see this region that I feel such a deep connection to through different angles and perspectives.”

Exploring Social Media and Over-Tourism in Venice

Yardena Rubin ’26

Joint Program with the Jewish Theological Seminary, sustainable development major

“My research project, titled ‘Unveiling the Illusion: Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Travel Disconnect in Venice, Italy,’ delves into the relationship between social media and our perception of travel experiences.

After spending two weeks in Venice through the Global Columbia Collaboratory: Water and the Future of Venice program with the Columbia Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement, I noticed many of the issues that over-tourism causes in Venice. Venice’s environment is under considerable stress due to the overwhelming influx of

tourists driven by social media. This has resulted in many environmental concerns, such as increased pollution, erosion of historic structures, and challenges in waste management. This research became a way to bring awareness to the evolving dynamics of travel in the digital age, emphasizing the need for conscious and sustainable tourism practices, while harnessing the potential of social media as a tool for both education and global connection.

The insights and knowledge I’ve gained from this experience are invaluable in shaping my future career path and enabling me to contribute meaningfully to the development of solutions for similar challenges faced by other destinations worldwide.”

GS Honor Society Inducts Newest Members

The GS Honor Society welcomed 208 new members on December 4, 2023, in a ceremony at Low Memorial Library.

Among the new inductees are 33 firstgeneration college students, 5 veterans, and 85 international students. The ages of the inducted students range from 20 to 70, and they hail from 28 countries.

The evening’s keynote speaker was Michael Novak ’09, the artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and a member of the GS Board of Visitors. Novak credited GS with empowering his success by valuing his nontraditional expertise, and he predicted similarly impressive trajectories for the evening’s honorees. “Congratulations to all of you on embodying the fortitude, discipline, and passion that allow you to not only achieve academic excellence,” he said, “but to become catalysts in your communities and your fields.”

Established in 1997, the aim of the GS Honor Society is to gather a community of scholars who share a commitment to intellectual discovery and academic

excellence, as well as to cultivate interaction among those members both inside and outside of the classroom.

Building Community Through Creativity

The GS Arts & Research Collective exhibits multimedia works by student creators

By Siena Iwasaki Milbauer

For the past two years, the Peter J. Awn Student Lounge and the Academic Resource Center (ARC)—two of the biggest hubs of GS student life on campus—have looked a little different. Adorning their walls are student-generated paintings, writings, and photographs, alongside mounted QR codes leading to multimedia pieces such as films, performances, and songs.

This is the result of the GS Arts & Research Collective. Helmed by GS Senior Assistant Dean of Advising Kristy Barbacane ’12GSAS, the Collective invites students to submit their creations and then displays the selected works in highly trafficked areas. In the course of its three rounds thus far, the Collective has transformed the spaces at the heart of the GS experience, spotlighted the extraordinary talent within the student body, and sparked countless community-building connections.

Barbacane, a music historian by training, harnessed her passion for the arts to create the Collective as a vehicle to celebrate and strengthen the GS community. Since the first round in spring 2022, submissions have ballooned and the media categories have expanded. The 2023-2024 Collective features artwork by alumni as well as current students. “I think the Collective represents our community,” said Barbacane. “We have a diverse, robust group of students from all walks of life, and the exhibits express that.”

The varied personal and professional experiences that bring students to GS are reflected in many of the artworks. “I worked as an international fashion model for a lot of my life,” said Krista Kalaj ’24. “I learned a lot being on set, especially appreciating how people put so much intention behind their creations.”

At GS, Kalaj’s growing interests in photography, poetry, and songwriting have led her to become a three-time Collective participant. Kalaj shared that creating art for the Collective has not only been empowering, but also allows her to engage on a deeper level with fellow students. “The Collective really adds to the conversation in the community,” she said.

“The Collective is something I hold very close to my heart,” said fellow multi-round

participant Mikka Kabugo ’25. A lifelong artist, Kabugo instead followed a medical academic path prior to coming to GS. At Columbia, however, his love of painting has moved center stage and he is pursuing a double major in art history-visual arts and economics.

Kabugo noted that the Collective can transform campus spaces into “sanctuaries of experience” by exhibiting pieces that illuminate varied perspectives. “When we speak about people who are cultured or societies that have culture, we often refer to their art and their music,” he said. “I think the Collective is going to play a big role in defining GS culture, and by participating in the Collective I am participating in the culture of GS.”

Looking forward, Barbacane is excited to continue offering opportunities for students to shape and be shaped by a collective artistic culture. She said that some of her favorite memories from the Collective are when she frames and hangs new artworks—a task she does by hand each round—and is approached by students who share how much they value the vibrancy the Collective brings to their spaces.

“That engagement really excites me,” she said. “It reminds us that we’re in this community—an artistic, highly talented, gifted community.”

The Collective has transformed the spaces at the heart of the GS experience

Built on Diversity

As institutions of higher education rethink their pathways to achieving diversity, the School of General Studies remains an exemplar of recruiting and supporting a truly inclusive student population

By Nancy J. Brandwein

Illustrations by Giulia Martinelli

After the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting race-based affirmative action in college admissions, school administrators have been scrambling to figure out how to maintain and increase diversity in their student bodies. In this new landscape, the Columbia University School of General Studies finds itself in a unique and enviable position: a model for the way in which colleges can achieve diversity, in the broadest sense of the term.

General Studies Vice Dean Curtis Rodgers was particularly struck by a line in the majority opinion that aligns with the way GS has always looked at potential students. Written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the line reads: “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin.” Though it is framed within a deeply controversial opinion, this “oddly beautiful sentiment—challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned—is a description of what we do,” Rodgers said. “We evaluate a student’s experience along the way to their application. It’s taking seriously the lives our students have lived in the effort to figure out what you want your incoming class to be.”

That vision has long defined GS, although Rodgers and Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90, the Dean of GS, are the first to admit that the School can still improve its efforts to maximize the diversity of the student body, an initiative that was already underway at the School before the Supreme Court decision. Columbia University’s Common Data Sets for the last academic year, which provide statistical profiles of the University’s undergraduate schools, found that more than 40 percent of the GS student body self-identified as white, a higher percentage, for example, than at Columbia College and elsewhere in the Ivy League. These metrics did not factor in the socioeconomic and experiential diversity that has long been the hallmark of GS, but they serve as a significant reminder that achieving diversity in all its dimensions remains an ongoing goal.

“In many ways, GS is a test case in possible outcomes from this decision,” Rodgers added. “We know in evaluating experience and path, only taking into account socioeconomic and experiential diversity doesn’t necessarily lead to a comprehensive view of diversity; you have to be intentional about all forms of diversity. The efforts underway at GS prior to the Supreme Court decision are even more important in a postaffirmative action world.”

Diversity at GS was also on the mind of Columbia President Emeritus Lee C. Bollinger, a longtime defender of affirmative action, when he was interviewed on “Washington Post Live” a few weeks after the ruling. More than 20 years earlier, while president of the University of Michigan, Bollinger was the named defendant in the landmark affirmative action case Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. As Bollinger told the Washington Post, “We are in a pivotal moment. It is time to rethink admissions and higher

education. We certainly have been doing that at Columbia for … decades. I mean, I can talk about a wonderful program that exists at Columbia called General Studies [that] takes people from all different backgrounds [and] different ages and many military veterans.”

“The GS Moment”

As new Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik convenes working groups on how to approach admissions, Rodgers remarked that “the conversation happening with our new president is ‘How does the University take a lesson from [GS] and use this to think about how it responds to this particular moment?’”

Rodgers calls this time “The GS Moment” and notes that the rich mix of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and cultures within the GS student body is only possible due to a deep investment in finding, attracting, and supporting students who follow the nontraditional path. Leading up to this moment are decades spent laying the pipelines for channeling nontraditional students from communities as diverse as the military, performing arts groups, international schools, and—the largest one—community colleges.

Since GS was founded over 75 years ago to accommodate returning veterans from World War II, it has long-established ties

with military organizations. In addition to visiting bases directly and working with the Marine Corps Leadership Scholar Program, GS collaborates with several veterans service organizations, such as the WarriorScholar Project, and conducts recruitment sessions with special operations forces.

Now, because veterans are such a recognized part of the mix at GS—which boasts the largest enrollment of veterans in the Ivy League—word of mouth is arguably the most powerful recruiting tool. This applies even more to the world of performing artists, another prominent contributor to the diverse GS student population, but which has fewer groups organized around the transition from career to classroom.

Relationship building is also essential for recruiting community college transfer students. While those from community colleges make up only 7 percent of students at most selective four-year colleges, at GS 43 percent of the student body hail from community colleges, and these students are more racially diverse and less financially privileged than their more traditional four-year college peers. They are also more likely to be the first in their family to attend college.

According to Columbia’s Community College Research Center (CCRC), four in ten college students whose families are in the bottom quintile of earnings can be

PHOTO: SIRIN SAMMAN

found in community colleges, as well as 55 percent of Hispanic, 44 percent of Black, and 45 percent of Asian undergraduates. Thomas Brock, Director of the CCRC said, “I would hope all four-year institutions would look at community colleges as a way to ensure they are serving a diverse student population, diverse in all ways. … These are the very students that we should be supporting.”

