Bloomberg steps up after Komen for the Cure backs down on breast cancer screening. (The New York Observer)

Another type of cancer. (The Raw Story)

PrezBo would not be happy with the treatment of journalists yesterday on Capitol Hill. (Huff Po)

The economy might just be turning around. Or maybe it’s all an elaborate hoax. (New York Times)

Because ConEd has too much on their plate. (CNet News)

Sponsors via WikiMedia Commons

Affirmative action has been one of the most hotly debated topics in higher education since the 1960s, as well as one of PrezBo’s most hotly pursued passions. Before taking the reins as Columbia’s president, ‘Bo.0 served as president of the University of Michigan, where his defense of affirmative action in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger made international headlines. While his work with issues of diversity is pivotal, he still strives to maintain a balance between sustaining Columbia’s educational mission and continuing his role as a first amendment scholar and firebrand defender of wide-open free speech. He believes that the two go hand-in-hand, maintaining that the press and the university are the best places to support free speech.

Yesterday, he published an op-ed in The Washington Post (where he serves as a director) on college diversity being at risk—specifically pertaining to the Supreme Court’s pending decision as to whether or not they will hear Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin. The case, in which a white student named Abigail Fisher asserted that she would have been admitted to the university if it weren’t for her race, has been ruled in the university’s favor by lower courts. In the piece, Prezbo stresses that the court hearing the case will be a blow to college diversity across the nation. He uses Columbia as an example for what a university should strive for in terms of diversity.

Consider Columbia, where our undergraduate student body has the highest percentage of low- and moderate-income students and the largest number of military veterans of our peer institutions, as well as the highest percentage of African American students among the nation’s top 30 universities. But our country cannot rely on private universities such as Columbia to realize these benefits. Far more students attend our great public universities, where a combination of declining state support and unfavorable ballot measures pose a serious risk to our model of higher education.

Several professors have confirmed to Bwog that PrezBo was conspicuously absent at the fall Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) meeting. While PrezBo has admittedly had a very long semester, so too have his FAS, who’ve spent much of the past year fighting cuts to faculty benefits.

PrezBo’s office has no comment about why he didn’t attend the fall meeting, or whether he’ll make it to the next one. Several sources have confirmed that he will take a break from wining and dining the global intelligentsia at the BoMansion to wine and dine with the global intelligentsia at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Yes, we will continue to repost this amazing picture.

According to a press release from the New York Fed, PrezBo has been “redesignated Chairman of the New York Fed Board of Directors.” This means he will remain as Chairman (the post he currently holds) on the board through 2012. PrezBo is no stranger to the New York Fed, having risen in the ranks from being appointed deputy chair in 2009 before being appointed chairman of the board in 2010.

PrezBo, known for his staunch support of bigger government and the first amendment, votes with the other board members of the Fed to influence monetary policy through setting discount rates and the appointment of the bank’s president. Still, the Wall Street Journal says “a big part of the role is symbolic.”

Bollinger’s been on the board since 2007, having served as a Class C director. Given that the board looks for “individuals chosen from professions outside the banking community and typically represent business, industry, agriculture, labor and consumers,” it’s clear that the man with a plan (and a full head of hair) was a natural fit.

It's like an emotional one of these

Good News: Tiger Woods won the Chevron World Challenge this weekend, ending a two-year losing streak. Asked whether the emotions he felt were more satisfied or relieved, Woods replied “It just feels awesome whatever it is.” …That’s what she said. (CBS)

Bad News: Times are tough. PrezBo only received $1.53 million in total compensation in 2009, a decrease of 13% from the year before. Don’t fret though, he still lies comfortably in the 1%. (Bloomberg, NYT)

Good News: Feeling stressed? Luckily for us, Slate compiled what just may be the most adorable photo gallery on record: people napping. And yes, there’s a kitten or two thrown in.

