F6 Recent Columbia, 1970 - 2003
1969 January 9 12 Columbia students sue University for its leniency in dealing
with protesting students
January 26 Columbia reports $200,000,000 capital campaign has reached $116,000,000
February 26 Acting President Cordier polling community leaders about Columbia ending gym project ; hires architect I. M. Pei to develop a master plan for the University
March 2 Trustees agree to abandon project to build gym in Morningside Park
March Provost and VP David Truman leaves to become president of Mount Holyoke College; Polykarp Kusch named Vice President and Dean of Faculties
March 9 100 faculty sign statement in NY Times opposing student disruptions of academic process
March 19 Columbia College Faculty vote to terminate NROTC Program; Reverend William Starr terminated as Episcopalian Chaplain
March24 225 students picket 8 campus buildings; SDS calls for 1-day strike; strike opposed by SRU; classes continue to be held
April Business School Dean Courtney Brown resigned; succeeded by G.F. James
April 9 University referendum overwhelmingly approves creation of University Senate; 40% of all eligible University members voted

April 15

Black students occupy office in Hamilton to protest delays in setting up African-American Studies Program
April 23 SDS seize Hamilton and Mathematics in support of black student demands; Cordier directs their prompt removal by NYPD
May 14 Trustees vote to eliminate NROTC Program on campus
July 1 Paul Carter named University Provost
July 8 University eliminates 112-year old position of University Chaplain
Mid- July Vanderbilt Chancellor Alexander Heard mentioned as presidential possibility; he formally declines in August
August 21 Andrew Cordier named 15th president of Columbia University; to serve for one year until successor on campus
October 12 Columbia and Barnard begin discussions about expanding cross-registration and eliminating redundant courses
October 24 Warrant for arrest of Mark Rudd issued upon his failure to appear to hear charges lodged against him by Columbia University
November 10 Columbia Trustees  alter their membership rules; members to serve 6-year terms; 12 years maximum; Columbia alumni to select 6 trustees (1 each year); University Senate to do likewise; Board to select 12; retirement age set at 72
1970
January 11 Columbia women faculty charge University with discriminating in faculty hiring
February 3 University of California, San Diego, Chancellor (and ex-CU faculty member) William McGill elected 16th president of Columbia Univesrity; to begin in September
February 18 I. M. Pei presents master plan to Columbia Trustees; includes a gym to be built under South Field
March 6 Townhouse on 11th Street blown up, killing three persons,  among  them ex-SDSer  Ted Gold (CC 1968). Had been making anti-personnel bombs.
March 26 NYC Civilian Review Board finds NYPD used "excessive force" in April 30, 1968 evacuation of Columbia buildings

April 9

President-elect William McGill visits campus; heckled by radical students

May 4

Ohio National Guard soldiers shoot and kill four protesting students at Kent State University
May 17 Dr. Paul Marks named Vice President of Medical Sciences and head of the medical school
June President Nixon ordered military incursion into Cambodia; sparks resurgence of ant-war protests on campuses; final exams curtailed at Barnard and Columbia
June 1 Columbia Spectator reports split in Low Library over composition of 1971-72 Budget Committee; Dean of Graduate Faculties George Fraenkel excluded
June 3 Columbia conducts its 116th Commencement; President Cordier presides; only minor disturbances
September 9 President McGill holds first press conference; reveals a deficit of $15,000,000  in  inherited 1970-71 budget; sharp cuts necessary
September 9 President Emeritus Andrew Cordier returns to School of International Affairs as Dean
1971
January 3 American Council of Education ratings of research universities mark sharp decline in Columbia's departmental standings
January 10 President McGill presented a 5-Year Austerity Program, designed to bring budget into balance by 1973-74
March 20 University Senate condemns attempts by radical students and outsiders to disrupt classes
April 13 Theodore William de Bary replaces Kusch as Executive Vice President; also named Provost
June Columbia held its 117th Commencement; marked by disruptions
June 20 Graduate Dean George Fraenkel announces the closing of Lingusitics Department

