Great Teachers

FACULTY Q & AAndrew Delbanco

and Shree Nayar| 4–5

N EWS A N D I D E A S F O R T H E C O L U M B I A C O M MU N I TY OCTOBER 19, 2006VOL. 32, NO. 3

When a sophomore at Harvard,Columbia’s Earth Institute directorJeffrey Sachs remembers sitting inhis dorm at Briggs Hall poring

over a copy of Edmund Phelps’ MicroeconomicFoundations of Employment and InflationTheory and saying to himself, “This is the coolestthing—it’s unbelievably interesting.” More thanthree decades after the book’s publication, itsfindings have garnered Phelps the Nobel Prize ineconomic science.

Announcing the decision on Oct. 9, the RoyalSwedish Academy of Sciences noted that thework of Phelps, who joined Columbia in 1971and has served as McVickar professor of politicaleconomy since 1982, deepens our understand-ing of the relationship between short-run andlong-run effects of economic policy by showingthat long-term unemployment rates can’t beadjusted simply by manipulating inflation rates.

“This work laid the foundation for currentcentral bank policies and the stability and pros-perity we enjoy today,” said Janet Currie, chair ofColumbia’s economics department.

So vast is the canon of Phelps’ work that itwasn’t until Joseph Stiglitz, another ofColumbia’s Nobel laureates, phoned to congrat-ulate him that the economic theorist realizedhe’d won for his work on the natural rate ofunemployment. In the first hour of interviewsfollowing his call from the Nobel committee,Phelps assumed he’d won for his findings on theGolden Rule savings rate, which posits that eachgeneration will save for future generations the

same proportion of the income saved for themby preceding generations.

“If there’s a unifying theme in my work,”Phelps told the reporters who’d gathered in Low,“it’s that I’ve always been interested in theintertemporal aspects of economic decisions, inthe future consequences of our present actions.”

Phelps also candidly admitted that his intro-duction to economics was not by choice. Hisfather, who was paying for his education at

Amherst College, had begged him to take onecourse in economics before he graduated. Hetook the class and it was love at first sight, he said.

There was only one problem. “I couldn’tunderstand why the microeconomics chaptersdescribed the determination of employment interms of supply and demand. There was nounemployment whatsoever in that story, letalone some variation in the unemployment ratethat might be explained. And then the macro-economics chapters of the same textbookdescribed employment determination in termsof aggregate demand. It was by no meansobvious to me how on earth to reconcile theseradically different views from employmentdetermination.”

Curious to get to the bottom of this dilemma,he took another economics course and thenanother. His quest ultimately led him to graduateschool at Yale, then a professorship and finally asabbatical where he at last determined to solve theproblem of reconciling these two areas himself.

“The solution,” he told the Low audience,“was to throw away the textbook on microeco-nomics and create a new microeconomics thatwould go with the macroeconomics.”

The spotlight was on Austin Quigley on Oct. 4at a dinner hosted by President Bollinger to cele-brate his decade-long service as dean of ColumbiaCollege. Quigley, the 14th dean and an authorityon modern playwrights and dramatic literature,received an ovation for turning the College intoan even stronger actor on the Ivy League stage.

During Quigley’s 10-year tenure, the Collegehas seen dramatic growth in applications for

admission—from fewer than 9,000 in 1995 tomore than 17,000 in 2006; increasing selectivity inadmissions; an increased percentage in the num-bers of admitted students who choose to enroll;significant growth in alumni support; and greaternumbers of students winning Fulbright scholar-ships and other prestigious awards.

Attributing these many successes to the hardwork and dedication of the College family—faculty,students, staff, alumni and parents—Bollinger also

Columbians who are fansof Turkish novelist OrhanPamuk were only just get-ting over their excitement

at learning of his status as a visitingfellow for the Committee on GlobalThought when they had somethingelse to rejoice about. On Oct. 12,the Swedish Academy announcedthat Pamuk had won this year’sNobel literature prize.

“Columbia has worked hard tobring great creative minds likeOrhan Pamuk to our communityof scholars,” said President Lee C.Bollinger in a statement, going onto express his delight thatColumbia could be “home to twonew Nobel laureates in a singleweek.” Economics professorEdmund Phelps had won a NobelPrize a few days earlier.

Pamuk is Turkey’s first-everNobel laureate in literature. He isbetter known than many otherrecent winners as his works—including the memoir Istanbul and

the novels The Black Book, TheWhite Castle, My Name Is Red, andSnow—have been widely pub-lished and reviewed in the West.