To draw students from community colleges, such as top feeder schools Santa Monica College (SMC), Miami Dade College, and Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), GS has developed robust relationships with transfer offices and has admissions officers regularly visiting schools and connecting with promising students. In a 2020 interview, Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, Superintendent and President of SMC, praised GS for championing nontraditional students and setting an example for other selective institutions. “Especially of note is the active recruitment program and the application fee waivers for interested students,” she said. “By doing [this], Columbia brings marginalized students to the forefront and breaks down barriers for access.”

GS is creating innovative partnerships with community colleges not only to provide access, but also to create new models for reform. Started in 2021 in response to the pandemic, the NextGen Public Health

Scholars Program provides a pathway for stellar students from Hostos Community College in the South Bronx to get a BA at GS and a master’s degree at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. The goal is to recruit students from underserved communities most disproportionately affected by public health emergencies, such as the pandemic, and train them to be epidemiologists.

Our Stories, Ourselves

Once you lay the pipelines through which a diverse mix of nontraditional students can enter an Ivy League school, how do you ensure students come through them? While GS gets the word out via Google and Facebook ads and email marketing, Noah Kutzy, Director of Communications at GS, said that “one of the biggest [marketing] challenges we face is that we’re Columbia, and a lot of prospective students don’t believe there is a place at Columbia for them.”

Samantha Nina Anderson ’24 was one of those students. She started college in California, where she lived with her father, a single dad who was in the military. Yet the cost of college proved too high and she ended up in Brooklyn, where she had always stayed with her grandmother during her father’s tours of duty. Anderson earned her associate’s degree at BMCC

“We know in evaluating experience and path, only taking into account socioeconomic and experiential diversity doesn’t necessarily lead to a comprehensive view of diversity; you have to be intentional about all forms of diversity.”

and was trying to figure out how to finish her BA when she saw an ad for GS on her Instagram feed. “Despite my confidence levels at the time, I decided to give it a shot,” she said.

Aside from worrying about being an older student, Anderson said, “I wondered if I am smart enough, charismatic enough. I talked myself into this idea that it doesn’t hurt to hear no, so I was going to try anyway. That process in itself was a confidence boost.”

Four years after Anderson entered GS, she will graduate with a major in African American and African Diaspora Studies, an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that she entered as a single mother of a young daughter while also working a sales job.

Anderson’s story would certainly resonate with prospective students facing similar doubts and difficulties. Kutzy affirmed, “Our best tool and most powerful marketing approach is just telling the stories of our students. They’re so diverse, and we try to make sure we represent all of the stories so any prospective student can see themselves in one of [them].”

A scroll through GS’s social media feeds reveals the true heterogeneity of the students—from former model and investment analyst Rhaya Jacobs ’27 to U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant and Combat Photojournalist Gregory Brook ’24. Nontraditional students also get inspired to apply when they see GS students making headlines, such as Zuzanna Bijoch ’23 in the New York Post (“I was a teenage supermodel, now I’m valedictorian of my class at Columbia”) or Clive Thompson ’23 in the Philadelphia Inquirer (“His parents fought to stay in the U.S. Now he’s graduating from Columbia University.”).

“Challenges Bested, Skills Built, Lessons Learned”

Once GS students are in the classroom, their hard-won perspectives enrich all students. “I teach a First Amendment class to undergraduates every fall,” Bollinger told the Washington Post , “and there will be this mix of 18- to 22-year-olds … and there are people who are 25 and 40 and even older who have had many, many different life experiences. And it is an unbelievable combination of people to have in a classroom.”

“Our program is really built around this idea of complete and total academic integration,” said Rodgers, who credited the late GS Dean Peter J. Awn for setting GS on the path to this goal, and RosenMetsch for making this goal a reality. It’s why 86-year-old GS student Marilyn Glass sits in Professor Erik Gray’s Victorian poetry class with recent high school graduates. Glass entered GS in 1957 but left to get married. She applied in 2021 after a 60-year hiatus, during which she was a designer, single mother, business owner, art teacher, and caregiver to her second husband, who died in 2014. Still grieving, Glass realized that “I wanted to be a student. I wanted to go back to literature. I missed it. So I called the admissions office and asked, ‘Do you think they would take an 85-year-old former student?’ And a lovely man that I spoke to said, ‘We’d love to have you; you’d add so much diversity.’”

But age is just one facet of that diversity, one that encompasses those “challenges bested, skills built, lessons learned” mentioned in the Roberts opinion. Truman Scholar James Harvey Elliott II ’23 has no doubt that his experience was valued by his classmates. Elliott, who came to Columbia as a transfer student from Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC), had previously spent five years in prison for selling drugs. While in jail, Elliott enrolled in distance learning and developed a thirst for knowledge and a passion for prison reform. He went on to earn a dual associate degree at DTCC, where he became president of Phi Theta Kappa, the prestigious honor society of two-year colleges. During his

“A marine moving across the country, a mother of two with a spouse moving into housing at 30—these are very different profiles than a 17-year-old coming to us from high school. GS students have a range of support needs that are very different.”

first semester, Elliott was accepted into the Justice and Pandemics Preparedness Academy, a cocurricular activity open to students in Columbia’s four undergraduate schools. In a session on the pandemic and incarceration, he told students what it was like to experience a flu outbreak in prison. “I had these valuable experiences, and I shared them and, of course, students were very accepting. And I opened their eyes.”

Support for Divergent Paths

Some might ask: Why even have a separate college for nontraditional students when people like Elliott and Glass sit in classes alongside other Columbia University peers? As Rodgers put it: “A marine moving across the country, a mother of two with a spouse moving into housing at 30—these are very different profiles than a 17-yearold coming to us from high school. GS students have a range of support needs that are very different.”

And support is abundant, making it possible for nontraditional students to flourish in an often daunting environment. For the veterans community, Columbia University

MilVets provides mentoring, physical and mental health resources, and transition and integration services that help vets find their path from service to academia.

The Academic Resource Center offers tutoring and summer Jumpstart sessions for GS students who, while having unique life experiences and strong resumes, often lack the skills, experience, and confidence for success in academia. All GS students have dedicated academic advisors who provide both academic and personal support. Glass credits advisor Joshua Edwin, Associate Dean of Students, with encouraging her to pace herself by taking only one or two courses a semester. Elliott praises Sara Remedios, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Academic and Learning Initiatives: “When it comes to issues, from needing an exception because the workload is heavy … an emergency with my daughter, or a court date, she’d be, ‘I’m on it, James. What can I do to advocate for you?’”

Both Elliott and Anderson relied on the GS community itself for support, especially as parents of young children. Anderson found “people who kind of get it, who have work experience, who have children,” in her core University Writing class. Elliott said, “I used to be able to tell if I was sitting next to a GS student. … What is it? It’s just GS deciding to be equitable, right? And to make an effort to bring students like myself to Columbia’s campus.”

Creating Pipelines for Tomorrow’s Public Health Leaders

An innovative collaboration between GS, the Mailman School of Public Health, and Hostos Community College encourages diverse students to pursue careers in public health

By Carrie Kirby

For Dr. Charles Branas, realizing that community college students could help fill the need for public health professionals from underserved communities was a light-bulb moment. Connecting with Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis, President of Hostos Community College in the South Bronx, made the idea seem workable.

But there was something missing: a bridge to connect qualified Hostos students to the Mailman School of Public Health, where Dr. Branas chairs the Department of Epidemiology.

Columbia University School of General Studies turned out to be the perfect bridge. With its ability to welcome nontraditional students, GS became “the very center” of the NextGen Public Health Scholars Program, Dr. Branas said.

A 2+2+2 scholarship program, NextGen identifies exceptional students in their first year at Hostos, mentors them through the completion of their associate degrees, enrolls them in GS to complete Columbia University bachelor’s degrees, and finally brings them to the Mailman School of Public Health, where they can study epidemiology or another public health specialty and become the type of leaders the field needs most.

The first cohort of this innovative public/ private partnership started at Columbia in the fall of 2023, and to say that the program has succeeded in identifying untapped talent is an understatement.

Hawa Abraham, 37, a mother of three children under age 14, attended Hostos while also serving as a full-time community health worker at Montefiore Medical Center. She helped low-income Montefiore patients navigate the medical system and identified social contributors to health problems. She also authored a literature

review on food insecurity in the South Bronx for the hospital. A native of Sierra Leone, Hawa lived as a refugee in Guinea for five years before starting a nursing degree in Liberia, then immigrating to the United States with her husband.

Hawa was excited to move to the U.S., where she hoped to complete her education and begin combatting the type of suffering she’d seen growing up as a refugee—and that she would continue to see in her new community. But without residency, she ran into trouble with both enrollment and funding, and reluctantly put her education on hold for years before enrolling at Hostos.

