GSAPP Dean Amale Andraos will conclude her tenure at the end of the year. She is set to become Special Advisor to Columbia University President Bollinger this July.

In an email sent to faculty and staff, President Lee Bollinger announced that Amale Andraos, Dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), will conclude her tenure on December 31, 2021. 

President Bollinger also announced that Andraos will be taking on the position of Special Advisor to the President as early as this July, adding that her position will involve the work of the Columbia Climate School. Amidst this, Andraos will retain her professorship at Columbia and continue to serve as co-founder of WORKac, a New York-based architecture firm.

Throughout her tenure as GSAPP Dean, Andraos shifted the School’s disciplines to place an emphasis on “climate change, social equity, and the impact of data and technology on the built environment.” President Bollinger also acknowledged Andraos’ influence on the growth of the School, citing an increase in research, scholarly output, interdisciplinary course offerings, and new academic programs. Andraos was also dedicated to improving the School’s equity and inclusion, having increased diversity among faculty and more than doubled students’ financial aid.

President Bollinger concluded his email by adding that Andraos will “remain an important resource” for the University in the future.

President Bollinger will soon announce information regarding the appointment of an interim dean and the creation of a committee to elect a successor for Andraos.

President Bollinger’s email can be read in its entirety below.

Email from President Bollinger to students and faculty at 12:05 pm on May 20:

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

I write to share that Amale Andraos will be concluding her tenure as Dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) on December 31, 2021. Happily, Amale will be retaining her professorship and as early as this July will also be assuming the position of Special Advisor to the President, which will involve a particular focus on the work of the Columbia Climate School. She will also continue her practice as co-founder of the New York-based architecture firm WORKac. 

Amale’s leadership of GSAPP has been transformative. Among the many accomplishments that mark her tenure, these stand out: She reconceptualized the School’s disciplines around the ways in which they engage with the challenges facing the world, particularly those of climate change, social equity, and the impact of data and technology on the built environment. The School’s research capacities and scholarly output have grown tremendously, with new lines of inquiry and engagement with fields and practices and with institutions and cities beyond the University. The expansion of the School’s interdisciplinary course offerings and the establishment of new academic programs have also deepened and enriched the experiences of our students. And undergirding all of this has been Amale’s commitment to equity and inclusion, resulting in meaningful strides towards increased diversity and representation among faculty and in more than doubling financial aid to students. 

Amale’s contributions to GSAPP and to Columbia are innumerable, and I am delighted that she will remain an important resource for me and for the University in the years ahead. I will soon share details regarding the appointment of an interim dean and the creation of a search committee to identify Amale’s successor. I know we all join together in thanking Amale for her remarkable seven years of invaluable service as GSAPP’s Dean.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger

Avery Library via Columbia