Pamuk was cited by the SwedishAcademy for discovering “newsymbols for the clashing and inter-lacing of cultures” in his “quest forthe melancholic soul” of his nativeIstanbul. But while Pamuk hasoften earned praise for his use offiction to bridge East and West, heis not entirely comfortable withthat metaphor. As he toldreporters who attended the pressconference in Low Library: “Themetaphor of the bridge is so old-fashioned, so worn out, that it’s myjob to invent new metaphors.”

One of Pamuk’s most avid sup-porters on campus is Akeel Bilgrami,

COLUMBIA COLLEGE

By Dan Rivero

By Dan Rivero

www.columbia.edu/news

CAMPUS TALKTesla’s forgotten

legacy | 3

SCRAPBOOKFairs, familiesand fun | 8

Nobel forLiteratureto Pamuk By Mary-Lea Cox

Dean Quigley’s Ten-year Tenure

EDMUND PHELPS’NOBEL MOMENT

EILEEN BARROSO

Throwing away the textbookearned Phelps his Nobel

continued on page 8continued on page 8

EILE

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Dear Alma’s Owl,One Saturday afternoon, I saw a

bride and her retinue floating up the Lowsteps right in front of you and Alma. Itake it that St. Paul’s is a popular place toget hitched?

— Wedding Wonderer

Dear Wonderer,St. Paul’s Chapel is renowned for its

architecture (it is designated as a NewYork City landmark), its interior, and itsfine acoustics. But I like to think of St.Paul’s as the “Chapel of Love.” After all, itwas St. Paul who wrote the famousdescription of love (1 Corinthians 13:1–13) that is so often featured as a read-ing at wedding ceremonies: “If I speak inthe tongues of men and angels, but havenot love…” It therefore seems appropri-ate that this particular jewel inColumbia’s crown should host about100 weddings a year.

Not that you have to be Christian orheterosexual to get married at St. Paul’s. Itis interfaith—I have often heard glassesbeing broken under a hupah—and alsohosts commitment ceremonies. The onlyrequirement is that you can afford the(reasonable for New York) cost of rentingthe chapel, which can also be used foryour reception, though my favorite spotfor that is the top of Butler Hall.

You don’t even have to be affiliatedwith Columbia to have a St. Paul’s wed-ding. People from the community oftenchoose the chapel because of its beauti-ful architecture, designed by I. N. PhelpsStokes, who studied at Columbia and at

the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. (Thechapel was the first building onMorningside campus not to have beendesigned by Charles McKim.)

While your guests are waiting for theceremony to begin, they can marvel at thepink-hued interlocking tiles of the domesand vaults, the handiwork of Spanisharchitect Rafael Guastavino. Or they cangaze at the John LaFarge stained glass win-dows over the high altar, depicting St. Paulteaching the Greeks.

“Teaching” is of course the operativeword. St. Paul’s remains, above all else, auniversity chapel.

For more information on St. Paul’s andplanning weddings there, go to: www.columbia.edu/cu/earl/stpauls.html.

Columbians sometimes ask Alma Mater forguidance, but to whom does she turn whenshe needs information? Minerva’s familiar isthe wise owl, hidden within the folds of hergown. Send your questions for the owl tocurecord@columbia.edu. Authors of let-ters we publish receive a Record mug.

ASK ALMA’S OWL

How often do wedding bellsring on campus?

TheRecord

President Lee C. Bollinger, chairing the Senate’sfirst plenary session on Sept. 22, expressedhigh hopes for this academic year, stressing theimpending $4 billion capital campaign and the

crucial passage in the Manhattanville project that liesimmediately ahead.

Bollinger expressed appreciation for the work that

went into Columbia’s voluminous Environmental Impact

Statement for the Manhattanville project, which he hoped

the City would certify by mid-autumn. The seven-month

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) will follow,

culminating in a City Council vote. Columbia is also

negotiating a community benefits agreement with a

special corporation created by Community Board 9.

Bollinger hoped to achieve a “sound and good agreement”

during the fall.

Bollinger said Manhattanville can provide “for thefirst time in many decades a space that will [enable] theUniversity to expand for several more decades.” It isnot easy to get excited about a project on this scaleuntil it begins to seem real, he said. “My hope is that bythe end of this academic year we will be in a positionto say it is real.”