August 25

President McGill discussed his present plans to leave Columbia presidency after a 5- year term, in 1976
October 13 University announced bequest of $5,000,000 from J. C. Levi; gift unrestricted as to its use except not for a building
November 5 Columbia reported to be in trouble with HEW over failure to submit report on women hires compliance with Title IX legislation.
1972
January 4 Carl Hovde announced his intention to resign as Dean of Columbia College in June
January 18 University reported upswing in gifts, including $1,250,000 from Mellon Foundation; permits lower of future operating deficits to $10.8 million for 1971-72; $9.9 million for 1972-73
January 18 Preliminary negotiations indicate annual rent for Rockefeller center land may increase from $3.9 million to $12 to $15 million under new lease
January 26 Ruth Bader Ginsberg named Professor at Columbia Law School; first woman professor in its 114-year history
February 9 Andrew Cordier resigns as Dean of S.I.A.
February 25 Columbia and Barnard agree to extend cross-registration and cooperate to eliminate course redundancies; Columbia to assume a controlling role in the tenuring of Barnard faculty
March 23 James Polschek named 6th Dean of School of Architecture
April 26 NYPD called to campus to deal with anti-war protesters blocking access to buildings; disruptions occur until May 2nd
May 13 Columbia Admissions Office report  several students admitted to Columbia decide to go elsewhere because of campus unrest.
June Columbia's 118th Commencement; marked by minor disruptions
June 11 Maurice Ewing, head of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, to leave Columbia for University of Texas
Assistant Professor of Classics Peter Pouncey named   10th (9?)Dean of Columbia College
September 3 Columbia opens three weeks earlier than its traditional schedule; will permit longer break at Christmas and earlier Commencement.
September 19 Columbia College Dean Peter Pouncey  approves concept of a gay lounge in one of the undergraduate dormitories
November 18 University announces its current year's deficit down to $9.9 million.
1973
February 24 Provost De Bary announces revision of undergraduate curriculum
June 5 Columbia's 119th Commencement; first in 5 years not disrupted by student protests
October 3 Gift of $6.5 million from Fairchild Foundation permits start on new biology building on campus; $5.5 million more needed to cover projected total cost
October 26 University completes renegotiations with Rockefeller Center for 15-year lease renewal; annual rent to rise from $9 million to $13 million during term; additional $4 million to endowment
November 9 University projecting a balanced budget for 1974-75 for first time in 8 years; accumulated debt since 1967: $71,000,000
December 3 Martha Muse elected as first woman trustee of  Columbia University
1974
Columbia University Club, at 43rd Street, dissolved; building sold
February 5 Columbia School of Pharmacy loses its accreditation
February 8 Frank Hogan leaves Board of Trustees upon reaching 72
April 1 Katherine Auchincloss named to Board of Trustees; its second female member
April Provist DeBary convened a committee to look into the organization of the Arts & Sciences; Carl Woodring, Chr.
May 11 Lawrence Cremin named president of Teachers College; succeeds retiring John H. Fischer
May 15 220th Commencement of Columbia University; 1460 undergraduate degrees and 5640 advanced degress awarded
October 28 Opening of new gym facililty announced; cost set at $12.7 million

November 29/  December 1st

Ist Arden House Conference on University Priorities
December 22

Endowment growth from $186 million in 1964 to $265 million in 1974; corresponding drop in unrestricted portion from $76 million to $19 million

1975
January 4 University sells Rembrandt painting, "Man with Arms Akimbo," that had been rescued from President Kirk's office during 1968 occupation of Low Library
May 10 President McGill announces his understanding with Trustees to stay on as president another five years
May 14 221st Commencement of Columbia University
Martha Peterson resigns as president of Barnard College; accepts presidency of Beloit College; Dean LeRoy Breunig named acting president
May

Report on the Organization of the Arts and Sciences ("Woodring Report") submitted to Provost DeBary; members split on recommendations