Bad News: Your mother always told you that being kind and virtuous would get you far in life. Baseball manager Leo Durocher claimed “nice guys finish last.” Guess who was right. Hint: it wasn’t Mom. (Wired)

The Best News: But there are always signs that despite the apparent chaos and uncertainty in the world, great leaders will step up when duty calls to bring us forward into times of progress and joy. By which we mean Madonna is performing at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show. (MTV)

Thing your dad is scared of via Wikimedia

May gain a friend soon

Bloomberg’s recent proposal that aims to lure top engineering universities around the world to New York with a pledge of $100 million to be put towards a new campus (either on Governor’s Island, Roosevelt Island, or the Brooklyn Navy Yard) has universities across the country scrambling to send in their applications. Big names that have expressed interest include Stanford, Cornell, and NYU, so it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that today, PrezBo has officially thrown Columbia’s hat into the ring. That being said, with the proposals due tomorrow, our administrators certainly didn’t leave much margin for error.

Some major points touched on within the proposal (PDF):

• Columbia will build or renovate another 3 buildings on the Manhattanville Campus, adding 1.1 million additional square feet, which will make up the new “Institute of Data Sciences and Engineering.”
• The Institute will consist of five specialized interdisciplinary research centers: U.S. and New Media Center, Smart Cities Center, Health Analytics Center, Cybersecurity Center, and Financial Analytics Center.
• Since Columbia already has the necessary building permits, the project is “more than shovel ready”—a boon for Columbia, given Bloomberg’s goal of having the campus open by 2015.
• Phase I of construction: By 2020, Columbia will have completed the construction of a 443,000 sq ft facility, housing 40 new faculty and 600 grad students. By 2022, there will be a total of 72 new faculty and 1,080 new grad students.
• Phase II will be completed by 2032, and involves renovating a 220,000 sq ft building to house 20 more faculty and 300 grad students, and building a 520,000 sq ft building for another 75 faculty and 1,125 grad students.

Noticeably, the Columbia proposal contrasts from the others in that it only adds to the current Manhattanville expansion plans, rather than utilizing any of the sites Bloomberg has proposed. The administration seems to be hoping Bloomberg will be pleased at not having to donate city land to the expansion, but we’ll have to wait and see. And given Bloomberg’s recent statements on the institute, he may end up spreading the love to multiple universities anyways.

Engineer via Wikimedia Commons

If you went to last weekend’s homecoming game, then you probably recall all the construction happening near the soccer fields at the Baker Athletic Complex. Following this week’s groundbreaking ceremony, construction is officially underway on the new 48,000-square-foot sports facility. Situated near the corner of 218th and Broadway, the center will house indoor training spaces, offices, lounges, a hospitality suite and an auditorium. It will rise to a grand height of five stories, which will put it above the adjacent 1 train platform. The chief architect overseeing the project is none other than Steven Holl, the NYC-based designer who construced Time Magazine’s Best New Architectural Marvel in 2001. Construction is expected to last 18 months, but we know some underclassmen that are already excited for a tour.

Bonus Prezbo pic and more after the jump

A tipster sent in this somewhat Monet-esque picture of the Man himself carb-ing up in the snack tent before the big game.

We're really hoping PrezBo goes for the body paint next year

UPDATE: Thanks to Kylie Rogers, also spotted was Ke$ho snacking on some popcorn while posing for pictures with students.

Some toothy lion grins. adorbs.

UPDATE: Mailing Wu snapped a picture of PrezBo posing with some students in a less impressionistic manner.

PrezBo doesn't look at cameras.

UPDATE: After a worthy fight full of game changers and moments that had us on the edges of our seats, the Columbia Lions lost 20-27 to the Penn Quakers. Don’t let that put a damper on your night though! In the wise words of Michael Jordan, “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game”.

“>

PrezBo: finally bringing some win to the football field

Spreading the celebratory spirit

UPDATE: More pics of meh PrezBo.

PrezBo generously shared his mansion and manservant with some lucky lottery winners at his first Fireside Chat last night from 6 to 7:30 pm. Bwog’s Conor Skelding, ever eager to enter 60 Morningside Drive, stopped by to watch his fellow students waffle between demonizing and deifying their president-for-life.

Where the magic happens.

5:57 to 6:35 pm was spent mingling around a central snack spread of pastrami finger sandwiches, artisinal cheeses, fruits, vegetables, donuts, candies, sparkling water, soda, and apple cider. KevSho made his rounds, greeting and chatting with students. There was an unusually large representation of freshpeople. By a little after 6:30, whatever force moves people in polite social situations, herded the crowd into PrezBo’s sitting room.