The Senate heard brief reports from its Research,Student Affairs, Honors and Prizes, and Faculty Affairscommittees. The last of these, by co-chair Robert Pollack(Ten., A&S/NS), called attention to rules and practices forappointments to named chairs and their relationship todonors’ intentions. Pollack said this was a sensitive andimportant issue, particularly at the onset of a capital cam-paign, and Faculty Affairs would say more about it later.

The next Senate plenary session, on Oct. 27, willinclude a town hall meeting for the Columbia communityon Manhattanville. Anyone with a CUID is welcome.

The above column was submitted by Tom Mathewson,manager of the University Senate. His views are inde-pendent of The Record. For more information about theSenate, go to: www.columbia.edu/cu/senate.

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OCTOBER 19, 20062

The M4s, M60s and M104s thatservice Columbia had to makeroom last Wednesday for C-SPAN2’s Book TV bus while it

parked on Broadway for several hours.The bus, a 45-feet custom built coach thatserves as a mobile television studio, washere as part of a pilot program in whichauthors lecture on their books to collegeclasses. Columbia was the sole universityto be chosen for the C-SPAN2 pilot.

The bus discharged its onlypassenger, narrative historian HamptonSides, in time for him to make EllenBaker’s 9:10 a.m. class, “The AmericanWest.” Sides was there to tell the studentsabout his book Blood and Thunder: AnEpic of the American West, which focuseson Kit Carson’s role in the conquest ofthe Navajo during and after the Civil War.

Noting that this was his first time toaddress a college class, the best-sellingauthor said he looked forward to leadinga discussion about Manifest Destiny.

“In draft one of Carson’s story,” he toldthe students, “biographers had an emo-tional investment in portraying men likeCarson as war heroes. In draft two, theywrote that every Indian was a noble envi-ronmentalist. I’d like to think the pendu-lum has to swing in the middle, where youunderstand that Carson was sympatheticto the Indians but also was carrying outorders from Washington to massacrethem. History is more interesting whenthese cardboard figures don’t fall underjust good and evil.”

R E C E N T S I G H T I N G S

Bollinger Hopes for“Historic Year”

TrusteesWelcome TwoNew Members

C-SPAN BOOK TV ROLLSINTO CAMPUS

Gathering at Columbia on Oct. 4–6 for thefirst of their quarterly meetings of the2006–2007 academic year, the trusteeswelcomed two new members: Kenneth A.

Forde, professor emeritus of clinical surgery atColumbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S);and Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, a land developer fromCalifornia. Forde and Tsakopoulos take the place ofretiring trustees John Chalsty and George Van Amson,both of whom have been elected as trustees emeritus.

Forde graduated from theCity College of New York andreceived his MD from P&S.Following training atColumbia, he remained on thefaculty from 1966 to 2006,attaining the rank of professorof clinical surgery and occupy-ing the José M. Ferrer chair insurgery from 1997 to 2006.

Tsakopoulos graduatedfrom Columbia College in1993. In June 2004, he pre-sented a generous gift toColumbia to establish theKyriakos Tsakopoulos chair inHellenic studies in theDepartment of Classics, as wellas an annual lecture seriesentitled “Aristotle and theModerns.” The 36-year-old becomes the board’syoungest member.

U P D A T E S

Kenneth A. Forde

Kyriakos Tsakopoulos

EILEEN BARROSO

If you’re having problems with your hearing,and you take the New York City subway, youmay want to revisit your transportationarrangements. Researchers at the MailmanSchool of Public Health have found that noiselevels in the city’s subways have the potentialto exceed the guidelines recommended bysuch bodies as the World Health Organizationand the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.As little as 30 minutes of exposure to the deci-bel levels typically found on any given day inthe NYC transit system could result in measur-able hearing loss. The findings of the studyhave just been published in the Septemberissue of the Journal of Urban Health, a publica-tion of the New York Academy of Medicine.

BREAKDOWNBefore: 40 Now: 90 Future (Spring): 140

MOST BENEFITED AREAS:Lerner and Furnald, where some bikerswere parking and locking their bikes ille-gally. The program has also more thandoubled the number of racks on EastCampus from 6 to 13.

If you choose to see Sofia Coppola’s newfilm, Marie Antoinette, this month, do soknowing that the blue hat she wears onthe day she arrives in Versailles to meet her

future husband was a “laughably inaccuratechoice.” So says Barnard College historianCaroline Weber, who has written her ownbook on the tragic French queen, publishedlast month: a biography entitled Queen ofFashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to theRevolution. In fact, Weber explains, the voguefor hats was something Marie Antoinette her-self introduced, only a decade later.