Andrea de los Angeles Vasquez Guillen, 26, and her sister Maria Jesus Vasquez Guillen, 27, had already collaboratively published two papers in scientific journals in Venezuela and Ecuador on complications of Covid-19. They had studied medicine in their home country of Venezuela before social unrest and violence, often right on their campus, forced them to emigrate. Andrea recalls taking a final exam while police battled an anti-government group outside the classroom.

“It was like taking a test in the middle of a war,” she recalled.

While attending Hostos, both sisters conducted research with the American Heart Association (AHA), Andrea working at a New York University lab and Maria at Brooklyn’s State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. Based on her work, Andrea co-authored a paper on cardiovascular complications of Covid-19, published in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research, and Maria collaborated on a poster presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions conference.

Although the sisters started out in Hostos’ nursing program, they were thrilled to

“Without this program, we never would have connected with these folks. This is a great opportunity for these students, but it’s also a great opportunity for us as a public health community.”

change direction through the NextGen program, since public health and epidemiology have always been part of their long-term goals.

All three members of the first cohort would be exemplary candidates for the Mailman School of Public Health without the NextGen program, Dr. Branas said.

But, he added, “Without this program, we never would have connected with these folks. This is a great opportunity for these students, but it’s also a great opportunity for us as a public health community.”

Covid Exposed Shortcomings

While the need for more representation from underserved communities has long been recognized in public health, the pandemic threw that need into stark perspective and helped inspire the NextGen program.

Although Covid hit the Bronx and other diverse neighborhoods of New York hard,

healthcare workers struggled to bring neighbors into vaccination sites. “Part of the concern was that there weren’t enough folks from the local community who were epidemiologists—or care providers at those local sites,” Dr. Branas said.

As Dr. Branas contemplated this problem at Mailman, across the Harlem River, leaders at Hostos were studying the same issue. “Through the pandemic, communities of color were disproportionately impacted in terms of rates of mortality, of not having access to information, and of being subject to misinformation—for example, being afraid of getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Sofia Oviedo, Research Programs Director at Hostos. “The best way to share the needed information is to make the communities feel that they can trust you, and to make treatments and prevention measures available in a culturally responsive way. That is why it’s critical to have professionals of diverse backgrounds meet the needs of our communities of color.”

With strong healthcare programs and a student body of diverse backgrounds and life experiences, Hostos could fill that need. And facilitating transfer opportunities to bachelor’s and graduate programs is one of Hostos’s core goals, making the NextGen program an ideal partnership.

The applicants, too, were influenced by what they saw during the pandemic.

As Hawa saw Covid rake through her neighborhood, she drew upon her nursing training, exhorting neighbors to take precautions. Then, as pandemic restrictions squeezed incomes, she noticed longer lines at food pantries, bringing her back to her refugee days.

“I’ve been in that position. I would stand in line for food. So, when Covid came, it was like a replay.”

All this inspired Hawa to shift her educational goals, beginning with Hostos as a community health major and then applying to the NextGen program.

Funding the Opportunity

Working together, Hostos, GS, and Mailman have assembled a patchwork of funding to ensure that the first two cohorts will be able to complete their six-year journey with full tuition coverage, as well as stipends and free monthly MetroCards. Hostos drew on a small portion of a grant the school received from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, as well as a congressional earmark, while Mailman used grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

However, the program will need ongoing funding to continue bringing at least two qualified Hostos students to Columbia each year, Dr. Branas said.

Columbia GS Makes the Connection

GS has plenty of experience as a pathway for community college students to thrive at Columbia. One thing that’s exciting and different about NextGen is the opportunity to work with the incoming students before they arrive at Columbia, said GS Director of Admissions Matthew Rotstein.

One of GS’s strengths is its dedicated advising staff, who are well versed in challenges unique to nontraditional students. GS advisors are able to help Hostos’s NextGen students select their second-year courses to best prepare them for GS and Mailman.

For example, Rotstein said, knowing that a student may study epidemiology at

Mailman, the advisor might encourage them to take calculus in their second year at Hostos. Advisors can also help students maximize transfer credits to Columbia.

Now at Columbia, all three members of the first cohort appreciate GS’s University Studies course, where they are learning about the vast array of resources available on campus.

For her part, Andrea also appreciates the social connections she has made in GS. “One of the things I like the most about GS is getting to know people in a similar situation,” she said. “Knowing that you are not alone in this University that can be overwhelming is very helpful—and it makes you feel like you belong to this place, too.”

“The best way to share the needed information is to make the communities feel that they can trust you. ... That is why it’s critical to have professionals of diverse backgrounds meet the needs of our communities of color.”

Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Maria Jesus Vasquez Guillen, Hawa Abraham, Andrea de los Angeles Vasquez Guillen, and Dr. Charles Branas.

The Power of PHILANTHROPY

Meet three generous donors whose support creates transformative opportunities for GS students

By Kathrin Havrilla-Sanchez

As part of President Emeritus Lee C. Bollinger’s historic Columbia Student Support Initiative, the School of General Studies is committed to improving access, financial aid, and opportunities for students through increased fundraising efforts.

“At 76 years old, GS is a young school compared to some of our peers in terms of raising funds and growing our endowment,” said Jill Galas Hickey, Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations. “We are constantly focused on getting our students through school with limited debt, and the Student Support Initiative has allowed us to build momentum and be even more successful for our students’ ultimate benefit.”

GS is well on its way to achieving its goal of raising $60 million by the summer of 2025—a feat that would not be possible without the contributions from members of the GS community. Here, three generous donors share their motivations and goals for supporting GS students.

René Plessner ’60CC: Rooting for the Underdog

One dedicated friend of the GS community is René Plessner ’60CC, President of René Plessner Associates, Inc., an executive search firm that specializes in recruiting for entrepreneurial companies.

“I had always made minor contributions to the Columbia College Fund, but about five years ago I decided it was time to give back in a larger way,” said Plessner. “I created a charitable trust and decided I wanted to give money where it might have the greatest impact.”

Plessner began by supporting Columbia’s Double Discovery Center, a comprehensive program that aids first-generation students from low-income neighborhoods in Harlem and Washington Heights. He then learned about GS’s mission and became invested in supporting students in need of assistance, creating the René Plessner Scholarship for formerly incarcerated students and making contributions to the Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students.

“I have always rooted for the underdog,” said Plessner, who invites his scholarship recipients and other members of his support network to an annual breakfast. “It is more than writing a check. I get to know these students and help them build a network. It’s a good feeling to be kind to someone, and it makes you happier while also being helpful to society.”

As for encouraging others who might want to make philanthropic contributions, Plessner said that he gives them the same advice he gave himself years ago: “If you want to be more involved, give money to a cause that’s important to you, and don’t worry if it’s only a small amount to start with. Students will still benefit from your generosity.”

“It’s a good feeling to be kind to someone, and it makes you happier while also being helpful to society.”

René Plessner

President, René Plessner Associates, Inc.

Why

he gives

“Giving to a cause you believe in and is helpful to society makes you a happier person. It is wonderful to know that you are helping someone get an education.”

A bit of backstory

Prior to launching his executive search firm in 1972, Plessner started Spectrum Cosmetics, Inc., a manufacturer of a beauty product line for Black women.

Orina Chang ’01, ’04BUS

Alternative Investments Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, and International Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley

Why she gives

“Higher education is the key to social mobility, and we should do whatever we can to help facilitate access for anyone who wants that life-changing opportunity.”

A bit of backstory

While waiting for graduate school acceptance letters, Chang took a two-month, around-the-world trip with just one carry-on suitcase. Her favorite places were Bali, Austria, and Japan.

Orina Chang ’01, ’04BUS: Supporting Intellectual Curiosity

Orina Chang ’01, ’04BUS has chosen to support nontraditional students— of which she was one herself—to give them the opportunity for intellectual exploration. Born in Taiwan, Chang came to the United States at the age of 14. Her higher education journey began when she enrolled in college to study computer science because her father felt it would provide financial security. But she realized it wasn’t what she wanted for her career path and unenrolled.

Chang then worked for five years at a private equity firm in New York City before it went public, and she sold her shares. With this financial freedom, she saw her chance to fulfill her dream of going back to school—but this time, she wanted to pursue her own intellectual interests and enrolled in GS to earn a degree in East Asian Studies.

“I believe that higher education is the key to social mobility, and everyone should have access to it.”

“I was lucky and ready for the next opportunity,” she said. “GS is a very different kind of school. There is a high caliber of students and an exciting intellectual exchange of views. As an older student, I found it fun and interesting to attend classes with people of all different ages.” But when Chang saw how much financial assistance some of her fellow GS students required to graduate, she knew she could help lighten their burden.

“I believe that higher education is the key to social mobility, and everyone should have access to it,” said Chang, who is Alternative Investments Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, and International Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. “GS has so many success stories of people who have built a career around a passion—dancers, actors, models, and more—and who come back to school looking to add something intellectual to their lives.”

Much like Plessner, Chang believes that no donation is too small; she also encourages burgeoning philanthropists to consider other ways to contribute to a cause.

