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standcolumbia.bsky.social
Stand Columbia Society
@standcolumbia.bsky.social
9 followers 3 following 30 posts
We support excellence in teaching, learning, research, and patient care and restoring Columbia University to its rightful pre-eminence in higher education.
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standcolumbia.bsky.social
Special Issue #063: A piece of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social's story was nearly lost to time.

Instead, it’s now home in the University Archives — and part of our shared inheritance.

Read the tale of the 1775 diploma 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/09/06/i...
Issue #063: A 1775 King’s College Diploma Finally Comes Home - Stand Columbia Society
The Stand Columbia Society is pleased to report some happy news. Last week, a King’s College Bachelor of Arts diploma issued in 1775 to John William Livingston unexpectedly showed up on the market. A ...
standcolumbia.org
September 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
A year ago, we set out to serve @columbiauniversity.bsky.social in a moment of crisis. The storm has passed. Our work changes shape, but our commitment endures.

A love letter to a brilliant, maddening, and life-changing institution that is still worth the candle 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/08/16/i...
Issue #062: A Note from the Stand Columbia Society - Stand Columbia Society
Three hundred and sixty-three days ago, just short of a year, we sent out the first issue of the Stand Columbia Society’s weekly newsletters. We did so with a simple conviction: that institutions matt...
standcolumbia.org
August 16, 2025 at 4:01 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #061: A conversation with the conscience of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Dean Emeritus Bob Pollack ’61 — on coeducation, the Core, chess-club diplomacy, a swim test for Asimov, and the 1988 streak-breaking win.

A loving, unvarnished look at leadership 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/08/09/i...
Issue #061: The Conscience of Columbia College: A Conversation with Dean Emeritus Robert E. Pollack, CC ‘61 - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR This week, the Stand Columbia Society is honored to share a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation with our dear friend Dean Emeritus Robert E. Pollack, CC ‘61, longtime professor of biol...
standcolumbia.org
August 9, 2025 at 3:41 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Some people say they know @columbiauniversity.bsky.social history. Bob McCaughey actually wrote it.

This week: a rich, sharp, and deeply informed conversation on "what it takes" to be Columbia’s next president. (Someone right for the moment—and a bit of luck.)

👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/08/02/i...
Issue #060: What it Takes to be Columbia’s President: A Conversation with Professor Emeritus Robert A. McCaughey - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR Two weeks ago, Columbia announced its fully-constituted presidential search committee. The committee’s composition is heartening: small enough to work, broad enough to listen, and representative...
standcolumbia.org
August 2, 2025 at 3:36 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
It’s legal, it’s technical, and it’s huge. @columbiauniversity.bsky.social has officially stripped the University Senate of all disciplinary power. Why it matters? Because this fulfills a major reform—and signals the university is keeping its promises.

Read 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/07/26/i...
Issue #059: Columbia University is Following Through on its Commitments - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR This week’s piece will be boring and legal, but very important. After the settlement with the federal government, we wanted to track Columbia’s progress to see if it was making changes. We are g...
standcolumbia.org
July 26, 2025 at 12:58 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
[BREAKING] Issue #058: It’s here: @columbiauniversity.bsky.social has a deal with the federal government. $1.2B restored. Real reforms. Legal immunity. And a public Scorecard to track every commitment.

Read the most important issue yet 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/07/23/i...
Issue #058: We Have a Deal - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR Today, Columbia University and the federal government announced a deal. You can read details of it here. The Stand Columbia Society believes this agreement represents an excellent outcome that r...
standcolumbia.org
July 24, 2025 at 4:46 AM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #057: @columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s new antisemitism statement is less of a pivot, more of a breadcrumb trail.

We traced what’s symbolic, what’s substantive, and what might be part of a quiet federal deal.

Deep dive here 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/07/19/i...
Issue #057: Parsing the Shipman Statement on Combatting Antisemitism - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR The Stand Columbia Society generally analyzes facts, not rumors. In the past few weeks, many media outlets have commented on a “deal” between Columbia and the Trump administration, but the fact ...
standcolumbia.org
July 19, 2025 at 8:18 AM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
The One Big Beautiful Bill upends how @columbiauniversity.bsky.social (and all US univs) fund grad education.

Loan caps. Endowment taxes. Repayment overhauls. Aid tied to job outcomes.

CU escaped the tax for now. But the loan caps? A lot to unpack.

Read more 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/07/12/i...
Issue #056: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Reshapes Columbia’s Financial Model - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR A little over a week ago, President Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (“OBBB”) into law. You can read the full legislation here. To be clear: the Stand Columbia Society is politically ne...
standcolumbia.org
July 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #055: Break up @columbiauniversity.bsky.social to protect sciences from protestors? It's an idea some are quietly talking about — and it’s a terrible one.