Does that matter? Is the Barnard associateprofessor just being pedantic? Far from it. InWeber’s view, by not taking Marie Antoinette’sfashion choices seriously the movie misses oneof the main points about how she wieldedpower. Indeed, the doomed French queen’sacute fashion sense—not just her hats but also

her penchant for sporting three-foot-high“pouf” hairdos—was a tool that she used toassert her legitimacy in a court looking forevery excuse to deny her a rightful role. “As Ishow in Queen of Fashion,” Weber explains,“Marie Antoinette was actively complicit increating her own mythical image—that of theall-powerful queen.”

Weber admits that she enjoyed seeing thethe young Coppola’s film. “As a child of the’80s, I loved the director’s decision to use ’80spop music on the soundtrack, and many ofthe scenes she shot at Versailles and the PetitTrianon are gorgeous from a purely visualstandpoint.”

Nevertheless, she found the film’s portrayalof Marie Antoinette “reductive, facile anddownright wrong.” She also regrets thatCoppola turned down her offer (madethrough fashion designer Marc Jacobs) of

serving as an advisor on the film, as she didn’twant any “stuffy professors” involved. Webersays she would have encouraged Coppola to“depict Marie Antoinette with more psycho-logical depth and complexity,” instead ofmerely recycling “the insouciant, ‘let them eatcake’ queen of legend.”

Weber’s approach has much in common withthat of historian Marina Warner, who has pro-duced several works on prominent women inhistory—most notably, Joan of Arc and the VirginMary—showing how they have been mytholo-gized over the years.

“As Marie Antoinette certainly discovered,”Weber explains, “the myths that quicklyattached to her name had little to do with theimage she herself set out to create. She alsobecame the target of other people’s myth-making, as the press reinvented her as aheartless spendthrift.”

TheRecord OCTOBER 19, 2006 3

Agroup of third and fourth-graders fromAnn Arbor, Michigan, are on a mission,set by their teacher John Wagner, torestore the reputation of “forgotten

scientist” Nikola Tesla (1856–1943).They have called attention to Tesla’s

formidable, but largely forgotten, legacy bydonating a bronze bust of Tesla to Columbia’sDepartment of Electrical Engineering. Thestatue’s unveiling, which took place in theMudd Building on Oct. 2, provided anoccasion to remember the extraordinaryaccomplishments of the Serb-American elec-trical engineer, who many would say has beenshortchanged in the history books as it was he,not Thomas Edison, who invented electricity.

Representing the students at the event, Wagner described how he’d turned his personal quest tokeep the flame of Tesla’s memory alive into a project for his elementary school classes. Not only dohis students learn about Tesla’s many electrical inventions, but he has them composing letters toraise the money for donating duplicate Tesla statues to major universities.

Columbia, it turns out, is a particularly appropriate place for the students’ gift to reside. In 1888,Tesla chose the University as the place to deliver a landmark lecture on his discovery of the rotatingmagnetic field. It was a breakthrough that ultimately led to the harnessing of the cheap waterpower of Niagara Falls, which in turn ushered in the “electromagnetic century.”

The excitement generated by Tesla’s lecture prompted the University to establish an electricalengineering department, one of the first of its kind in the world. Columbia would later become thefirst university to confer on Tesla an honorary doctorate, and today Columbia’s Rare Book andManuscript Library is a major repository of the scientist’s papers.

Ginger Thompson, Mexico City bureau chief for the NewYork Times, visited Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, earlier this yearto learn more about a six-hour gang fight that had resultedin the death of four people. Disturbed as she was by the

crime, Thompson felt just as disturbed when she saw the placementof the story that appeared in the local paper the following morning—in a tiny corner buried four pages inside. Curious to find out why,Thompson approached the paper’s editor, who informed her thatafter having some of its own reporters killed by gangs, the paper hadadopted a policy not to cover drug crimes in great detail.

Thompson made these remarks as part of a panel held at theGraduate School of Journalism’s Lecture Hall on Oct. 10 to showcase

the recipients of the 2006 Maria Moors Cabot Prize. In addition toThompson, this year’s winners include Peruvian novelist and writerMario Vargas Llosa; José Hamilton Ribeiro, special reporter for TVGlobo, Brazil; and Matt Moffett, South American correspondent forthe Wall Street Journal.