“We all have something to give, even if it’s not financial,” said Chang, who is a member of the GS Board of Visitors and a mentor to many students seeking guidance. “You can donate your time, your knowledge, your expertise—whatever it takes to help our school and its students.”

Karen Shapiro ’73: Bolstering Confidence and Changing Lives

When Karen Shapiro ’73 came to GS, she was a recently divorced mother of two young children. She decided to put herself through college to create a better future for her family.

“I grew up thinking that I would complete college, but I married at 19, dropped out of school in my sophomore year to have kids, and was divorced at 24,” said Shapiro. “I was thrilled to get into GS and receive a partial scholarship. I had always loved school when I was younger, and I had wonderful experiences here.”

After earning a degree in Cognitive Psychology from GS, Shapiro went on to earn a PhD in Communications Research from Stanford, where she also served as an acting assistant professor. She worked in retail banking for 18 years before co-founding Dedicated Defined Benefit Services, a retirement plan company for small businesses. She is now retired.

In 2018, Shapiro felt financially prepared to give back to her alma mater and decided to create a scholarship to help people with the same kinds of life challenges that she had once faced. For five years, the KARS Single Moms Scholar Fund has

helped make a GS education possible for nontraditional students ranging from the formerly incarcerated to single parents.

“I had never thought of funding a scholarship; I didn’t even know an individual could do that,” said Shapiro. “The scholarship I was given to attend GS was not huge, but it was enough to make me feel empowered at a time when I had a lot of self-doubt. GS changed my life and my trajectory. I want to give that same kind of boost to future students.”

Shapiro underscores that the process of creating an endowed scholarship was easier than she envisioned. She had five years to contribute the base amount, and her scholarship will continue in perpetuity, thanks to the excellent management of GS’s endowment.

“It is important to know that you do not have to be a mega billionaire to make impactful giving a part of your life,” said Shapiro. “If more people knew how doable it is, more people would make it happen.”

“GS changed my life and my trajectory. I want to give that same kind of boost to future students.”

Karen Shapiro ’73 CEO, Dedicated Defined Benefit Services, LLC (retired)

Why she gives

“As a single mother when I started at GS, I have so much gratitude for how much my education changed my life. Through my scholarship fund, I feel like I have a personal connection to someone else’s welfare and lifelong success.”

A bit of backstory

Shapiro is a founding member of the board of directors of the New York International Children’s Film Festival and currently a volunteer with SCORE, a national mentoring service.

A Dean’s Time

By Eric Butterman

In her six years as dean of GS, Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 has proved to be a dynamic leader with an inspiring vision for the School’s future

Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90, who became the ninth dean of Columbia School of General Studies in 2018, was faced with an unprecedented challenge just two years into her tenure: the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. One could argue that it was the worst time to take over as a dean, but it may have been the right time—especially when you’re a dean who has spent her career focused on health, both physical and mental. Previously Chair and Stephen Smith Professor, Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, RosenMetsch hopes her time as dean will be remembered for far more than the word “disease.” Persistent, collaborative, purposeful—these words best describe a visionary leader who continues to move GS toward an even brighter future. Here, The Owl looks at some of Rosen-Metsch’s many accomplishments to date.

A Place for Women Veterans

With women in the minority in the armed forces, a relatively small group of women veterans call GS home. But Rosen-Metsch felt GS should feel even more like home for them, and her decision to host roundtables

for women veterans was critical in that transition. She regularly welcomes them— along with female administrators and guest speakers—to discuss a variety of topics and shared experiences as part of the Dean’s Women Leaders Roundtable program, forming a community that many realized they needed.

“I was in my first year at about the time Dean Rosen-Metsch started, and she was so open, warm, and welcoming,” recalled Ebonnie Goodfield ’24, a U.S. Navy veteran and former vice president of Military Veterans of Columbia University (MilVets). “But I had no idea about the commitment she had to women veterans. The roundtables made a big impact on me. I had not been in a space like that since [I left] the military in 2015. They allow us to put our voice forward and make connections with others who are going through what we have experienced. And the guest speakers are inspirational.”

Stepping Up to the Pandemic Challenge

The pandemic was a challenge for all in education, but it was just the kind of trial the dean was made for, said Ali Block ’20, a professional ballet dancer and research assistant at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. “Her concern was what translated to us during this difficult time. Everything that the School communicated to us was to take care of ourselves. She kept in touch with us about the steps the School was taking to allow us to keep succeeding as students. You could have worried you’d be left in the dark, but she took that worry away.”

When an in-person graduation was finally a go, in 2022, Rosen-Metsch made sure it was a memorable and meaningful event. “She would not allow our graduating experience to just disappear,” said Block, who was Class Day Speaker for 2022 GS

Class Day and salutatorian of her class.

“She raised funds to help anyone who was not in New York City to help them fly back for the ceremony. This is one of the most important accomplishments someone might have, and she didn’t want graduating students to lose the experience they earned. She made such an effort to honor us—and she made me proud that I was one of them.”

Building the Alumni Community and Enhancing Fundraising Efforts

Early in her tenure, Rosen-Metsch saw an opportunity to strengthen the GS community even further.

“I had the goal of expanding the Board of Visitors and bringing it together to improve GS,” said Rosen-Metsch, who received her GS degree as part of the Joint Program with the Jewish Theological Seminary. “I know how passionate people are about what we do.”

The board makes a commitment to participate in the life of GS in many ways, from mentoring students and attending alumni events to supporting the school financially and helping to identify other financial resources. Susan Feagin ’74, Chair of the Board of Visitors, said Rosen-Metsch is an inspirational force in expanding the community and bolstering fundraising possibilities.

“From the beginning, she was so ambitious for GS and the impact its alumni could have in the world,” said Feagin, who served as Executive Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia from 2002 through 2010 and spent five years as special advisor to Columbia University President Emeritus Lee C. Bollinger. “One of the first things she did was reorganize the advisory board into a more structured, more formal Board of Visitors.”

Rosen-Metsch embraces fundraising and proactively shares her belief in GS and its mission with potential contributors, added Feagin.

“Several years ago, we talked about launching a new financial campaign, and she floated a goal of $60 million,” Feagin said. “It was a much bigger goal than GS had ever set before, but her energy and charisma inspired us. A very devoted alum, Larry Lawrence ’69, ’71BUS, stepped up with the first $5 million commitment, and we have had many gifts since. We even have a second $5 million commitment. We are more than halfway to that $60 million goal. She got us to believe it was possible.”

Feagin believes that Rosen-Metsch’s commitment and success not only come from being dean of GS but also an alumna. “It is special when she can share her personal experiences as a General Studies student,” Feagin said. “And her professional work is so aligned with her vision for GS.”

In fact, an accomplishment tied to her internationally recognized scholarly career, in which she has focused on issues affecting persons living with HIV and substance abuse disorders, is one of Rosen-Metsch’s proudest moments. “I was able to develop with GS students a course called AIDS and U.S. Society,” said RosenMetsch, whose research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has been widely published in journals such as Journal of the American Medical Association, Addiction, and American Journal of Public Health. “It is important to understand what the response was by society, how the health community went about treatment, and where we are today. Working [with students] to develop the class is part of what made it special. We learned from each other.”

A Dean for the Road Ahead

The pandemic serves as a reminder that unexpected challenges can always await, but the GS community is ready with tremendous strength of spirit, especially with Rosen-Metsch at the helm. “She makes you feel like she is in every student’s corner,” Goodfield said. “You can tell it is more than a job to her. It is a calling.”

For Rosen-Metsch, the years ahead are both an opportunity and an honor.

“I am excited about the many ways we can give more people a chance to earn a Columbia degree,” she said. “The whole point of GS is that you can do more than you ever thought possible. I have had my own powerful experience in what this degree can do. I am lucky to be a part of this.”

Above: Dean

celebrates with alumni, performers, and guests following the 2023 Reunion Weekend marquee event, A Celebration of the Performing Arts at Columbia. PHOTOS BY DIANE BONDAREFF

Top: Veteran Ebonnie Goodfield ’24, Dean Rosen-Metsch, Kikka Hanazawa ’00, and veteran Elizabeth Bordi ’23.

Rosen-Metsch

Screen Sharing

Professor Rob King brings his passion for film history to the classroom and beyond

By Eric Butterman

Harold Lloyd hanging desperately off a building’s clock. The Kid’s Charlie Chaplin and six-year-old Jackie Coogan nervously peering out from the corner of a building. These are a couple of the images that inform our wondrous movie past—as well as the present and future of entertainment.

Professor Rob King has helped keep images like these alive for many years through his work as an educator and a writer. The author of books such as The Fun Factory: The Keystone Film Company and the Emergence of Mass Culture and Hokum! The Early Sound Slapstick Short and DepressionEra Mass Culture, he also served as editor of 2023’s Cornell Woolrich and Transmedia Noir Most recently, he co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema, published by Oxford University Press.

