Blame Canada

Almost as famous for the epic proportions of his beard as for his pedagogy, the chair of the Astronomy department and Frontiers of Science mastermind Professor David Helfand will be relocating to Canada. It was reported Monday in a local newspaper in a remarkably hand-wavey way that “Helfand is now on a long term leave of absence from Columbia, with zero responsibilities for the foreseeable future.” He’s given up the Big Apple for the town of Squamish, just north of Vancouver, home of the newly-founded Quest University. Helfand was one of the University’s Founding Tutors and has been acting as interim president since 2008.

Helfand will now be acting as the full-time head of Quest, which graduated its first class this April. According to The Chief, Squamish’s news website, Helfand feels more at home there then he ever did during his 33 years at Columbia. “I have been lecturing at Columbia for a third of a century,” said Helfand. “But I feel I only began truly teaching when I came to Quest.”

We’ll especially miss his killer moves.

Homecoming via Quest

And sayonara to this dee-bag, too. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Farewell:

Bored@Butler (at least for now)

The Russian spies

“Tension in your buttocks”

Hours of studying for your second semester Lit Hum final, 2014!

The records for $109 million of the Columbia Medical Center’s funds

Notable Columbia alumni Robert Butler (Pulitzer-winning psychiatrist) and Bob Sheppard (beloved Yankees announcer)

Hello:

NYC Restaurant Week

The first person to consider Kitchenette “cheap” also co-owns Aquavit

Josh Lipsky’s (former Dems president) very public engagement

A McKim, Mead & White expose (well, in October)

A new seminar: How To Behave At A Paris Review Party (Franco alert!)

Leaving the neighborhood

Fotorush is going on permanent Spring Break beginning in two weeks.

The Broadway photo developer plans to close March 27, according to a sign posted on its entrance between Liberty House and The Shoe Tree (née Global Ink). Bwog confirmed the announcement with Fotorush’s manager, who says “business has not been good” in These Economic Times.

Maybe that depends on who’s counting. It’s worth noting that business information firm Cortera estimates Fotorush pulled in annual sales worth $1 million to $5 million as recently as 2007 — that’s a lot of passport photos.

So, though we may not know what finally sank Fotorush, one thing is for sure: the Morningside Death Toll continues to climb.

—JYH

- Photo by MEQ

And Famiglia is once again without a neighbor. A few days ago, Bwogger Mariela Quintana noticed that Empanada Joe’s had papered over their windows, but had left all of its furniture in place. At first, Bwog was unsure whether the store had departed or was merely remodeling.

However, tech-savvy Bwoggers noticed earlier today that the Morningside Heights location is no longer on the locations page, even though Google Cache shows it having been there in the past. It appears, then, that Empanada Joe’s has joined the growing list of culinary casualties in Morningside since the new semester began.

Judging from the comments on our review, though, there will be much rejoicing. And who knows – maybe its replacement will be something useful?

An anonymous Bwog tipster has forwarded us the following farewell email, which details the departure of Dr. Ajay Nair (right), Associate Dean of Student Affairs/Office of Multicultural Affairs. Dr. Nair will be returning to UPenn (where he was Director of the Pan-Asian American Community House) to serve as Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs. 

So say hello to new (but interim) Associate Dean of Student Affairs for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Melinda Aquino. (That’s her on the left.) You might remember Aquino from her position as Senior Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs. According to the OMA website, Aquino has previously worked at the University of Florida, the University of Miami, and Washington Sq.-based archenemy NYU. Also, “her current work examines cultural hybrity and ‘techo-Orientalism’ in cyborg science fiction literature and films.”

Email after the jump.

Read more…

The school year has ended and next fall many professors will be packing their bags and leaving behind their Metrocards for the greener pastures of other universities — Yale, in particular, seems to be popular among Columbia’s professorial population. (Another way professors are just like us!) Bwog’s rounded up some arrivals and departures of your beloved faculty, but let us know who we missed and we’ll update the post. 

David Kastan, the chair of the English Department and Edward Said Professor of English and Comparative Literature is heading to New Haven. 

Noam Elcott will be joining the Art History Department as an assistant professor. Bonus fun fact: Elcott was The Blue and White’s first moder editor (in 1998), following its 100 year hiatus. 

Also heading to Yale is the Music Department’s Brian Kane, who was at CU for a post-doctorate teaching fellowship.

Owen Gutfreund, responding to the University’s decision not to grant him tenure, announced in January that he was uncertain whether he would remain at Columbia (as an associate professor of urban studies and director of BC/CU Urban Studies Programs) after this spring. A quick glance at the course directory reveals that Gutfreund will not be teaching any Fall 2008 classes.

Lit Hum lecturer Jill Muller did not receive a contract renewal

Say goodbye to Annalies Wouters of Classics

Another loss for the Music Department as Ruth Rosenberg heads to the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Professor of Political Science Thomas Pogge is headed to Yale’s Philosophy Department (if you’re keeping score, that’s three for Yale).

Philosophy professor and YouTube user Christia Mercer is taking a sabbatical, as is Bwog’s inamorato, the Abelard to our Heloise, the Antony to our Cleopatra, English and Comp. Lit professor Bruce Robbins. 

Next school year marks the beginning of Barnard’s hunger-striking Professor of Political Science Dennis Dalton‘s retirement.

Philosophy professors/married persons Patricia and Philip Kitcher return from sabbatical, the later of whom will be teaching Michael Seidel’s Joyce course in the fall.