All four panelists testified to the need for journalists covering LatinAmerica to apply self-censorship. Corporate leaders and drug lordscontinue to exert enormous pressure to silence the conscientiousmedia, they said. Llosa, however, insisted that progress has been madeinsofar as journalists are no longer the target of official governmentcensure. Compared to half a century ago, freedom of the press nowenjoys the status of a cherished ideal, he noted.

T A L K O F T H E C A M P U S

Cut-throat Journalism, Literally

)))What DidYou Say?!

Facilities adds newbike racks

TheDetailsMatter 20YEARS

Center on Japanese Economy and Business

60YEARSSchool for International

and Public Affairs

125YEARSGraduate School of Architecture,

Planning and Research

GET ON YOUR BIKES

ForgottenNo Longer

Compiled by Mary-Lea Cox

Two schools,one center celebrateanniversaries thismonth

AgingGracefully

LET THEM EAT CAKE!?

TheRe

Andrew Delbanco has a lot to say. As Julian Clarence Levi profes-sor in the humanities, his interests range from war and society,the subject of a course he taught last spring, to Herman Melville,the subject of his latest book. And, judging from his recent suc-

cesses, Delbanco can make his points with both wit and clarity. Firstcame acclaim for the book, Melville: His World and Work; then came aGreat Teachers Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates.

Delbanco came to Columbia in 1985 from Harvard, where hereceived his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. Based in the Department of English,since 2005 he has headed Columbia’s American Studies program, whichis making an increasingly large mark on the undergraduate curriculum.

Q.What makes you, or anyone, a Great Teacher?

A.Caring deeply about what happens in the classroom. Nothing inmy professional life matters to me more than trying to have a pos-

itive impact on the thinking—and the feelings—of my Columbia students.

Q.You’re also a prolific scholar. Doesn’t that detract from time spentin the classroom?

A.At universities like Columbia, there’s a tension, at least, and some-times a conflict, between teaching and research. The biggest chal-

lenge facing these institutions is to find a way to maintain their commit-ment to cutting-edge research and at the same time meet their obliga-tion to educate their own students.

Q.Cutting-edge research seems more essential in, say, medicine, thanin literature.

A.I do think the humanities have a case of science envy. But the pro-gressive model of how knowledge advances, which applies in the

sciences, and possibly in what are called the hard social sciences, seemsto me problematic in the humanities. It would be very hard to persuademe that anyone understands, say, the hazards of empire better thanThucydides did, several thousand years ago. Moreover, a lot of whatpasses for research in the humanities isn’t research, and a lot of whatpasses for theory isn’t theory in the sense of being a testable predictionof human phenomena.

Q.Can writing another book about Melville be considered cuttingedge? Literary scholars have already spilled plenty of ink on him.

A.It’s legitimate to take a fresh look at a true genius like Melville.First, we know more about his personal relations and intellectual

influences than we once did. But, more than that, his works—Billy Budd,for example—inevitably have a different meaning for readers today thanthey did 30 years ago.

Q.How so?

A.When I was in college, most students reading Billy Budd were out-raged at the naval authorities. Today’s students have a more

nuanced sense of the difficulties of the situation. They recognize morereadily that there is no good solution to the dilemma on that ship. On theone hand, a terrible injustice is being perpetrated against an innocent boy.

On the other hand, the mission of the ship, which is to defend GreatBritain, is likely to be compromised, perhaps totally undercut, if disciplinebreaks down. In other words, it is a tragedy. At some times in our historywe are more likely to feel the depths of tragedy than at others.

Q.What are your goals for the American Studies program?

A.Simply stated, to build on the Core. Columbia’s Core Curriculumrequires our students to think about important issues—justice, iden-

tity, private and public responsibility—by engaging with great works ofancient Greece, Elizabethan England, medieval Italy and so on, which is asit should be. But I find that many students want to continue to think aboutsuch issues in the context of America, of which they are the future leaders.We are developing a curriculum that will allow students to do that.

Q.Can you give me some examples?