 
July 11 Andrew Cordier, 15th president of Columbia University, died.
July 22 University Record commences publication, following demise of Columbia Forum.
August 8 Boris Yavitz succeeds Louis Volpe as Dean of the Business School
August Wes Hennessey steps down as Dean of the School of Engineering; Ralph Schwarz as Acting Dean
September Middle States Association Reaccreditation Review cites difficulties Columbia laboring under for the past decade
October 16 President McGill projected $1,000,000 deficit, revising earlier projection that had 1975-76 budget in balance; "We have failed to reach our goal."
October 19 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announces $2.75 million grant to help University cope with growing budgetary problems; establish Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships 
November 11 Barnard Trustees elect Jacqueline Mattfeld, Dean of the Faculty of Brown University, the College's 4th president; to begin July 1, 1976
November 24  College Dean Peter Pouncey permits College Faculty  (70 of 356 in attendance) vote "to recruit and admit women for the B.A. at the earliest opportunity."  president McGill objects to vote
December 13 Columbia Trustees dissociate themselves from vote of College Faculty to admit women into the College; take view "that Barnard would not survive" such a unilateral action 
December 2nd Arden House Conference held on budgeting, planning and resource management
December Dean George Fraenkel appointed committee to examine questions relating to the future of the Arts & Sciences; Eugene Rice, Chr.
Robert Belknap named Acting  Dean of Columbia College, following Peter Pouncey's resignation after falling out with President McGill
1976
February 29 Columbia Spectator celebrates its 100th birthday
March 3 Peter Likins named Dean of Engineering School; replaces Acting Dean Ralph Schwarz
May 12 222nd Commencement; security tight following cuts in Community Educational Exchange program that benefited the neighborhood; 6,700 graduates.
May 30 Barnard and Columbia reported to be on a collision course; Barnard President Jacqueline Mattfeld resisting Columbia calls for greater involvement in selecting Barnard faculty
June 3 Schuyler Chapin named Dean of the School of the arts; succeeds Bernard Beckerman
July 1 Jacqueline Mattfeld begins her Barnard presidency; Peter Likins becomes Dean of Engineering School
November Little interest reported in vacant Columbia College deanship
1977
January 7 Ward Dennis named Dean of General Studies; succeeds retiring Aaron Warner
Possible appointment of ex-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Columbia Political Science Department  blocked by his faculty critics
Princeton,  after 231 years as a men's college, admits women undergraduates to its class of 1981 ; Leaves Columbia as the last Ivy men's college
May 18 223rd Commencement; 6,800 graduates
Medical School alumnus (P&$ 1921) Armand Hammer gives $5 Million to the Medical School; "one of the largest private donations the University has ever received." 
August Amherst economics professor Arnold Collery named 10th Dean of Columbia College; replaces Acting Dean Robert Belknap
October 13 Mark Rudd given discharge after turning himself in, ending seven years as a fugitive from justice.
October 18 Rice Committee on the Future of the Arts & Sciences makes report: called for VP for Arts & Sciences; consolidation of Barnard  and Columbia departments; expansion of undergraduate programs
November 19
1978
Year of controversy over divestment from companies during business in South Africa
January 31 Deans' Planning Group releases its report calling for "responsibility-centered budgeting"
February Vice President for Fiscal Management Bruce Bassett leaves McGill administration to return to Business School faculty 
March 14 Patricia Batten named Vice President and University Librarian; University's first female Vice President
April Provost William T. DeBary to resign provostship in September and return to faculty in new  John Mitchell Mason Professorship 
April 11 Percy K. Hudson makes $12 million bequest to Columbia; to be used to complete Fairchild Biology Building; then the largest private gift in university's history
April 23 10th anniversary of  1968 disturbances bring many protesters back to campus; President's House picketed briefly, calling for "Divestment, Now"
May 1 President McGill announces 1978-79 projected budget of $248 Million to be in balance; first since 1965-66; "we are nearly solvent, but we are breathing heavily from the long struggle to get there."
May 3 University Senate opposes Apartheid in South Africa but does not call upon the University to divest its holdings in South African companies
