MIND IF WE BRAG? Because we have a lot to brag about. There’s our inclusive and creative learning environment, our lively downtown campus, and our collaborative student body, to name a few. Others, too, take notice of what makes Columbia College Chicago great. Here’s where we’ve been recognized recently:
ACADEMIC RANKINGS #1
College for Aspiring Comedians 2019 College Magazine
#1
Film School in the Midwest for eight consecutive years according to Hollywood Reporter rankings.
#3
Top 25 Music Schools for Composing for Film and Television Hollywood Reporter
#6
College for Video Game Design 2018 College Magazine
#8
Top 10 Colleges for Playwriting 2017 College Magazine
#11
Best Graduate Photography Programs 2016 U.S. News & World Report
#14
Top 50 Film Schools of 2017 The Wrap
#18
Animation Schools and Colleges in the U.S. 2017 Animation Career Review
Top 50
Best global Film Schools in 2019 Variety CONTINUED ON BACK "
MIND IF WE BRAG? OUR ALUMNI
OUR FACULTY
Columbia alumni have won and been nominated for dozens of prestigious awards across the creative fields, from Academy Awards and American Book Awards to Grammy Awards.
Our faculty members are industry thought leaders who bring their knowledge into the classroom each day. Their work reflects, supports, and shapes the culture of our times—and creative and academic communities pay attention. Photography Professor Dawoud Bey received a 2017 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, known as the “Genius Grant.”
Aidy Bryant ’09 is a mainstay on Saturday Night Live, and has been nominated for two Emmys for her work on the legendary show. Tiffany Griffith ’92 won two Emmys in 2017 and 2018 for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series for her role as dialogue editor on Stranger Things. Heather Gross ’97 won an Outstanding Sound Editing Emmy for her work as foley editor on HBO series The Night Of. Lena Waithe ’06 won the 2017 Emmy for Comedy Writing for a Television Series for Master of None, becoming the first AfricanAmerican woman to win the award. Rashid Johnson ’00 is an award-winning artist and film director. Iliana Regan ’05 is chef and owner of Elizabeth, which was ranked #6 in Chicago’s Top 50 restaurants by Chicago Tribune. Kevin Rhomberg ’11—better known as Knox Fortune— performed on Chance the Rapper’s Grammy-winning album Coloring Book. Their song “All Night” has over 129 million plays (and counting) on Spotify. David Cromer won the Tony Award for Best Direction for “The Band’s Visit” in 2018. Delvin McCray ’16 competed in Season 18 of Project Runway. Tonika Johnson ’03 was named a 2017 Chicagoan of the Year for her social justice work through photography. Nick Drnaso ’11 is an American author and graphic novelist, best known for his books Beverly and Sabrina, the latter being the first graphic novel nominated for a Man Booker Prize in 2018. Len Amato ’75 is the President of HBO Films. Beth Morgan ’02 has been nominated twice for an Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design on GLOW (2019) and HBO’s Deadwood (2004). Bryan Smiley ’09 is the President of Film and Television for Hartbeat Productions (Kevin Hart’s production company).
Kelli Connell, associate professor in Photography, won the 2017 Society for Photographic Education Imagemaker Award. Jim DeRogatis, music critic and associate professor in English, broke a major story on R. Kelly’s alleged sexual misconduct in BuzzFeed in 2017. The story gained traction in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Spin, Slate, and Variety. Alex Fruchter, Business and Entrepreneurship assistant professor and producer, was recently named one of Chicago Tribune’s “Chicago Artists of the Year.” Photography faculty member Brad Temkin was named a 2017 Guggenheim Fellow.
OUR FACILITIES The Columbia community has access to cutting-edge media centers, fabrication facilities, groundbreaking museums and galleries, and an award-winning library—just to name a few. Columbia’s Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was named the 2017 leading photography museum in the Midwest by Where magazine. In 2017, The MoCP hosted #AiWeiwei, an exhibition designed specifically for the museum by provocative artist Ai Weiwei. The Columbia College Chicago library won a 2017 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, which recognizes exemplary services and resources that further the educational mission of the institution. The new Student Center, a 114,000-square-foot facility which opened in 2019, is the first building in the college’s history to serve as a central, collaborative, interdisciplinary space for students. “This new student center is a commitment to Columbia students, and an investment in the cultural and creative youth in Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Jennifer Farrington ’93 is the President and CEO of the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier.
ALUMNI WINS OVER THE YEARS
31
Primetime Emmys
29
Jeff Awards
10
Oscars
2
Grammys
2
Pulitzer Prizes
3
Tonys 42039_2/2020