Once everybody had settled, PrezBo, dressed sharply in a navy suit and blue tie, entered stage right. He opened candidly: “You can ask me anything and I’ll say if I can answer it or don’t want to.” The game was afoot.

A student sporting a soul patch pitched the first question, about Columbia’s patents on intellectual property. PrezBo replied that such patents bring in $75 to $100 million a year. He’s ” happy they make money,” but modestly admitted his lack of knowledge on patent issues. Someone else followed up with a comment on the move of scientific scholarship from individual to group, from specific to holistic. PrezBo likes this trend, and wants making more buildings to house all these wonderful holistic happenings.

Next a student asked for the President’s thoughts on Occupy Wall Street. PrezBo mentioned that he’d read David Brook’s opinions and mostly agreed with them. Merely attacking easy targets like the rich or Wall Street is an oversimplification, he explained. “Wall Street firms were significantly responsible, but not the only ones [to blame].” He added that part of blame must be shouldered by the American people and regulators for being “swept up in easy money.” Though Prezbo maintains that “demonstrations are by definition oversimplifications,” he diverges from Brooks because he believes the emotions expressed in protests genuinely valuable and worth listening to.

Read more…

A tipster noticed a custodian removing every poster for The Matching Game from the Hamilton bulletin boards. Naturally we had questions. Why doesn’t PrezBo want us associating him with Lady Gaga? Have you ever seen the two of them in the same place at the same time? Is PrezGa the new Ke$ho? Would they make a good match?

Caught in a bad FB marketing scheme

Our fearless leader PrezBo is an image-conscious guy. The programs he promotes, people and dignitaries he associates with, and swanky parties he throws all work together for a purpose: to extend his personal brand of badass, “do it live,” presidency. To that end, his office released a new outward-facing portrait this year. Using all of his Art Hum might, former CSI: Miami photo analyst, Conor Skelding, will try to dissect its meaning for you.

 

Why is his primary portrait only released in tiny?

• His hair. There is a hole in the ozone named for Lee C. Bollinger’s hair products. Just so coiffed, just so mussed up. Dammit, the man has a head of hair.
• That shit-eating grin. After his hair, that smirk is our president-for-life’s more distinctive feature. This is a man with a plan. His grin says, “Speak your thoughts, share your beat poems in town halls, I’ve already thought four steps ahead. Checkmate, bitch.“
• The Casio. Watches speak volumes about a person. PrezBo has the power and money to really work a huge, diamond-encrusted watch. But he doesn’t need Donald Trump’s ostentation. He’d rather wear the sensible watch and instead just flaunt the shit out of his raw power.
• Sitting across from you. He’s sat down for a meeting with little old you! In this most impersonal encounter—a studio photo, for God’s sake—he’s conveying some personal connection. Or trying to.
• Hands clasped, fingers interlaced. PrezBo is ready to get down to business! Whether the issue du jour is seeing blight declared in NY courts, giving world leaders a tongue-lashing, or just belittling the University Senate, he’s ready to deal with it in a serious, yet personal, way.
• Eyes crinkled, focused on you. If the Greeks believed eyes were windows to the soul, PrezBo’s are made of one way glass. He’s looking at you. Into you. Is he seriously considering what you’re saying? Patronizing you? Imagining you naked? You’ll never know.
• Tie knot askew, shirt a little wrinkled, no jacket. He’s a busy man, who has sat across a table from you and given you his attention. Even casually ruffled, he looks great. Heck, he looks great no matter what he’s wearing.

Image via columbia.edu.

Today from 1:15 to 2:39 pm, our own University Senate met in Schermerhorn 501 for the first plenary meeting of the year. As with any such plenary, there were big helpings of Milano cookies, Newman’s Own juices, and petty behavior. Bwog’s plenary junkie Conor Skelding stopped by both for the laughs, and also to observe serious consideration of a campus-wide smoking ban.

PrezBo asserted his power at 1:15 sharp, banging his gavel, cutting off the chatter, and shouting, “Okay, let’s go!”