May 17 224th Commencement; 7,725 degrees awarded 
June 5 Trustees vote not to increase holdings in companies doing business in South Africa
June 17 Elie Abel steps down as Dean of the School of Journalism
June 26 Paul Marks becomes VP for Medical Sciences
September Arthur Krim succeeds William Petersen as Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Fall $16.5 million East Campus Residential Complex underway; to include a humanities center underwritten with $700,000 grant from alumnus David Heyman
December 4 Law School Dean Michael Sovern named University Provost; succeeds  Theodore William de Bary, who returns to faculty
1979
The Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy and Pure Science unified into Faculty of Arts & Sciences
February 6 Albert Rosenthal named Dean of Law School; succeeds Sovern
April 10 President McGill withdraws request of the City to reactivate TRIGA nuclear reactor, following nuclear accident at Three-Mile Island.
May 16 225th Commencement; 7450 degrees
June 5 President McGill announces intention to step down in June 1980.
July 8 Columbia announced that its 1978-79 budget ended in balance;the first balanced budget since 1966
November 29 Ira Wallach gift of $2,000,000 results in refurbishing and renaming of Livingston Hall
December Presidential Commission, Steven Marcus as Chair,  makes its report on "Academic Priorities in the Arts and Sciences"; identifies with the strategy of "selective excellence" 
1980
January 7 Trustees name Michael I. Sovern 17th President of Columbia University; to take office in July
May 1 President McGill submits budget of $340 Million for 1980-81; second in row in balance; 
May 14 226th Commencement; the 10th and last presided over by William McGill; 7300 degrees awarded
July 1 President Sovern installs a "troika" of provosts: Fritz Stern, for arts & sciences; Peter Likins, for professional schools; Robert Goldberger, for medical sciences
October 26 Andrew Mellon Foundation makes grant of $1,500,000 to Columbia in support of the humanities
November 18 Columbia College faculty set to vote to recommend admitting of women to the College
November Paul Marks to leave as Vice President for Health Sciences; to become head of Sloane-Kettering; Henrik Hedixen as Dean
1981
March Robert F. Goldberger named Provost and Vice President for Health Sciences
May Jacqueline Mattfeld terminated as President of Barnard; 31-year old Trustee and attorney Ellen V. Futter (BC 1970) made acting president
May 27 Presidents Sovern and Futter in  discussions about effecting de facto co-education and ramifications for Barnard should Columbia decide to admit women into Columbia College
June 1 Trustees determine University's stake in income from patents developed by Columbia faculty; beginning of new patents and intellectual property arrangements between faculty and University
August 8 Arnold Collery announces intention to resign as Dean of Columbia College in June 1982; search for his successor initiated
October 4 Columbia announces increase in gifts for 1980-81 to $48.4 million; up from $ 37.1 in 1979-80
November 5 Robert Gross named as Dean of Engineering; succeeds Peter Likins
Ellen  V. Futter named Barnard's 8th head, 5th president
November 16 Barnard informs CU that conditions for achieving de facto co-educataion at CC unacceptable to BC
December 7 CU Trustees vote to proceed with plans to make CC co-educational
1982
January 1
Patent secured for Medical School Professor Richard Axel for process allowing to cotransformation of genes; would eventually bring the University > $300 Million over 20 years of the patent
January 15 CU President and Trustee Committee informs Barnard Trustees of decision to admit women, beginning in Fall 1983  
January 22 Columbia announces its decision to begin admitting women to Columbia College in the fall of 1983; modifies its procedures with respect to the tenuring of Barnard Faculty in new agreement with Barnard
March 2 John Burton succeeds Boris Yavitz as Dean of the Business School
April 8 Biologist Robert Pollack (CC 19xx) named Dean of Columbia College
April 27 Columbia alumnus Lawrence Wien gives $3 million for the renovation of Baker Field
July  Psychologist Don Hood named first Vice President for Arts and Sciences; assumes most functions of Dean of Graduate Faculties, George Fraenkel
October 10 Columbia received more than $50,000,000 in 1981-82; biggest year ever
November 9 President Sovern launches a $400 million 'Campaign for Columbia" 5-year capital drive
1983
February Columbia purchases Audubon Ballroom adjacent to the Medical Center; site of 1965 assassination of Malcolm X; begins a decade-long process of securing community support for a biomedical research center on site.