The past is certainly alive for King, but it is just one aspect that influences his academic work as the head of film and media studies at Columbia University. “At one time you just had cinema,” he said. “Then there was television, video, and now online streaming. It’s essential to understand that moving images move across many media platforms. We want to learn from the images in all these varying forms.”

To that end, King is leading an expansion of classes offered at Columbia in filmmaking and screenwriting. “We are teaching classes that delve into new media, video games, and more,” he explained.

He began his career as a writer about film while an undergraduate at Oxford University. “My first film review was of 1997’s The Craft,” recalled King. “Think of it as a horror version of Heathers or Mean Girls.”

Ultimately, though, he found scholarship was more his passion, and his awardwinning Keystone book, published in 2009, partly came alive from in-depth

research he did at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences library. “I really saw an argument for [the Keystone Film Company’s] power and contribution,” he said. “It was a great journey to learn more about this style of comedy.”

King has a wide-ranging, infectious enthusiasm for entertainment history that, in the same conversation, could have him mentioning everything from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to Neve Campbell performing witchcraft. “So many things in the history of media connect to each other if you really look,” said King, who has also programmed film festivals for Columbia’s School of the Arts. “And so many of us have interests in different media, but it’s the enthusiasm for that diversity—and learning how to appreciate it—that brings us together.”

Current position

Professor of Film and Media Studies, Columbia University School of the Arts

Faculty member since 2012

Education

BA, Balliol College, Oxford University (1997); MA, University of Warwick (1998); PhD, UCLA (2004)

Favorite film

Some Came Running (1958) or the original Suspiria (1977). “But ask me on a different day and you’ll get a different answer.”

Hobbies

“Films, video games. I’m fortunate to have a job that’s basically the same as my hobbies!”

PHOTO: JONATHAN BARBEE

CLASS DAY 2023

On May 15, the School of General Studies honored the accomplishments of the 765 members of the Class of 2023. The event had special historical significance, as GS recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.

PHOTOS BY DIANE BONDAREFF

1. School of International and Public Affairs Dean and Class Day keynote speaker Keren Yarhi-Milo ’03, Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90, and Columbia College Dean Josef Sorett.

2. Valedictorian Zuzanna Bijoch.

3. A graduate prepares to walk into the Class Day ceremony tent.

4. Graduate James Harvey Elliott II and his daughter share a high five.

5. Graduate Zey Jama.

6. An excited GS graduate heads back to his seat after walking across the stage.

7. Graduate Keegan Hakim.

8. Graduates celebrate at the post-ceremony reception.

CLASS DAY 2023 POSTBAC PREMED

On May 12, the Columbia University Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program celebrated Class Day and honored the exceptional successes of the 62 members of the Class of 2023.

PHOTOS BY TEDDY JANG AND APRIL RENAE

2. Class Day Keynote Speaker Dr. Carlos del Rio and Dean Rosen-Metsch with graduate Martha MacDonald and guest.

3. Graduate Tomas Davila and family celebrate at the post-ceremony reception.

4. AnnMarie Sykes receives her graduation certificate from Dean Rosen-Metsch.

5. Postbac Premed Dean James Colgrove addresses the graduates.

6. Graduates Brandon Moore, Kaitlin Shaw, and Matthew Schneider celebrate Class Day with a scrubs photo.

7. Student speaker Andrea Abi-Karam addresses the crowd.

8. Graduates Kat Slagell and Sophie Flomenbaum with their newly received scrubs.

9. Graduates Ryan Ng, Joshua Ham, and Oyedola Ajao in Low Memorial Library.

10. Graduate Nathália Beller and guest.

1. Postbac Premed graduates Olivia Anakwe, Annabel Sen, Cajay Jacobs, Leah Gaston, and Katie Cavenee await the start of the ceremony.

GS Bachelor of Arts Recipients NEW GRAD NOTES

Hailing from Nashville, Izzy Bohn applied to the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po on a whim, but soon found herself on the academic adventure of a lifetime. Coming to Columbia for her junior year, Bohn found a campus community through the student theater scene. “Living and studying in New York City has opened so many doors for me,” she said, “and allowed me the opportunity to discover what I’m truly passionate about. None of this would have been possible without Columbia.” Bohn graduated with a double major in human rights and gender studies and now works as a paralegal at Cuti Hecker Wang, LLP, one of the nation’s premier civil rights law firms.

Growing up in an abusive home, Erika Carreon recalled having to choose between putting a roof over her head and pursuing an education. Nevertheless, Carreon found workplace success at a young age, including at Ralph Lauren for seven years. School beckoned, however, and pushing past what she described as a “deep-seated fear of failure” developed after a rocky first attempt at college, Carreon came to Columbia. At GS, she made the Dean’s List for multiple semesters. Most of all, she said her Columbia experience “taught me that we can overcome our fears and achieve greatness if we have the courage to try.” Carreon graduated with a degree in psychology and enrolled at Northwestern University to pursue her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy.

James Harvey Elliott II came to GS as a proud father, returning citizen, and Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) graduate to continue pursuing his passion for prison reform. He became GS’s second consecutive Truman Scholar in 2022 and earned his degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies. Post-graduation, Elliott took a year off to study for the LSAT and spend time with his daughter. Said Elliott of the importance of Columbia to his current and future criminal justice reform advocacy: “GS gave me an opportunity that allows my voice to be amplified, and then I can amplify other people’s voices.”

Filmmaker Keegan Hakim ’s GS journey began at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Once he made his way to GS, his experience was greatly influenced by the Program for Academic Leadership and Service (PALS), which provides extensive financial and administrative support for a select group of accomplished GS students, focusing on those from historically underrepresented groups at Columbia. PALS also welcomed Hakim into a community of peers that he said “goes beyond the professional.” He gave back even before graduating by creating a documentary project highlighting PALS Scholars’ stories. After earning a degree in film and media studies, Hakim continued making movies with frequent production partner Renegade Features.

PHOTOS BY DIANE BONDAREFF, MICHAEL DIVITO, APRIL RENAE, AND COURTESY OF IZZY BOHN

About 20 years ago, Beata Jimenez moved from Warsaw, Poland, to the United States to start a family. When her children were grown, she decided to embark on the college journey herself and, after graduating from Long Island’s Suffolk Community College, found her way to GS. “I always thought that Ivy League schools wanted the brightest and the youngest students,” said Jimenez of receiving her offer of admission. “I don’t know if I’m the brightest. I’m certainly not the youngest. The only thing I wanted to do was improve myself. And it was obviously enough.” Through the Columbia Global Collaboratory program at GS, Jimenez worked with students in Hong Kong and Brazil to develop a recognizable label for sustainable products that support local communities in the Amazon. She graduated with a degree in economics.

Teamwork and community were at the heart of Qitian (Caroline) Xing’s time in the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia GS. As an accomplished table tennis player, Xing worked with her Columbia Table Tennis teammates to achieve multiple impressive placements in National Collegiate Table Tennis Association competitions. Xing also credited the GS community with enriching her Columbia experience. “I am truly grateful for the kindness and support of these people,” she said. “Their actions and attitudes demonstrate the true spirit of GS, where individuals come together to support one another and make each other feel at home.” Xing graduated with a degree in economics-mathematics and enrolled in Princeton University to obtain her master’s degree in finance.

Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program Graduates

Contemporary dancer Victoria Daylor was drawn to the Postbac Premed Program by a desire to understand herself. Throughout her dance career, Daylor had, as she put it, unusually “bendy” abilities. After learning this was due to the genetic condition hEDS (hypermobile EhlersDanlos syndrome), her research brought her to the world of healthcare. Alongside her Postbac studies, Daylor continued to dance, and several of her performances with the Wilder Project were featured in the 20222023 GS Arts & Research Collective. “I feel

lucky to have great passion for the paths I’ve followed in my life thus far,” said Daylor. After completing the Postbac Premed Program, Daylor worked as a research specialist at Norris Lab at the Medical University of South Carolina while applying to medical school.

After over a decade as a U.S. Army physician assistant (PA), including eight combat deployments and several years with the White House Medical Unit, Brandon Moore came to the Postbac

Premed Program to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He relocated to New York from North Carolina with his wife and three young children. At Columbia, Moore was a contributor, editor, or second author on multiple medical papers, worked as a PA at Harlem-based clinic ZipCare, and prioritized family throughout. As he put it, “I’m only here for a short time, so every grade counts. But so does time with my kids, so does time with my wife, and so does time for yourself.” Following his completion of the Postbac Premed Program, Moore continued his PA work while preparing for the medical school admissions cycle.

HONORING THE VETERAN COMMUNITY

More than 500 veterans, leaders, scholars, and guests made Columbia University’s annual Military Ball an event to remember

On November 10, 2023, Columbia University celebrated the excellence of its veteran community and the dedication of its supporters at its annual Military Ball, held at New York City’s Chelsea Piers.

Speakers at the gala included Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, Dean of the School of General Studies Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90, MilVets President John Graziano ’26, former MilVets President Grayson Noyes ’23, and former MilVets Vice President Ebonnie Goodfield ’24.

