Do you want to go Global?

As usual, admins gave statements and updates about things at the Columbia University Senate plenary today. It was shorter than usual, but we’re sure that you’ll find what the admins said interesting. Brought to you by Joe Milholland.

“One of the things we will be announcing, probably today, is a major effort to do research on young people and their attitudes and behaviors and so on related to issues of sexual harassment and assault,” said PrezBo at the February 27 Usenate plenary about SHIFT, the new sexual assault research program. “This will be one of the few, maybe the only serious effort to do research on these questions.”

At the plenary, Prezbo also talked about Columbia’s global centers. He said he was appreciative of the eight centers – he described the number as “not to few, not too many” – already in place. “It’s just absolutely critical that this university realize the interconnectedness of the world, the reciprocal influences of the world, the problems that have to be solved throughout the world,” said Prezbo on the need for global centers, saying that such goals could not be completed on-campus alone.

Executive Committee chair Sharyn O’Halloran announced that the proposed changes to the Rules of University Conduct will be released on March 27, not March 17 as originally planned. Town halls will be in April, and the senate will vote on the new rules on May 1.

The Alumni Relations Committee also gave a report at the plenary. Co-chair Dan Libby outlined four major themes for alumni relations: alumni career services (Libby said this was the “most important “ of the four themes), Columbia global centers, entrepreneurship, and online learning.

EVP for Global Centers and Global Development Safwan Masri and VP for Alumni Relations Donna MacPhee. Masri said that the goal of the global programs was for members of the Columbia community to “learn things from a global perspective as opposed to an international perspective.” Masri also noted that Deantini wants “to ensure that every student at Columbia College has at least one meaningful global experience by the time that they graduate.” They noted several global opportunities currently available, such as a program where Poli Sci professor John Huber teachers 15 Columbia students and 15 students from universities in the Middle East together in a “six-credit course on democracy and democratization.” “Half of it will be delivered in Tunis, and th other half will be delivered in Istanbul,” according to Masri.