February 5 Columbia College Admissions Office reports 5,500 applications for 790 spaces in Class of 1987; 40% of all applicants are women
April 15 Columbia expects a $3 million deficit in 1983-84
May 17 Columbia's 229th Commencement
July 1 Columbia and Barnard establish an Athletic Consortium by which Barnard athletes play on Columbia teams 
September First Columbia College women (Class of 1987) arrive on campus
October 4 George Fraenkel ends 15 years as Dean of Graduate Faculties; becomes VP for Special Projects; Succeeded by Gillian Lindt
October 10 Albert Rosenthal resigns as Dean of Columbia Law School; succeeded by Benno Schmidt
1984
$30 Million committed to renovation of chemistry labs in Havemayer and Chandler; some of money from controversial arrangement for a non-competitive congressional grant
January 30 President Sovern establishes a Presidential Commission  on the Future of the University, Provost Robert F. Goldberger, Chr.
March 11 Michael Timpane succeeds Lawrence Cremin as President of Teachers College
May 3 University reports it is half-way to completing the $400,000,000 capital campaign launched  18 months earlier
May 7 University to make no more investments in companies doing business in South Africa
May 230th Commencement
Fall  Lawrence A. Wein Stadium opened; result of $ 3 Million gift of Columbia alumnus and Trustee
1985
February 5 Columbia to sell 11.7 acres under Rockefeller Center to the Rockefellers  for $400 million. Then the highest price ever paid for a piece of land
May 15 231st Commencement; 7, 173 graduates
June 10 $316 million raised at halfway point in 4-year campaign to raise $400 million; president Sovern raises goal to $500 million
July 17  Trustees rejected Senate call for total divestment from companies doing business with South Africa
October 5-day strike of the University by UAW clerical workers
Middle States Re-Accreditation Team report "hope and confidence have been restored"; describe President Sovern as "its principal agent and personal symbol."
October 7 Trustees agree to divest from companies doing business in South Africa-- involves divestment of $39 Million in 2 years; no Trustee votes against divestment; first major university to divest
November 16 Philolexian Society, an undergraduate literary society, reactivated; established in 1802; inactive since1962
December 11 Law School Dean Benno Schmidt to leave Columbia to become President of Yale University
1986
January 2 Barbara Black to become Dean of the Law School; first female dean of a major law school
January 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute gives $45 million to Columbia for neurobiological research
April 2 Students erected shanties on Low Plaza to protest pace of divestment and other issues; Administration OKed remaining up until April 7th; dismantled by protesters on April 4th "because of lack of interest and support by the University community" 
May 14 232nd Commencement; 7, 161 graduates
October 2 Schuyler Chapin to step down as Dean of the School of the Arts
December 26 James Polschek to step down as 6th Dean of the School of Architecture, completing 15 years in the post
Jonathan Cole appointed VP for Arts & Sciences; replaces Donald Hood
1987
March 17 Plans for musical gala to mark 200th anniversary of  1787 charter of "Columbia College in the City of New York"
March 22 A campus brawl between black and white male undergraduates outside Ferris Booth Hall; Black students plan protest demonstration for April 4th; rain keeps numbers of protesters below 100
April 20 Columbia efforts to evict a tenant from University-owned apartment building revives neighborhood antagonisms
April 21  45 students chained themselves to Hami;ton hall entrance to protest March 22nd racial incident; 40 arrests made
April 29 Columbia announces $25 million gift from alumnus and trustee John Kluge; then largest single gift to the University
May 12 $500 million raised to complete the 4-year capital campaign, originally targeted to raise $400 million,  8 months early
May Presidential Commission (Robert Goldberger, Chr.)   issued its report, Strategies for Renewal; called  for a unified Faculty of Arts & Sciences
May 13 233rd Commencement; first Columbia College women receive their ABs; top two scholars in the Class of 1987 are women
July 1 Peter Smith named Dean of the School of the Arts
Summer/Fall President Sovern on sabbatical; Provost Robert Goldberger acting president' 
Fall Herbert Pardes, chair of P & S  psychiatry department, appointed Dean of Medical School
October 2 Columbia Football team defeats Princeton 16-13 at Wien Stadium; first win after 44 consecutive defeats (last win 10/13/1983)
October 5 Columbia announces it holds no investments in companies doing business in South Africa; divestment complete