The gala paid special tribute to donors Walter and Shirley Wang ’93BUS by honoring them with the Peter J. Awn Lifetime Service Award. Named in memory of the late dean emeritus of General Studies, the award recognized the Wangs’ generous support of military veterans and service members. The Wangs’ donation of $2.5 million is the

largest gift dedicated to student veterans that Columbia has received.

“We provide these scholarships because we appreciate what Columbia education can offer you, and what you can offer for the Columbia community,” Walter Wang said. “As people who have honored your country and fellow human beings, we really hope our collective seeds of love will bear very good fruits tomorrow. We thank you, we salute you for your service.”

Established in 2010, the Military Ball is the premier event uniting veterans across the University community. Proceeds from the event help underwrite academic and career transition programming for veterans and military family members nationwide, provide financial aid for veteran students at Columbia University, and support veteran student and alumni programming.

Alumni News

meet Mayumi

Otsuki-Rowan ’18

Chair of the GSAA Annual Fund Committee

Current position

Math lead and computer science teacher,

King-Chavez Community High School, San Diego

Free-time interests

Salsa dancing and travel

What drives you to contribute to the GS community?

It’s how much I learned and what it did for my life. It’s funny that I went in thinking I was going to make a lot of money in finance. But I realized in the end, partly from what I got out of my GS education, how much education means for future generations. Growing up, I never would have known that today I would be a high school math teacher. But that’s why I am in San Diego. And I still get finance in the mix, teaching a personal finance class at the school. I started here as part of Teach for America. After two years, I stayed on.

What has been the most rewarding General Studies Alumni Association (GSAA) project with which you have been involved?

I love being a part of the committee for the Annual Fund. I started out as a member of the committee, and now I’m in the chair position. It can be challenging, because everyone loves GS, but it’s not always easy to convince people to give. But if you enjoy talking to people, you don’t get discouraged and you keep reaching out.

What is your favorite GS memory?

It’s not one memory but the amount of caring that the School showed. They want to turn out people who will do well for themselves, but they also want to turn out good people who care.

What is your favorite part of teaching?

Helping students achieve their potential. When I was in GS, I thought of all the kids who are so smart and just not getting the opportunities they deserve. It’s about getting a fair chance. I enjoy teaching math because it’s not an easy subject for many, and if I can make it easier for them to understand, then it can help them. Now teaching personal finance, I have a chance to give students knowledge that can help them navigate the real world. You just want to see them do well. I even brought in a veteran who went to GS to talk about their experience, and I am going to try and bring someone in from the area of finance who went to GS for my personal finance class. GS has a terrific network.

What is the biggest challenge in teaching?

Sometimes it can be figuring out where problems are. A couple of years ago, when the pandemic hit, I noticed that my students didn’t have the computer skills they needed, and I started thinking about how difficult that can be for them. I’ve now been teaching computer science for three years, and it feels good to help with the problem.

By Eric Butterman

It was often said that, in many ways, the “lights had gone out” on Broadway when the pandemic hit. But the artistic outage swept well beyond that famed street. Metropolitan Opera fans, for example, were left without an aria or a twirl to applaud. Or so it seemed.

Dancer Maria Phegan ’14 and fellow Metropolitan Opera artists banded together to keep their artistry in motion.

The collective Dancers of the Met was born, which has also included others from GS: Emery LeCrone ’23, Brian Gephart ’24, and Holly Curran ’18.

Fueled by passion for their craft, they were determined: Even if they couldn’t perform at the opera house, they’d take it outside.

“About 10 of us got together virtually to figure out how to keep dancers and performers connected,” said Phegan, creative director/ producer for Dancers of the Met and a professional dancer with the Metropolitan Opera since 2009. “We decided to look for performance opportunities within this collective we had formed.”

West 75th Street would be a witness to one of these uplifting outdoor performances in a 2021 event led by Phegan and three others.

Maria Phegan ’14 helped found Dancers of the Met, bringing dance moves to the streets when the opera house was shuttered

The Show Must Go On

“We did it through applying for the city’s Open Culture program, getting sound permits from the New York Police Department, and getting barricades and many other things,” she said. “It actually put my political science degree from GS into effect through needing to understand different policies for our events. There were 50 people between performers and volunteers, putting on what was basically an all-day street fair, except for the rain. We had a singer teaching artist, a ballet teaching artist, and a more contemporary teaching artist. People walking by could enjoy it and families participated. It was a great event during a tough time for many.”

Phegan went on to receive a City Artist Corps Grant of $5,000, which she used to put on two events. “Part of it was for access to materials and to help curate a list of sites willing to offer space to grantees,” she said. “The biggest one was the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and it was a pleasure to do an event in that special place. And it’s now grown into an annual relationship with them.”

Today, while many pandemic restrictions have lifted and a portion of the collective has moved on to focus on other projects, Phegan continues in her role. “Though it was initially about staying connected, after receiving the grant and starting to curate and produce shows, I realized I also enjoy taking an audience on a journey in this different way and building the structure of how the show would flow,” she said.

“I also found, after doing a few of these performances, that I enjoy highlighting female choreographers—something that has been lacking in the industry— and performers over 40. Those are my colleagues in my generation, and they are voices, stories, and perspectives that I appreciate and want to share.”

Phegan is proud of the collective, which gave hope to artists and audiences alike during the pandemic and continues to push forward. “The pandemic made many appreciate the arts all the more,” she said, “and some people found abilities they didn’t even know they had.”

PHOTOS BY JOHN ROMANO

Dr. Marcelle Abell-Rosen ’97 reflects on the “superpower” that comes from varied life experiences

By Eric Butterman

THE PATH TO MEDICINE

great inspiration for me,” said Abell-Rosen. “She unveiled the magic of the genetic code, and how proteins and enzymes act as the keys and switches that make human life possible. These lessons continue to inform my practice today. They shape my understanding of the diseases affecting my patients and the drugs aimed at helping them.”

Prior to attending GS, Abell-Rosen earned a master of public health degree at the University of California, Berkeley, during which time she traveled to Thailand to work on HIV and hepatitis prevention programs. After graduating from GS, she went on to earn her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Marcelle Abell-Rosen ’97 is used to changing paths. Having left France for the United States as a child, and trading a road to a medical education for a public policy education, she was still never able to shake her yearning to become a doctor. Her inspiration, she said, came partly from having a brother who passed away in childhood from spinal muscular atrophy. But at 28, was it too late to pursue healthcare?

GS is used to answering this type of question.

“I was at a different point in my life, but GS embraces that,” said Abell-Rosen, a graduate of the Postbac Premed Program. “I was caring for my daughter while at GS. GS gave me security when I went there and, even more than that, confidence.”

She said she found an advantage in waiting longer to become a doctor, learning about new medical strides that she wouldn’t have been exposed to earlier. “Professor Deborah Mowshowitz at Columbia was a

Today, Abell-Rosen has her own personalized internal medicine practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “It allows me to spend more time with patients,” she explained. She has also long embraced video as a way to help treat her patients, which, she said, put her at an advantage during Covid.

Abell-Rosen was honored to be the keynote speaker at Class Day for Columbia’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program in May 2022. In her speech, Abell-Rosen encouraged the new graduates to “embrace your superpower, as your past experience has given you a unique and valuable perspective and knowledge and wisdom. Some may call this grit, but whatever it is, we need more of it in medicine.” She also congratulated the new graduates on completing the rigorous program during a challenging period of medical history.

“Covid affected so many people personally and professionally,” she said. “It offered lessons and changed medicine in different ways. Moments like these should make you humbler and wiser. This isn’t just advice for others, but a good reminder for me as well.”

The Dual Edge

Anton Fredriksson ’15 draws upon his global undergraduate experience to improve air travel in New York

By Eric Butterman

Anton Fredriksson ’15, director of aviation and vice president of transportation at New York City Economic Development Corporation, has one word to sum up receiving his dual degree from Columbia GS and Sciences Po.

“Transformative,” he said of the experience, which gave him not just multiple degrees but expanded viewpoints on how to go about a career. “You hit the ground running with Sciences Po in France [at Le Havre] where, from housing to your bank account, you have to figure so much out on your own. You also really had to grow up to handle the curriculum. It introduced me to fields of study, but also helped me to understand how society works, covering law, economics, history, sociology, and more. The campus also focused on language, with six hours of Mandarin and four hours of French. But when you know you can handle it, you know you have that much more in you. With just under 200 students, you were finding your feet and learning to be an adult.”

After two years, Fredriksson found his feet on a campus of many thousands for the second half of his dual degree: Columbia. “Urban studies is very applicable in my current role working with many urban planners in New York, working on policy,” he said.

He felt Columbia gave him the academic grounding to work well in tandem with leaders in urban planning policy. “The city was our classroom, exploring different neighborhoods in your field work,” he said.

A standout instructor for Fredriksson was Rohit Aggarwala, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. “He was a practitioner during the Bloomberg administration in the area of planning,”

he said. “Bringing the lessons from his work into the classroom—again, you saw application.”

