At his inauguration, President Bollinger cited the development of the arts as critical to the life of a great university: “What I am calling for is about more than support for the arts. It is about building relationships between the various kinds of creativity a university and the contemporary art world have to offer and creating something new in the process.”
Columbia has risen to the challenge. Over the past five years, the University has created numerous opportunities for practicing artists to work and collaborate with and inspire faculty and students. The Artist in Residence program, which has featured Václav Havel and Peter Brook, is one notable example.
Watch a video about Havel’s residency >
The Artist in Residence program is one of several innovative endeavors launched by the
Columbia University Arts Initiative, led by producer and director
Gregory Mosher, former director of Lincoln Center Theatre. The initiative seeks to connect students to the city’s vibrant culture, link the arts to other fields of study, and make possible work that might not otherwise be performed.
Ensuring that the arts play an integral role in the student experience is another objective of the initiative. Since 2004, all undergraduates now study jazz as part of the Core Curriculum.
See The Student Experience for more about the role of the arts in student life >
The School of the Arts—long a creative conduit connecting the artists of a great university with one of the greatest artistic centers of the world, New York City—is poised to expand in even more directions under its new dean,
Carol Becker, who joined Columbia in September 2007.
Visit the School of the Arts Web site.