October 14 Controversy over Business School adjunct, businessman Asher Edelman, offering finder's fees of $100,000 to students who come up with takeover prospects
October 19 Columbia College Faculty pass resolution opposing the dissolution of the College faculty in any plan for consolidating Arts & Sciences faculties such as contained in Goldberger Report
October 19 Stock Market crash; contributed to $11 Million (10%) drop in gifts for 1987-88; giving back up in 1988-89 
1988
February 4 Bernard Tschumi becomes 7th Dean of School of Architecture, succeeding James Polschek
February  Jury ruling that University's disciplining of white student over March 22, 1987 racial brawl was racially discriminatory
April 4 President Sovern supports merger of 4 faculties (College, General Studies, SIPA and Arts & Sciences) into one faculty 
April 6 Columbia and Barnard renew  intercorporate agreement; X-registration flows made primary determinant of Barnard annual payment to Columbia  
April 14 Business School Dean John Burton resigns deanship following a disputed tenure decision involving the Business School
April 25 350 alumni return to campus to observe the  20th anniversary of 1968 protests; Mark Rudd among them
May 15 NY Times Magazine cover story by Morris Dickstein declares "Columbia Recovered" and fully over the trauma of 1968; President Sovern given substantial credit for the recovery
May 234th Commencement
June 3 Joan Konner becomes Dean of School of Journalism; succeeds Elie Abel
August 26 Columbia opens undergraduate residence Morris A. Schapiro Hall; Barnard opens Centennial Hall (later Sulzberger); enables both Columbia and Barnard  to offer residency to all incoming students..
December 8 VP for Arts & Sciences Jonathan Cole named Provost; succeeds Robert Goldberger, who resigned
December 14 Report on the Commission on the Core Curriculum [Wm. Theodore  de Bary, Chr.) issued; calls for 'Extended Core" to encompass major civilizations outside the West
1989
February 6 Herbert Pardes named VP for Health Sciences; succeeds retiring Hendrik Bendixen; Ray Tellier named Columbia Footbal coach
Spring Provost reports that Harvard had made 8 offers to CU faculty in last year; "The costs of matching these offers or bettering them was great, but necessary."
March 10 Meyer Feldberg appointed Dean of Business School; succeeds the resigned John Burton
April 15 Columbia College Dean Robert Pollack announces intention to resign at end of academic year; had been dean since 1982.
Arts & Sciences Chairs form committee (David Helfand, Chr.) to examine possibility of a Unified Faculty of Arts & Sciences
May 235th Commencement
June 6 Gertrude.G. Michelson elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees; first woman head of an Ivy board
August 2 Law professor Jack Greenberg appointed Dean of Columbia College
September 20 President Sovern's reported salary of $275,000 listed among the tops in the country for university presidents
September 26 Banner across Butler Library temporarily replaces male luminaries with those of famous women
November David Dinkins elected Mayor of New York City; first Black to hold that office
1990
February Provost Cole declares Columbia's intention to become again one of the top 3 or 4 universities in the nation.
April 17 Plan announced to close School of Library Service by 1992
May 10 Controversy over plan by University to raze Audobon Ballroom for medical school labs; had been the site of Malcolm X's assassination; in midst of community review process
May 16 236th Commencement; Joe DiMaggio among the honorees
July  Columbia decision to close the School of Library Service provokes criticism in the library community.
August 22 All needed approvals secured for beginning construction on Audobon Ballroom site; substantial portion of site retained as Memorial to Malcolm X.
September Black English professor Arnold Rampersand leaves Columbia for Princeton
September 26 President Sovern launches the second 5-year capital campaign of his presidency; target of $1.15 billion the largest ever for an American university. Opening gift of $25,000,000 from John Kluge (his second such)
October 2 Helfand Committee recommends creation of a Unified Faculty of Arts & Sciences, headed by VP for Arts & Sciences;
November 5 Change in procedures for electing Alumni Trustees; no longer by direct elections but through an Alumni Nominating Committee submission of nominees, with choice being made by Designating Committee of 2 alums and 2 trustees.
November 7 Faculty referendum approves merging of College, General Studies, SIPA and Graduate Faculties  into Unified Faculty of Arts & Sciences; opposition centered in CC faculty