While at Columbia, he participated in the Global Scholars Program, traveling to locations such as Germany and Mongolia. “I messaged the Urban China Initiative think tank, a partnership that included Columbia and McKinsey, because [the program] had a stop in Beijing,” he said. “I ended up staying in Beijing for the rest of the summer working for the think tank as an intern. That set up my career, and I applied to McKinsey to work there as a management consultant. It was a separate application process but I think the internship definitely helped.”

In his present role, he is working to improve the health of transportation. “I’m trying to enable a quieter and cleaner future for travel in New York City when it comes to aircraft,” said Fredriksson, who previously worked for Carlyle Airport Group as Director of Strategic Initiatives for The New Terminal One, a roughly $10 billion terminal at JFK Airport, which will serve as an international gateway. “You consider how the city is the landlord of the ground underneath areas such as LaGuardia and JFK. It’s also heliports and other areas. It’s overseeing assets and helping in the transition to a healthier travel-related future.”

Fredriksson’s job involves switching languages, but not necessarily in a linguistic sense. “It’s working across stakeholders and government and community and it’s getting into different languages, such as engineering, legal, and business,” he said. “It’s a situation that is challenging and changing.”

Thanks to his dual degree experience, however, that’s an exciting endeavor he’s uniquely equipped for.

REUNION RECAP

Alumni Connect and Celebrate During Columbia Reunion Weekend

The 2023 Reunion Weekend festivities kicked off with a Welcome Reception hosted by the General Studies Alumni Association (GSAA) at the Owl’s Tail, a popular cocktail bar on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Alumni from a spectrum of class years enjoyed mingling and meeting one another, as the staff served gourmet treats and specialty drinks like the Dark and Stormy Owl.

Reunion programming also featured a special book talk held in partnership with the Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI). CNN Entertainment Reporter Chloe Melas and U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former president of the New York Mets Sandy Alderson sat down for a conversation moderated by CVTI Executive Director Jason Dempsey ’03GSAS, ’06GSAS, ’08GSAS to discuss the New York Times bestseller Luck of the Draw, an autobiography written by WWII Air Force veteran Frank Murphy that features a foreword by Melas, Murphy’s granddaughter.

Following the panel, guests were escorted to Kent Hall, home to CVTI’s brand-new space, to enjoy the annual Veterans Reception , a popular event open to the military community across multiple undergraduate and graduate schools at the University.

Hundreds of GS alumni, friends of the School, and their guests returned to the Morningside Campus last June to reconnect, celebrate, and enjoy several new and exciting events during Columbia Reunion Weekend.

To conclude Reunion Weekend, Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 welcomed more than 200 alumni, friends of the School, and guests to the annual GS Reunion Dinner in Lerner Hall’s Roone Arledge Auditorium. Following dinner, the 2023 Owl Award was presented to Allison Fillmore ’97, Chair of the Board of Visitors, in recognition for a decade of outstanding service to the GS.

GS has long been home to some of the world’s leading performing artists, and the annual “Celebration of the Performing Arts at Columbia” featured exclusive musical, dance, and theatrical performances from both GS students and alumni. Guests enjoyed original songs by Sondra Woodruff ’19 and Sumar Frejat ’22, ballet pieces performed by professional dancers Ali Block ’20 and Brittany Shinay ’23, and a special dance collaboration between GS community members and the Metropolitan Opera, helmed by Maria Phegan ’14, a founding member and Creative Director of Dancers of the Met.

After the performances, GS Board of Visitors (BOV) members Michael Novak ’09, Artistic Director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company; and actress Rachel Ticotin ’19 led a conversation with the performers. Both Novak and Ticotin, alongside fellow alumna and BOV member Alicia Graf Mack ’03, Dean and Director of Dance at the Juilliard School, collaborated on the curation and direction of this year’s show.

PHOTO: DAVID DINI

PHOTO: DAVID DINI

PHOTO: DIANE BONDAREFF

PHOTO: DIANE BONDAREFF

YEAR-ROUND EVENTS CONNECT THE ALUMNI COMMUNIT Y

Engaging with Alumni Coast to Coast

Throughout the year, Dean Lisa RosenMetsch ’90, along with members of the GS Development and Alumni Relations staff, traveled across the country to engage with alumni, students, and their families.

One of the many highlights of their travels took place last spring, when Michael Novak ’09, Artistic Director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, hosted an exclusive reception for Columbia guests in Boston prior to the opening night of the company’s latest show. Soon after, the GS team traveled to Miami and Palm Beach to meet with recent graduates, students, and alumni Raul de la Espriella ’20 reflected with enthusiasm on what it was like to have the GS community together outside of New York: “It’s like you brought campus to us!”

In August, Columbia University Trustee Kikka Hanazawa ’00 and her family welcomed nearly 50 guests to their home in California to reminisce with fellow alumni, connect with current students, and share the impact of her time at Columbia.

“It’s a privilege to be able to travel outside of Manhattan to meet our alumni where they are,” said Senior Director of Alumni Relations Aviva Zablocki “We’ve even met students who plan their vacations based on where GS events are happening. It’s amazing to feel that sense of community far from campus.”

GSAA Hosts Annual GS Winter Reception

Last spring, 150 students and alumni gathered on campus for a celebratory evening hosted by the GS Alumni Association (GSAA) The annual Winter Reception is the official kickoff event leading up to Reunion and is open to alumni as well as current students. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, raffle prizes, and time with friends old and new. Students also learned about ways to connect with the alumni community and how to access alumni benefits after graduation.

GSAA Board Welcomes Students Back to Campus

On September 7, 2023, board members of the GSAA gathered on campus for their first meeting of the season. Following the meeting, two dozen members hosted their annual Welcome Back Reception for students at popular local venue Mel’s Burger Bar. Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch ’90 joined more than 150 students for an evening of fun, food, and giveaways. The event gives new and returning students the opportunity to learn about alumni benefits and continued engagement, and helps them start the semester feeling welcomed by alumni leaders.

GENERAL STUDIES ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The GSAA works to enhance the GS experience, from the beginning of one’s journey as a student, through to one’s life as a member of the worldwide Columbia University alumni community.

ALUMNI BENEFITS

GS undergraduate and Postbac Premed alumni are members of the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) and the General Studies Alumni Association (GSAA) and are provided with a broad array of services, benefits, and discounts. These include a directory of alumni clubs, events, and interest groups, access to Columbia facilities, and support from the Center for Career Education (CCE).

ALUMNI AWARDS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

RECOGNIZE A GS ALUMNA OR ALUMNUS

The GSAA strives to identify alumni who make a difference in their communities, whose career or volunteer work is noteworthy, or who contribute to Columbia in ways that enrich the GS community. Prestigious awards and honors are presented each year by both the University and the School of General Studies. Contact gsalumni@columbia.edu for more information, or to submit a nomination for yourself or someone you know.

GSAA Officers

GSAA Board Co-Chairs:

Arthur Bingham ’84

Brittne Rivera ’14

Executive Committee:

Serena DeStefani ’15

Ohad Klopman ’22

Joshua Kraus ’93

Mayumi Otsuki ’18

Michael Rovner ’18

Zhexi Shan ’22

Serengeti Timungwa ’22

Cole Wagner ’22

Class Notes

1970s

Bruce Wiggins ’73 recently published The Wolf of 116th Street, a novel set in New York during the blizzard of 1978. The book tells the story of a family with two rescue dogs living adjacent to the Columbia University campus.

1980s

Roger R. House ’81, an associate professor of American Studies at Emerson College in Boston, recently published his latest book, South End Shout: Boston’s Forgotten Music Scene in the Jazz Age He is also the author of Blue Smoke: The Recorded Journey of Big Bill Broonzy, published in 2010.

2000s

In March 2023, Alicia Graf Mack ’03 (below), Dean and Director of Dance at the Juilliard School, was featured on Good Morning America in celebration of Women’s History Month. Mack is the youngest person and first woman of color to lead the school.

Denise L. Pease ’83 Named to Presidential Advisory Committee

A disability advocate and government leader who has served in roles in New York at the city and state levels as well as in the Obama administration, Denise L. Pease ’83 was recently appointed to the Biden administration’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. The commission’s mission is to work with the Secretary of Education to identify and raise awareness and support for educational initiatives that address disparities faced by Black Americans. Pease is among nearly two dozen luminaries named to the commission, whose expertise ranges from business to academics to community leadership.

Pease’s impressive career is all the more striking given the barriers she has overcome. In 1995, she suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a car accident and went through more than five years of therapy to regain her cognitive and communication abilities. Pease is also a breast cancer survivor and one of three million Americans with epilepsy. “I want my blessings of recovery and employment to inspire others living with a disability,” said Pease in a 2011 retrospective on the White House blog. Her appointment is the most recent vehicle through which she can honor her lifelong commitment to advocacy, helping lead the way toward educational equity in a time where innovation and proactiveness in that arena is more crucial than ever.