With his standard out-of-order opening speech, PrezBo eased along through the agenda, “Okay, we need a motion to adopt the agenda…is there a second? No objections…okay.” He talked about ROTC, NoCo, FAS, the College, and what the agenda would be for the day.

“The University is, I think, making great, great progress, and we all take enormous pride from being associated with it.” [applause mainly starting with two people]

And with his typical style, PrezBo dismissed the importance of the meeting as he built it up, saying, “I have to leave at 1:45 because the President of Ecuador is coming, and he has done some things on which I need to challenge him.” [laughs, sorta forced]

By then the meeting was actually underway, and a student raised the idea of course evaluations being open to students. PrezBo personally supports that, but “it’s not something I can or should decide on my own.” People laughed at that.

An anti-ROTC professor asked about how the ROTC committee would work, and PrezBo said he didn’t know. She asked for “as much information as possible.” After a little talk about Title IX and fringe benefits, the real issue of the meeting got underway: a campus-wide smoking ban. Read more…

Update, 8:15: Dean James Valentini’s wife is Teodolinda Barolini, chair of the Planning and Policy Committee, the new arm of Arts and Sciences created to help navigate “budgetary challenges.” Remember in Dirks’ December 2010 letter introducing PPC, he blamed burdensome financial aid costs incurred by the College. We supposed that this could be related to the financial issues MiMoo alluded to in her resignation letter when she alleged that recent administrative changes could compromise the College’s “financial health.” According to the March 2010 report by the FAS advisory committee, ARC (Academic Review Committee), the PPC could ideally improve communication and cooperation between constituent schools within FAS. Still, PPC’s consolidation of budget powers arguably diminishes the financial autonomy of the College. We don’t think there’s some grand conspiracy here, but it’s curious that this potential conflict of interest (confirmed by the couple’s NYTimes wedding announcement) wasn’t mentioned in any of PrezBo’s emails. Bwog holds out hope for transparency!

Update: We were tipped the following email (also reproduced in the comments), which Bollinger sent to just alumni of the College. He emphasizes the University’s steadfast commitment to the College. Original email sent to the whole CC community still below.

Dear Alumni of Columbia College,

I am enclosing below the letter I sent today to the College campus community announcing the appointment of Professor James Valentini as Interim Dean of Columbia College. Professor Valentini’s qualifications for this role are enumerated in the letter, and I hope you agree that he brings demonstrated leadership in undergraduate education to this important position.

Given the suddenness of Dean Moody-Adams’ resignation, I want to take this opportunity to comment directly. When I came back to Columbia in 2002, having last been here during my years at the Law School in the late 60’s, I was very surprised and frankly confounded by the stories I heard about deep-seated suspicion and mistrust among the College community. Sometimes these stories had cast the president as the antagonist, and in others it was “the University” or “the Arts and Sciences.” It was unthinkable to me that the college that founded Columbia would not be seen as the very center of the University.

Whatever has been true at certain moments in the past, I can say to you, without any qualification, that our commitment to the College has never been stronger, and that the College has never had a stronger role in the University. We are one of the most sought after colleges in the world, we attract a cohort of the most talented young women and men, and we are proud to have the most diverse student body in the Ivy League. They come because of the Core, because of the remarkable faculty, because of New York City, and they come because we are steadfast in our commitment to make Columbia affordable for them. Through a partnership of alumni support led by John Kluge, University contribution, and tuition revenues, we are able to admit students to the College without regard to their families’ ability to pay, and then we provide them the financial aid they need to attend. All this adds up to the best student body in the world, and I feel this first hand every Fall when I teach my large undergraduate course on freedom of speech and press.

More than ever the College experience draws on the strengths of the entire University. In addition to the unique experience of the Core Curriculum, College students have access to an ever broader set of educational opportunities, including the departmental majors and new undergraduate programs in the arts, in business, and in public health. I am particularly committed to finding more opportunities for undergraduates to study and work internationally, including at our seven global centers around the world. Our athletics programs are stronger and more successful than ever, and a new advising center funded by the Quigley Endowment is transforming the way we help students shape their futures.
Columbia is a complex organization, with an expansive mission, and a tradition of vigorous debate about its future. We wouldn’t want it any other way. Naturally, there are differences of opinion among the administration, faculty, and alumni leaders about structures and strategies that will serve the College best. We are fortunate to be able to work on these issues with not only a gifted faculty but a board of University Trustees informed by the strong representation of College alumni leaders, including the Chair and three of four Vice Chairs, and a cohort of able and committed College alumni helping to move Columbia forward.