1991
February 4 Lance Liebman named Dean of Law School; succeeds Barbara Black
March 4 Morris A. Schapiro gift of $10 Million for Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research
March 4 Looming budgetary gap requires increased endowment spending for 1991-1992 budget; attributed to drops in federal and state support
March 4 President Sovern and Provost Cole call for enlargement of the College as financially prudent; some Trustee reservations expressed
April 16 Alumnus Jerome Chazen gives $10 million to Business School; biggest gift in its 75-year history
May 15 237th Commencement; 7,800 graduates
May 23 Columbia among 8 Ivy League universities charged with colluding to set financial-aid packages for overlapping applicants; Barnard also implicated
June 3 Provost Cole reported that1/3rd of CC students were self-identified minorities; the largest percentage in the Ivies
July 1 Unified Faculty of Arts & Sciences in operation; Martin Meisel as VP for Arts and Sciences; resigns in March 1992
September 17 John G. Ruggie named Dean of School of International and Public Affairs
Fall  Student teaching evaluations made required in all courses in the Arts and Sciences
November 27 26 Arts and Sciences department chairs threaten to resign over newly announced budget cuts
December 10 President Sovern projects budget deficit of $87 million by 1993-94; details a 3-year austerity program to reduce deficit
December 12 Novelist Salman Rushdie makes surprise appearance at Columbia; had been in hiding in wake of assassination threats for his Satanic Verses 
1992
March Columbia's calculating of overhead charges being scrutinized by Congress
April 11 Arts and Sciences chairs continue to be distressed by budget cuts
April 17 Trustees and President Sovern meet with Don Hood, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to discuss faculty financial concerns 
May 13 238th Commencement
May 20 Columbia English professor Carolyn Heilbrun announced her decision to retire after 32 years at Columbia battling its "old-boy network
May 25 University projects its first $1 billion budget for 1992-93; predicted shortfall of $50 million reduced to $15,000,000 by imposed cuts. Endowment at $1.5 billion.
June 7 President Sovern announces intention to leave presidency in June 1993; cites wife's cancer as reason for decision.. NY Times describes him as "awash in criticism of his handling of the School's financial problems." 
June Barnard's President Futter resigns to become head of American Museum of Natural History; Kathryn Rodgers appointed acting president
December Columbia-Barnard discussions underway about appropriate Barnard payment for CU services after substantial shift of enrollments in Barnard's favor.
December 14 Student blockade of Hamilton Hall to protest Audobon Project; 3 students suspended; 45 others disciplined
1993
February 1 Rice President George Rupp named 18th President of Columbia University
February 25 Michael Timpane resigns as President of Teachers College
March 6 Provost Cole calls for construction of a "laboratory school" as aid in faculty recruitment/retention
April Bryn Mawr Provost Judith Shapiro, Columbia-trained anthropologist,  elected 6th President (9th head) of Barnard College
April 20 John Kluge gives $60,000,000 to Columbia, the largest gift ever received by the University (his third major gift for a total of $110 million); given in honor of Sovern's presidency.
May 239th Commencement; 13th and last to be presided over by Michael Sovern
June Columbia given the General Electric Building on Lexington/51st Street; valued at $40 Million; largest corporate gift to CU
June 4 Incoming President Rupp announces shakeup in Administration; Jack Greenberg out as Dean of Columbia College, along with deans of General Studies and Graduate Faculties; 1993-94 budget projects a $15 million deficit. Steven Marcus named VP for Arts & Sciences and Dean of Columbia College; Caroline Bynum as Dean of General Studies; Eduardo Macagno as Dean of Graduate Faculties.
June 17 New CU-Barnard intercorporate agreement; BC annual payments set on an ascending schedule, reaching $1 Million in 1996-97
October 4 George Rupp installed as Columbia's 18th president
October Black scholar Manning Marable hired to head Columbia's Black Studies Program
October 29, 1993 Strategic Planning Commission, chaired by provost Jonathan Cole, submits its Reports
November Rudolph Guilianii elected Mayor of New York City, defeating one-term incumbent David Dinkins
November 22 Ex-NYC Mayor David Dinkins appointed to a 5-year professorship at SIPA
December 4 President Rupp suggest creation of an "International Board of Overseers,"  for fundraisng purposes; Trustees not enthusiastic 
1994

