Newly installed Dean of Columbia College James Valentini just sent an email introducing himself to all Columbia students. After offering a short biography, Valentini writes that he has been heavily involved with the College ever since he came to Columbia, and strongly values both the Core Curriculum and need-based financial aid for College students. He […]

Keep your eyes open for the September issue of The Blue & White, coming soon to campus. Until then, Bwog will honor our heritage/amorous affair with our mother magazine by posting highlights of the upcoming issue online. Among the treats to look forward to: an account of Columbia’s long-forgotten freshman hazing rituals, a brief history of […]

The USenate’s Student Affairs Committee (SAC) released a statement yesterday supporting Professor James Valentini’s appointment as Interim Dean. In case you’re a little hazy on your Senate background, the mandate of the SAC is to advise on “matters of University-wide student concerns, and to concerns of students in more than one faculty or school.” Their comment […]

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 […]

As many tipsters have pointed out, Columbia was on the front page of the New York Times site (in print on A16) this morning. The second Times article about the recent resignations of Dean Moody-Adams and Provost Steele says things you probably already know: that faculty are dissatisfied, and that it had nothing to do […]

Dean Moody-Adams’ resignation was surprising and controversial. We’ve done our best to provide context and historical background over the past few days, but all the information can be overwhelming. We’ve pared Moodygate down to the bare essentials, in a neat question and answer format to help you digest it all. But be warned! It doesn’t […]

Moody-Adams’ reasons for resigning probably surrounded decisions made by the Policy and Planning Committee (PPC) of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Executive Vice President Nicholas Dirks focused his reaction to the dean’s condemnation of FAS on defending the PPC and stressing that whatever Moody-Adams found objectionable has not been set in stone. We’re […]

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 […]

Recent developments surrounding Moodygate have left all parties stunned and confused, but everyone can be certain of one thing: Columbia University is an organizationally complex machine, perhaps too much so. Investigations into the origins and circumstances of Moody-Adams’ resignation have revealed existing and historical rifts between deans, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and central […]

Bwog just recieved the following e-mail, sent by Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty Nick Dirks. The e-mail is essentially a complete refutation of every concern that Moody-Adams expressed in her e-mail. Most importantly, Dirks says that there are no particular decisions that have been made, which seems completely […]

The following e-mail just went out to the families of CC students. We’re still waiting on a statement from Moody-Adams herself, which is starting to seem a bit overdue. The Office of the Dean declined to comment. Dear Columbia College Families, As many of you have doubtless read in the news [that’s us], Michele Moody-Adams, […]

MiMoo’ email revealed animosities plaguing the administration. Only when you understand the university’s current structure can you begin to comprehend the implications of centralization and her departure. First, a bit of history. The massive administrative construct, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, traces all the way back to the late nineteenth century. In 1880, Graduate […]

While trying to make sense of Dean Moody-Adams’ resignation, many have pointed out a striking similarity in the situation to Dean Austin Quigley’s forced resignation in 1997, as chronicled in the New York Times. Although Quigley was reinstated as Dean a mere weekend after his resignation, the story highlights some of the important issues at […]

Brian Connolly, Associate Vice President for Public Affairs from the Office of Communications, has released the following statement (emphasis ours) from President Bollinger regarding the resignation of Columbia College Dean Michele Moody-Adams. Bollinger writes that “under the circumstances,” Moody-Adams will step down immediately, rather than on June 30, 2012, as she proposes in her statement. […]

While we are still waiting for official comment from the University administration, we have received multiple confirmations from a wide spectrum of students, alumni, and faculty that Michele Moody-Adams has resigned as Dean of Columbia College, and that the news was sudden, unexpected, and as of yesterday afternoon, a complete surprise to many administrators, up […]