A.We have a course on issues of access and equity in higher educa-tion. In addition to conventional academic study of the subject,

students will be involved as tutors, working with at-risk kids in EastHarlem to improve their chances of getting to college. That, I’m happy tosay, is in keeping with President Bollinger’s stated commitment thatColumbia should become more closely involved with the life of NewYork City. For the same reason, we are bringing into the classroom writ-ers and artists, professionals, activists, policy-makers, from outside theacademy—many of them Columbia alumni. In my war course last spring,the students were mesmerized by John Glusman, a distinguished editorand publisher (and Columbia College alumnus). Glusman wrote a bookabout his father’s experience as a prisoner of war in the Philippines. Nextfall, Joseph Greenaway, also an alum and now a federal judge in Newark,will teach a course on the Supreme Court, which until now he hasoffered only in law schools. That’s the kind of thing I want to do moreof. This is why I now also find myself, in addition to my teaching andwriting, doing fundraising for the American Studies program, which isnot a department, to offer more courses, seminars and fellowships.

Q.For those of us who couldn’t take your war course, can you give usan idea of what we missed?

A.It was a course on the effects war has had on American society. Weconfronted the grave responsibility entailed in going to war and

the unimaginable suffering war causes; but we also saw that war has away of opening up possibilities: the expansion of rights for blackAmericans and for women, for example. War is a complicated business inwhich we see the worst, but sometimes the best, of human possibility. Ilearned a lot.

Q.So the cliché that good teachers learn from their students is true?

A.The only time it’s a good course is when the professor learns fromthe students, as well as the other way around. Everything I’ve ever

written has had its roots in the classroom. I had been teaching Melvillefor 25 years before I started writing the book.

Q.What are you writing now?

A.I’m preparing a series of lectures, to be delivered at Princeton in2008, on the history, and maybe the destiny, of college education.

Q.Does Columbia figure in that history?

A.In many ways. One is its development, at the beginning of the20th century, of the Core Curriculum. As universities become

increasingly international and the range of knowledge expands, itbecomes more important for all students, regardless of where they comefrom or what field they choose, to share a core knowledge.

OCTOBER 19, 20064

FAC U L T

How do today’s studThis year’s winners Award, Andrew Delbvery different discip

computer science—yet whenabout what makes them staremarkably similar: “pays atte“extremely attentive”; “cares eclass”; “deeply reflective and con the bigger picture as well asome of the students’ commentimonials can be found onwww.columbia. edu/cu/news)fessors a chance to reflect on wteaching, as well as on their ever-elusive balance between t

Celebr

SUPERTE

ANDREW DELBANCOInterviewed by Fred A. Bernstein

EILEEN BARROSO

“The only time it’s a good course is whenthe professor learns from the students, as

well as the other way around.”

FOR THISENGLISH PROFESSOR,THE CLASSICSARE WHATMATTER.

Prof. Delbanco taught mteacher’s force lies in thare. They want awakeningity to bring his material students with set answequestions. Every year, heunderstand that literatu

helps explain what is worst, and that it can prepa— Tim Shenk, CC

One of the things I admburrow beneath the woAmerican culture. The tnecting texts in ways thation. His lectures are literritory and return, rigalways gave us the sens

that matter—that the topic at hand was worth o

My all-time favorite clasinar I took with Prof. Delbdirector of American Stgreater passion for urbaa documentary on urbanby what I learned. It’s beI still speak with him; I

Studies program is doing.— Evita Mendiola, CC’05, now workin

I took Computer Vision with Prof. Nayar. He waized, handing out copies of transparencies befreeing us of the need to take copious notes. Hewith his students. He knew all of our namesThough not a native English speaker, his use of that of many native speakers, and he knows hoComputer Vision is a highly mathematical classyou have to learn sophisticated equations. He first before worrying about the mathematical d

— Janak J. Parekh, SEAS’99 and ’01, and

I took Computer Vision with Prof. Nayar eight handouts for every class, which were better thaout there. His handouts provided not only cleaclear illustrations (he draws well!). With his helam now at Carnegie Mellon where he went tjoined the closely knit group of his former studin this field, I have come to appreciate the decomputer science. His research papers have abounces off rain as well as other subtle lightinneering can inspire deep insight into the way t

— Sonya Allin, CC’94, GS’99, now a Ph.D. stu

Prof. Nayar’s Computational Imaging course totaI think about light, vision and cameras. Fromhooked. Prof. Nayar presented us with a challsome of the brightest minds in the world: how and computational power to transcend the licameras, and even our own eyes? He imparte“light” as an information-rich medium that is cosurroundings. He showed us that imaging is awhich can then be engineered to create image

— Blake Shaw, SEAS’05, now

S T U D E N T S

Record

Great teachers are those who can assist their students in “seeingthe light” on complex subjects. For Shree Nayar, T.C. Changprofessor of computer science, this is metaphorically and lit-erally true.