Dawson Her Many Horses ’04 was selected to the 2023 Class of the Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellowship, a cohort of financial leaders worldwide committed to driving positive change and ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystem for future generations.

In June 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment of Ana Almanzar ’07, ’09SIPA, (below, with Mayor Adams) as Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives.

2010s

Hillary Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions has partnered with The Inspection director Elegance Bratton ’14 on a feature documentary about 1979’s Disco Demolition Night, a Major League Baseball promotion in Chicago that ended in a riot. The film will be directed and produced by Bratton.

Ian Fritz ’16 is the author of What the Taliban Told Me, published in November 2023 by Simon & Schuster.

Writer and director Blaine Morris ’19 (below right) premiered her Latinx horror film, The Ciguapa, at Outfest in Los Angeles in July 2023.

Attorney Hadara Stanton ’99 Reflects on the Value of Service

“Service means a lot to me, professionally and personally,” said Hadara Stanton ’99. “My father is a veteran, as were my grandfathers, and, in my way, I make it a priority to give back, too.”

Stanton has an impressive track record of service as an attorney, a volunteer, and a mentor. Currently an associate in the San Francisco office of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Stanton spent the previous 16 years as a deputy attorney general in the California Attorney General’s office, representing California agencies in state and federal courts.

She has also been a volunteer with many nonprofits, including the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area, serving in leadership roles such as board president, and last fall was a participant in the prestigious Coro Women in Leadership Program. “I have learned so much from this amazing cohort of women,” she said. “I try to mentor others, especially women, and encourage them to speak up for themselves.”

Stanton reflects on her time at GS—where she was a student in the Joint Program with the Jewish Theological Seminary—as helping chart her path. “My education there was transformative,” she recalled, “from the leadership skills I acquired as captain of the water polo team to the honors thesis I wrote on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

Justice Ginsburg has remained a lifelong inspiration for Stanton, who went on to earn her JD from UC Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco). “When I graduated law school, I received a note from Justice Ginsburg saying she’d read my thesis and wishing me good luck,” Stanton said. “I was so moved. If someone as busy as she was could take time to do that, it’s a reminder that we all can—and should—do more for others.”

2020s

Rudy Rodriguez ’20 was named technical director for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Joan Bolanos Martinez ’21 was featured on NBC Chicago for his work with the United States Amputee Football Federation and FIFA.

Elle Kass ’23 (left), a graduate of the Postbac Premed Program, published “Parental Preferences for Mental Health Screening of Youths From a Multinational Survey” in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Designing the Future of Drug Research

Artificial intelligence may be the buzzwords of the moment, but Andrew Satz ’15, ’18SEAS, co-founder of EVQLV, has been working with AI for years.

After losing his mother to multiple sclerosis, Satz vowed to make a difference in medicine. His approach? To advance medical research with AI. “The strides we can make in medicine with AI’s help are incredible,” he said.

Using AI, EVQLV identifies therapeutic antibodies with a greater chance of getting FDA approval. “We’ve used computers to develop medicine

very quickly,” said Satz, who received his master’s degree from Columbia’s Data Science Institute after graduating from GS.

“Now we’re out to do that with antibodies, which are some of the most impactful medicines on the planet.”

For many, artificial intelligence feels unnerving, even threatening. For Satz, it’s exciting. “We have the tools to give people the kind of medical treatment they deserve,” he said.

“Let’s concentrate on using it well and make it a positive in medicine—and beyond.”

Connecting Asian Communities

When Dan “Micca” Cao ’20 arrived in the United States from her native China eight years ago, she was embarking on a distinctly different path than the one expected of her.

“I was born the second child under China’s one-child policy, and the expectations were for me to get married and serve a husband,” she said. Instead, Cao, the first in her family to attend college, enrolled at Santa Monica College (SMC) to study art and, later, political science.

After two years at SMC, she transferred to GS because, she said, “I was ready for a bigger stage. And Columbia gave me new opportunities.”

She chose to study finance “because I think logically and like solving problems.” Perhaps

even more important was what she gained from the GS experience. “Friendships, resilience, and excellence were my greatest takeaways,” she said. “The journey inspired me to see what value I could add to the community.”

Since graduating, Cao has devoted her time to doing just that. Now 34, she lives in Miami, where she is pursuing a master’s of accounting degree at the University of Miami Herbert Business School. She also founded Ms. Dan’s Chinese, a nonprofit focused on Mandarin education and the promotion of Asian culture.

“My work embodies the principle that embracing and promoting one’s heritage can significantly impact the broader community,” she said.

“Keeping cultural connections strong has a positive impact on others’ lives, and I like bringing joy to people so I can’t give it up.”

In Memoriam

Paul Wolfe ’55 (1926-2016) passed away at the age of 90. Wolfe was the artistic director and conductor of the Florida West Coast Symphony (now the Sarasota Orchestra). Wolfe also co-founded the Sarasota Music Festival.

Otto Kalok ’56 (1933-2022), a longtime resident of Oradell, N.J., worked for many years as a certified public accountant with MetLife Insurance in New York City.

Ira Klein ’56, ’61GSAS, ’68GSAS (19322023) passed away at the age of 91. He graduated from GS with a degree in history before earning his MA and PhD from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 1968, he began teaching in the History Department at American University, where he remained for over 40 years. His research on imperialism in Asia has been published in numerous journals including Modern Asian Studies, Economic History Review, and Journal of Indian History.

Myrna Sigman ’56GS/SOA (1934-2021) passed away in 2021.

Stiling “Ty” Ferguson Knight ’57 (19262023) was born in Springfield, Mass., and enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17. He served in Europe with the 4th Infantry Division, and was awarded numerous

medals and citations, including the World War II Victory Medal and the Presidential Unit Citation. After his service, he attended GS, earning his degree in chemistry. In his subsequent work as an organic research chemist, he had a long career with Best Foods and developed several edible oils for which he held patents.

Stewart Roebling Manville ’62 (19272018) was the curator of Grainger House, the former home of composer Percy Grainger in White Plains, N.Y.

Edgar Dorsey Walter III ’65 (1940-2023) was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., and grew up on Lookout Mountain. At Columbia, he was a fraternity brother at St. Anthony Hall. Following his graduation, he built a career in New York real estate.

James R. Forker ’68 passed away in January 2023.

Timothy Roberts ’03 (1976-2017) matriculated to Harvard University before transferring to and completing his degree at GS. A composer and musician as well as a conservationist, Roberts passed away after a long battle with cancer. In 2018, the Hudson Highlands Land Trust created an award recognizing young leaders in conservation named in his honor.

Remembering Louise Glück

Poet Louise Glück (nongrad, 1963-1968) passed away in October 2023 at the age of 80. A New York native, Glück received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2020, becoming the first woman poet in nearly 25 years and first U.S. poet in more than 70 years to earn the honor. Her extensive list of achievements also include a Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and a term as U.S. Poet Laureate.

Glück attended Columbia University’s Undergraduate Writing Program, previously known as the General Studies Writing Program. During that time, she studied with professors Stanley Kunitz and Léonie Adams and published poems in Quarto, then the literary magazine of the School of General Studies.

Glück produced about a dozen poetry collections over the course of her life, and at the time of her passing had been teaching English courses at Yale University. Her work is renowned for its examination of intense, often dark, subject matter and its seamless use of poetic technique. She is regarded as one of the foremost poets of the modern era.

Opening Doors, Transforming Lives

Generous Match Fund Enhances Donor Impact

GS’s fundraising commitment has been bolstered even further by a generous pledge from Larry J. Lawrence ’69, ’71BUS, Chair Emeritus of the GS Board of Visitors. Through the Larry J. Lawrence Match Fund, endowed gifts toward scholarships qualify to be matched dollar for dollar by Lawrence’s gift—with the power of the match turning $5 million into $10 million.

“Larry’s incredible commitment allows donors of all kinds to participate in the future success of our students in a powerful way,” said Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations Jill Galas Hickey. “Not everyone is in a place to start an endowed scholarship, but with this match fund we can combine contributions of all sizes to increase their value and distribute opportunity to more students.”

For more information on how to contribute to student success at GS, contact gsalumni@columbia.edu or call Jill Galas Hickey at 212-853-2444.

Columbia University has launched a fundraising initiative singularly focused on improving financial aid for all students. As the only undergraduate college for nontraditional students in the Ivy League, GS is in a unique position to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity and renew its commitment to attracting, educating, and supporting the best and brightest nontraditional students. Chief priorities include:

• Ensuring Columbia GS’s place as the preeminent college for nontraditional students

• Expanding educational access and equity

• Innovation and societal transformation

More than 140 Endowed scholarships

$11.5M* Matching funds

$44M Progress to goal

$42,900 Average award for returning students

Over $10M in gift planning, bequests, and commitments

$60M GOAL

$42,500

Average award for new students

10 Number of planned gifts/bequests

Over 70% of GS students receive financial aid

The Alumni mAgAzine of ColumbiA universiTy sChool of generAl sTudies