This week, we run the numbers on what a breakup could actually look like. Hint: insolvency.

Read 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/07/05/i...
Issue #055: We Modeled the Breakup of Columbia University. It Went About How You’d Expect. - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR
standcolumbia.org
July 5, 2025 at 3:47 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
What if @columbiauniversity.bsky.social didn’t cut a deal?

Could we flee to Canada again? Fund ourselves with hedge funds? Split into odd & even library shelves?

We gamed out the terrible options so you don’t have to.

Academic apocalypse thought experiment 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/06/28/i...
Issue #054: What If There Is No Deal? - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR
standcolumbia.org
June 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Litigation is doomed. A federal judge tossed the @aaup.bsky.social/@aft.org lawsuit over @columbiauniversity.bsky.social funding—and signaled they would lose in court even if it proceeded.

If upheld, this has stark implications for federal leverage

Full analysis 👇
standcolumbia.org/2025/06/21/i...
Issue #053: Litigation as Mirage: Implications of the Dismissal of the AAUP/AFT Lawsuit - Stand Columbia Society
ICYMI: Trump posted on his social media (and it was later reported in the New York Times) that it was “very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so” with Harvard University (wh...
standcolumbia.org
June 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #052: 📉 Humanities majors down 30%. 📈 Engineering majors up 10x.

@columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s students have changed. The faculty makeup hasn’t.

A quiet academic revolution is underway—and the structural imbalance is growing.

Read more 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/06/14/i...
Issue #052: The Quiet Shift Reshaping Columbia - Stand Columbia Society
ICYMI: Acting President Claire Shipman issued a public statement which you can read here and watch here. It acknowledged the time constraints we are under before permanent damage is done to our resear...
standcolumbia.org
June 14, 2025 at 12:10 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #051: He’s stopped outbreaks on 3 continents.

He called out Theranos to Elizabeth Holmes' face.

Now @columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s top virus hunter says: “We are weeks, not months, from collapse.”

Unmissable interview with Dr. Ian Lipkin 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/06/07/i...
Issue #051: America Cannot Afford to Lose Our Medical Research Infrastructure: A Conversation with Professor W. Ian Lipkin - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR ICYMI: We are starting to see a welcome change in how Columbia’s official communications networks are approaching its broader messaging efforts. Last week, the official Columbia Alumni Associati...
standcolumbia.org
June 7, 2025 at 4:21 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
[BREAKING] Today’s Dept of Education press release doesn’t mean @columbiauniversity.bsky.social will lose its accreditation—but it starts a parallel process that ends that way *if nothing is done*.

We break down the rules, the risks, and the path forward 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/06/04/i...
Issue #050: Columbia’s Title VI Violation Finding Triggers Accreditor Notification—But Not an Immediate Crisis - Stand Columbia Society
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Education issued a press release stating that it had formally notified Columbia University’s accreditor (the Middle States Commission on Higher Education) that th...
standcolumbia.org
June 4, 2025 at 9:54 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
The @columbiauniversity.bsky.social student body is now 39% int'l, up from 32% a decade ago. 46% come from China. If visas are curtailed, six schools face financial distress.

Openness is strength. Overdependence is a liability.

A must-read on geopolitical risk 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/31/i...
Issue #049: Columbia’s Student Body is 39% International. That Creates Risks and Opportunities. - Stand Columbia Society
On May 22, the Trump administration abruptly revoked Harvard’s SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) eligibility, blocking its ability to enroll international students. The next day, Harvard sue...
standcolumbia.org
May 31, 2025 at 3:22 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #048: Some argue elite universities should sever ties with the federal government. But 76% of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social's tuition revenue is federally mediated. "Financial independence" is not just unrealistic—it’s reckless.

Read more 👇
standcolumbia.org/2025/05/24/i...
Issue #048: 76% of Columbia’s $1.5B of Net Tuition Revenue Depends on the Federal Government. We Cannot Become Hillsdale-on-the-Hudson. - Stand Columbia Society
There were three potentially seismic developments this week that further illustrate the stakes that universities like ours face. The first is already in effect, albeit was just blocked by a federal co...
standcolumbia.org
May 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
HHS has found @columbiauniversity.bsky.social in violation of Title VI for failing to protect Jewish students. Up to $3B in funding is at risk—not just for Columbia, but for the government-university compact that underwrites American greatness.