The College’s strength is Columbia’s strength. I look forward to working with Jim Valentini, the faculty, students, and our alumni leaders in continuing to build for its future.

Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger

This just in—PrezBo announces that former Chemistry department chair Professor James Valentini will replace Professor Michele Moody-Adams as interim Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education. Here’s the full email:

To the Columbia College Community:

I am pleased to announce that Professor James Valentini will assume the responsibilities of Dean of the College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education on an interim basis.

A member of Columbia’s faculty since 1991, Professor Valentini led Columbia’s Chemistry Department as chair from 2005 until 2008 and currently is director of the department’s undergraduate studies program. Jim is a decorated scholar, having been selected in 2009 by his peers as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and earlier as a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his research involving chemical reaction dynamics. His two decades at Columbia have been marked by a love of teaching undergraduates and dedication to supporting their intellectual journey at the College. Jim was for many years an active member of the University Senate, served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Diversity Initiatives, has been Chair of the Arts and Sciences Academic Review Committee, Chair of the College Committee on Science Instruction, a member of the Committee on the Core and the College Committee on Instruction, faculty representative to the Alumni Association Board, and has worked with many other groups on curriculum matters, undergraduate affairs, faculty governance, and tenure.

I want to thank Michele Moody-Adams for her service as the Dean of the College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education and for her devotion to the College and its students. Though she made her resignation effective on June 30, 2012, I concluded it was in the best interests of the College that it become effective immediately so that an interim dean could be appointed and in place by the beginning of the academic year. Michele has graciously agreed to help with the transition and to be available to consult with the interim dean for the remainder of the academic year. She will, of course, continue to serve as Joseph Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory in the Philosophy Department.

I will keep you informed about the progress of our search for a permanent Dean of the College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education. For the present, please join me in thanking Michele Moody-Adams for her service and Jim Valentini for his willingness to serve on an interim basis.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger

 

Registration is now open for the annual Fun Run/Walk, in which hundreds of ardent admirers trail PrezBo around Riverside Park at a leisurely trot. Bwog will be there, also in shorts.

We will never ever tire of this picture ever

Michele Moody-Adams may have only been dean for a scant two years, but she has undoubtedly made her mark in Columbia history. Bwog’s Peter Sterne takes us through the short time she spent as Dean of Columbia College.

When Michele Moody-Adams was first named as Columbia College’s new dean in February 2009, The New York Times wrote an article about “the first female and the first black dean of Columbia College.” They praised Columbia’s selection of Dean Moody-Adams first because of the demographic diversity it would bring to the administration, noting uncomfortably that “the top tier of the [Columbia] administration has remained largely male and monochromatic despite an increasingly diverse student body.” But the Times also recognized the strengths that she brought to Columbia, namely, her background in moral and political philosophy that would allow her to understand the importance and challenges of Columbia College’s Core Curriculum, and her experience working as both an academic and administrator at Cornell.

Dean Moody-Adams certainly seemed committed to the Core. In an interview with Columbia College Today, she spoke of her love for the Core and declared, “I will do everything I can to protect the Core, the best of the Core, and much of what remains and has been handed down through the decades is the best.” And when asked what should be used to judge her success or failure as a dean, she replied, “I think it would have to do with the Core — the health of the Core Curriculum and the extent to which…we’ve managed to preserve the essence of the Core.”

During her short time at Columbia, there have been some small efforts to enhance the Core Curriculum. Chair of Literature Humanities Christia Mercer created an interactive LitHum website that (at least in theory) helps students relate the themes of Lit Hum readings to each other and the modern world. In a similar vein, Professor Mercer, with Dean Moody-Adams’s support, started the Core Scholars program, which gives prizes to students who use Core readings as the basis for projects like songs, woodcuts, and intepretive dances. For Dean Moody-Adams, though, the Core includes more than just LitHum and CC. She believes strongly that the Core must include a basic understanding of science.

More MiMoo after the jump