Nayar heads the Columbia Computer Vision (CAVE) Laboratory at theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, a laboratorydedicated to the development of advanced computer vision systems. Hehas devoted his career to developing machines with the power to see.The recipient of two prestigious David Marr Prizes, he has publishedmore than 100 scientific papers on imaging, vision and robotics and hasbeen awarded numerous patents for his inventions.

When not in the lab, the professor can be found in the classroomhelping to illuminate concepts of computer vision for his students. Basedin the engineering school since 1991, Nayar professes a special love forteaching. The feeling is mutual for his students. In 1995, Nayar receivedthe W. M. Keck Foundation’s Excellence in Engineering Teaching Award,and this year he is being honored by the Society of Columbia Graduateswith the Great Teachers Award.

Q.When did you find out about this latest honor?

A.I had no idea I was being nominated until the Society of ColumbiaGraduates sent me a letter saying that I had been selected for this

award. I have invested a lot of time in teaching, which is a process I enjoyvery much. It feels fantastic to know it has been recognized.

Q.Has your teaching style changed or evolved over your years atColumbia?

A.At the beginning, I had a romantic notion that if you’re a real pro-fessor, you should write on the blackboard because that’s what my

best teachers did—they had the most beautiful writing and drew themost beautiful pictures, all of which would just unfold on the board. Istill remember my first lecture at Columbia. I stood up and started writ-ing, but I could not write straight. My sentences would go sagging down-wards. When the class finally ended an hour and 15 minutes later, I hadcovered only about 20 minutes of material. I walked out of class won-dering if I’d chosen the wrong career.

Q.How did you go from there to here?

A.For one, I never went back to writing on the blackboard. Iswitched to making overhead slides, and that way I could do all

the writing before class started. I realized that each teacher must choosethe medium that works best for him or her. In terms of the material I ampresenting, I try to build up from simple to more complex concepts. If Ican convey my excitement about the subject, then students are moreeager to learn.

Q.What’s the most challenging aspect of teaching for you?

A.The computer vision courses I teach draw on various fields—notjust computer science but electrical engineering, applied optics

and even bits of psycho-physics and neuroscience. Each of these fields

has its own terminology. So one of the challenges is to make sure that mystudents can move comfortably among these fairly disparate fields, atleast within the context of the course.

Q.Tell me about your research.

A.My research group takes a physical approach to vision, whichmeans understanding the interaction of light with different

objects and creating mathematical models that can be used to buildmachines that can see. Ultimately, we aim to develop a computer systemthat can look at a scene and tell us how many people are there and whatthey are all doing. If the system is linked to a database of faces, then itcould also tell us the names of people in the scene it recognizes—essen-tially, all the things that you and I do when we open our eyes. That’s theholy grail. Part of our work consists of building cameras that can capturenew kinds of images and that model the interaction of light with mate-rials. This aspect of our work requires us to get our hands dirty. A cam-era on paper is not all that interesting.

Q.What are some potential applications?

A.There is great interest in building cars that can drive themselvesand in creating robots that can navigate through complex spaces

just like you and I do. In the security industry, there’s a lot of interest inrecognizing faces and activities. Vision algorithms are also being used toidentify structures in complex medical images, which can be an aid todoctors in making a diagnosis and sometimes even in surgery. Anothersignificant application, also related to security, is content-based search ofimages and videos. For instance, you could give the computer a pictureof a particular model of car, and it would find all the images in the data-base that include this car. The challenge is that the car could appear indifferent sizes, orientations and illuminations, or it may even be partiallyhidden by other objects.

Q.What do you do when you’re not teaching or thinking about visu-al processing?

A.I have a four-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old, so when I’mnot in the lab or the classroom, I spend time with them. From my

early years, I have enjoyed building gadgets—everything from trains andplanes to radios and stereos. And now I am building model trains withmy children. I also try to squeeze in a game of tennis whenever I can. Irecently took on a gifted undergraduate student, Robert Lin, as aresearch project student under the condition that he would play tenniswith me. His final grade may have something to do with how often helets me win.

Q.Rumor has it you also dabble in painting.

A.I have done some painting and ceramics in my past life. I enjoy thearts very much as my research in vision has a lot to do with the

perception of shading, texture and shape.

Q.All told, what do you enjoy most about working at Columbia?