Read our full post 👇
standcolumbia.org/2025/05/22/i...
Issue #047: Department of Health & Human Services Office of Civil Rights Finds Columbia in Violation of Title VI - Stand Columbia Society
Earlier this evening, the Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced a formal finding that Columbia University has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
standcolumbia.org
May 23, 2025 at 3:26 AM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
No diplomas, just debates in Latin. No Elgar, just Wagner. No inflatable hammers—yet. @columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s Commencement has come a long way since 1762. As the Class of 2025 gets ready, we took a look back.

Spoiler: there was an "amateur circus" 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/17/i...
Issue #046: Congratulations to the Class of 2025! - Stand Columbia Society
This coming Wednesday, May 21, 2025, over 16,000 graduands (the term for students who have completed their exams but have not yet received their degrees) will graduate from Columbia University in its ...
standcolumbia.org
May 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Ever heard of the time in 1971 when @columbiauniversity.bsky.social had all of its federal funding cut off? Yeah, neither had we. Here's how it clawed its way back. It took Chinese take-out, data audits, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the courage to reform.

Read more 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/10/i...
Issue #045: When the U.S. Government Cut Off All of Columbia’s Federal Funding… in 1971 - Stand Columbia Society
Today, we’re going to look into a little-known and somewhat obscure episode in Columbia’s history that might provide some insight for today. But first things first.
standcolumbia.org
May 10, 2025 at 9:09 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Masked protestors stormed Butler 301 right before finals. They vandalized, refused to ID, pulled a fire alarm—and were arrested. @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Public Safety didn’t flinch. NYPD backed them up. Tonight, order was restored. Accountability is coming.

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/07/i...
Issue #044: Masked Protestors Invade Butler 301, are Swiftly Removed and Arrested, and Will Be Held Accountable - Stand Columbia Society
This afternoon, at 3:15 PM, approximately 100 masked protestors overwhelmed the Security desk at the front of Butler Library and stormed into Room 301, the Lawrence A. Wien Reference Room. They interr...
standcolumbia.org
May 8, 2025 at 1:24 AM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #043: Why does accreditation matter, and why is it suddenly being debated? Today, we explain what accreditation is, how it works, and why recent political developments could reshape the future of higher education.

Read more here 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/03/i...
Issue #043: Accreditation Was Boring—Until It Wasn't - Stand Columbia Society
Shortly after the election, President Trump recorded a short video where he discussed accreditation as a “secret weapon.” Then he went quiet and people stopped paying attention. They shouldn’t have. W...
standcolumbia.org
May 3, 2025 at 11:45 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
The Sunlight Report from Columbia faculty raises serious concerns about the process, accuracy, and legitimacy of the Univ Senate’s Sundial Report.

Thoughtful, data-driven, and urgent reading for anyone concerned with governance and institutional accountability 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/05/01/i...
Issue #042: The Sunlight Report - Stand Columbia Society
Last evening, the Stand Columbia Society published The Sunlight Report: A Reappraisal of the Sundial Report—a comprehensive, evidence-based evaluation written by members of the Columbia community. Off...
standcolumbia.org
May 1, 2025 at 1:24 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
Issue #041: @columbiauniversity.bsky.social's Senate once stood for shared governance at its best. But recently, it's put the university in danger.

A rare window for real reform is open — and what we do now will shape the University’s future.

Read more 👇

standcolumbia.org/2025/04/26/i...
Issue #041: The University Senate’s Moment of Reckoning - Stand Columbia Society
ICYMI: One of the Stand Columbia Society’s co-founders recently spoke at the American Enterprise Institute alongside a co-founder of Harvard’s 1636 Forum. The discussion touched on topics including hi...
standcolumbia.org
April 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
@harvard.edu just said no—and rightly so—to sweeping federal demands that were sent by mistake. It now faces billions in frozen funding and retaliation. What does "resistance" mean when the stakes are this high?

A sober look at strategy & survival👇
standcolumbia.org/2025/04/19/i...
Issue #040: Harvard’s High-Stakes Standoff: Weather the Storm, Protect the Mission - Stand Columbia Society
TL;DR
standcolumbia.org
April 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
standcolumbia.bsky.social
@columbiauniversity.bsky.social may look like a mini-republic, with courts, legislatures, and constitutions. It's not. Power flows downwards from our 1810 charter and is tempered by legitimacy; in moments of crisis, that comes sharply into focus.

Explainer below 👇

standcolumbia.org/power-and-au...
Power and Authority - Stand Columbia Society
Posted April 16, 2025. TL;DR
standcolumbia.org
April 16, 2025 at 4:02 PM