March 5

 Alumni seeking change in Alumni Trustee selection process; President Rupp supportive

March 5

Vice Provost  Michael Crow describes Columbia's ascent in funding among research universities; now 5th in NIH/NSF$$  
April 28 Arthur Levine named 9th president of Teachers College
May 19 240th Commencement, first over which President George Rupp presides; 8215 graduates 
June Steven Marcus to resign as VP for Arts & Sciences and College Dean; Caroline Bynum out as General Studies Dean
October 1 Congressman Charles Rangel discusses Harlem Empowerment Zone with CU Trustees
1995
March 4 Provost Cole announces creation of Columbia Innovation Enterprises, to include marketing of software
May 17 241st Commencement
May 18 English professor Austin Quigley named Dean of Columbia College; Robert Fitzpatrick named Dean of School of the Arts
July 1 David Cohen named VP for Arts & Sciences; Austin Quigley named Dean of Columbia College
October 4 Trustees elected Jerry I. Speyer and Lionel I. Pincus as co-chairs of Board
December 1 Alumnus Alfred Lerner donates $25,000,000 to Columbia; 5-yr Capital Campaign exceeds its goal of $1.5 billion
December 3 Plans announced for construction of new law building in honor of ex-Dean and benefactor William Warren
December 5 Trustees announce extension of Capital Campaign for another 5 years; goal set at $2.2 Billion
December 5 Columnist Nat Hentoff in Village Voice critical of Columbia for its allowing President of Black Student Organization Sharod Baker (CC '96) to write an anti-Semitic column in Spectator
1996
January 31 Columbia historian Robert O. Paxton testifies at trial in France on Vichy collaboration with the Nazis in WW II
March 9 Columbia art historian Meyer Schapiro died at age 91.
April Students protest absence of an ethnic studies department; 4 engaged in a 4-day hunger strike; 23 arrests following an all-night occupation of Low Library and separate blockade of Hamilton Hall. President Rupp stated that "students do not design our curriculum."  
May 15 242nd Commencement; 8,900 graduates
July  Casa Italiana reopens after $7.5 Million refurbishing provided by Italian government 
September David Denby (CC 1965) published his return to the the Columbia Core curriculum in Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World
October 8 Columbia economist William Vickery awarded to Nobel Prize in Economics; died three days later
Fall Columbia football team enjoys best season in 40 years; Linebacker Marcellus Wiley gains national attention 
December 4 Merger of Columbia-Presbyterian and New York-Cornell Medical Centers; Columbia and Cornell Medical Schools to remain separate 
December 7 President Rupp declares "the main emphasis at Columbia... to enhance undergraduate education, placing the College and SEAS at the center of the University."
1997
February Columbia the only Ivy college to experience increased applications for Class of 2001
February 28 Trustees meeting held at Biosphere II in Arizona
May 243rd Commencement
July Firing of College Dean Austin Quigley by Vice President David Cohen creates controversy and alumni protests; President Rupp rescinds the firing three days later and Quigley remains as Dean
October 1 Chinese businessman Z Y Fu gives $26 million to Columbia Engineering School; School remained in his honor
October Two-week walkout by 800 striking clerical workers.
October 20 William McGill, 16th president of Columbia (1970-1980), died in San Diego
November  Rudolph Guiliani re-elected to a second term as Mayor of New York
1998
March 25 University's bond rating upgraded by Standard & Poor's from AA to AAA; one of 8 universities so rated
April Columbia's much publicized effort to "raid" Harvard economist Robert J. Barro ended by a Harvard counter-offer that keeps him in Cambridge
May 20 244th Commencement
June 27 Mailman Foundation gives $33 million to Columbia School of Public Health; School to be renamed in honor of Joseph  L. Mailman
October 3 President Rupp tells the Trustees that "the overall state of the University was good, even excellent." 
December 5 Trustees adopt 75 as the mandatory retirement age for Trustees
1999
April 9 Peter Eisenberger resigns as head of Columbia Earth Institute
May 10 Microsoft founder Bill Gates gives $50 Million to Mailman School of Public Health for childbirth death prevention. Dean Allan Rosenfeld to be chief researcher
May 19 245th Commencement -- Muhammed Ali and Noam Chomsky among honorary degree recipients
June 5 Provost Jonathan Cole presented his study of The Future of Columbia's Excellence: Longer Term Perspectives, to the Trustees; stressed space limitations as a challenge
October 14 CU economists Robert A. Mundell awarded Nobel Prize in Economics; 3rd Nobel to Columbian in last four years 
November  Lerner Student Center  opened. $55 Million of total $85 Million donated by Trustee Alfred Lerner (CC19xx)
October 19
November 1 NY Times reports "Columbia on Comeback Trail From Troubles," upon its edging out Yale as the third most-most selective Ivy League college, and came in third in annual gifts
December President Rupp announces the completion of the 10-year "Campaign for Columbia"; raised $2.74 Billion and advanced CU from 11th to 5th place in annual university fundraising.
December 9 Celebration of Michael I. Sovern's 50 years at Columbia raises $2 Million for establishing a law professorship in his name.
2000
April Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life opens on 115th Street. $3 Million of the total cost of $11.5 Million from Trustee Kraft (CC 1963)
May 246th Commencement
July 13 University criticized for attempting to extend patent protection on drug procedures developed in 1980s
October 4 University's sexual misconduct procedures faulted by Wall Street Journal for abolishing due process
October 9 Eric Kandel received Nobel Prize for Medicine; 4th Columbia Nobel in 5 years (Vickery/Mundell/Stiglitz)
Faculty recruitments include Horst Stormer, 1998 Nobel Prize winner in physics
October 19  Photo of English Professor Edward Said throwing rock across Israeli border provokes criticism; Provost Cole to take no action.   
December Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Eduardo Macagno resigned to become Dean of the Biology Division of the University of California, San Diego 
2001
February
Spring Al Gore's class in the Journalism School draws mixed response; some criticism of its "off-the-record'  and closed-to-press character. 
March Applications to Columbia College and Barnard at all-time highs
March 3 President Rupp indicates his plans to step down in Summer 2002; presidential search committee to be formed under the chairmanship of Trustee Emeritus Henry King
May  247th Commencement
September 11 Terrorist attack destroys the two towers of the World Trade Center, killing 3000 occupants and rescuers. 
October Joseph E. Stiglitz, recently appointed to a Columbia professorship, receives Nobel Prize in Economics
October 1 Columbia Trustees announce election of University of Michigan President Lee C. Bollinger (CU Law 1967) as Columbia's 19th president; To take office in July, 2002 
November Michael Bloomberg elected Mayor of New York
2002
January Caroline Heilbrun's academic memoir, When Men Were the Only Models We Had, is published. Includes accounts of her dealings with Jacques Barzun and Lionel Trilling. 
February At University Senate's urging, administration officials indicate that Fathom, the three-year-old on-line-for-profit learning initiative,  has spent $29 million to date.
March 17 NY Times reports on ongoing unrest in Columbia English Department
April 5 Columbia appoints noted Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs as Head of Earth Institute
May 9 Provost Jonathan R. Cole announced his plans to resign the provostship he has held for 13 years to return to the faculty after June  2003
May 22 248th University Commencement
July 1 Lee C. Bollinger (CU Law 196x), launches his administration  as Columbia's 19th president.