A.Collaboration with all of my colleagues as well as my students iswhat makes Columbia such a stimulating place to work. The

Columbia Vision and Graphics Center, where the Columbia ComputerVision Laboratory is housed, consists of eight faculty members. My col-leagues are the top researchers in their respective fields, and we areworking together on a number of projects. For instance, I am workingwith Peter Belhumeur (never a frown on his face!) and RaviRamamoorthi on modeling the visual effects of time-varying phenome-na, such as the aging of skin, the weathering of stones and the growingof plants. My research requires teamwork, so I appreciate having thechance to work with some of the best minds around.

OCTOBER 19, 2006 5

T Y Q & A

dents define a superteacher?of Columbia’s Great Teachers

banco and Shree Nayar, are inplines—American studies and

n we talked to their studentsand out, their responses areention to student feedback”;enough to put energy into acreative”; and “ability to focusas the details.” Here we featurents at greater length (more tes-n the Columbia news site:. We also give each of the pro-

what benefits they derive fromtechniques for achieving thatteaching and research.

rating

EACHERS

SHREE NAYARInterviewed by Keely Savoie

EILEEN BARROSO

“If I can convey my excitementabout the subject, then students

are more eager to learn.”

THIS COMPUTERVISION SPECIALIST

STUDIES LIGHT,WHICH HE CANALSO SHED ON

COMPLEX TOPICS.

me the Emerson quote: “The whole secret of thehe conviction that man are convertible. And theyg.” Prof. Delbanco’s best teaching tool is his abil-out of the classroom. Instead of indoctrinating

ers, he teaches them the importance of askinge “converts” at least some of his students. Theyre speaks to what is best in humanity, that itare them for a life of navigating between the two.’07, planning to do graduate work in American history

mire most about Prof. Delbanco is his ability toords of a text to illuminate broad themes inthrust of his teaching is always outward, con-at capture his students’ curiosity and imagina-ike jazz riffs that range over vast amounts of

ght on beat, to essential themes. His classesse that we were coming face to face with issuesour fullest engagement.

— Roosevelt Montas, CC’90 and now a core lecturer

ss at Columbia was the American Studies sem-banco during my senior year, before he becametudies. His lectures infused me with an evenn fieldwork. This gave me the impetus to createn history. Since graduating, I still feel energizedeen more than a year since I left Columbia, butstill want to keep up with what the American

ng as a research analyst in NYC’s Office of the Mayor

as extremely well organ-efore class began, thuse was also very engageds by the second class.the language surpassesow to pace his lectures.s, so alongside concepts

would make sure we understood the conceptetails.

d now a Ph.D. candidate at GSAS in computer science

years ago. He gave usan any of the textbooksar explanations but alsop and encouragement, Ito graduate school—I’vedents here. As I progressepth of his approach toa poetic side: he is interested in the way lightng effects in nature. He showed me that engi-he world works.udent at Carnegie Mellon in rehabilitation engineering

ally transformed the waym the first class, I wasenge that has engagedcan we combine optics

imitations of traditionaled a beautiful vision of

onstantly permeating oura process of capturing individual rays of light,s. His excitement for the field is contagious.pursuing a masters in computer science at Columbia

S PE A K O U T

Season ofSpiritsBy Erich Erving

Living in America’s most multicultural cityand working on its most multicultural cam-pus gives Columbians the perfect excuse toexpand beyond the normal range of

American holidays. This Halloween, along with set-ting off fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night (Fawkestried to blow up the English houses of parliament), Iplan to join in the celebrations for the Mexican hol-iday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Nov. 1–2.

Day of the Dead as celebrated in contemporaryMexico is a combination of ancient Aztec andRoman Catholic traditions. (Nov. 1 and 2 are also AllSaints’ and All Souls’ Days.) People build home altarsin remembrance of their dearly departed and picnicin cemeteries with special holiday food.

Here are some places in our area for enjoying Díade los Muertos, as well as Mexican food generally:

TAQUERÍA Y FONDA LA MEXICANA968 Amsterdam Ave. between 107th and 108th Sts.This is easily my favorite taquería in the city. It offersmany varieties of tacos (including taco de lengua, ortongue), tortas (Mexican sandwiches), and burritos(large enough to be burros). Always available, but tra-ditional for Día de los Muertos, is mole poblano,made with over 42 different ingredients.

TAQUERÍA MEXICANA LOS ANGELES1336 St. Nicholas Ave. between 176th and 177th Sts.The food is mostly Mexican, but the menu also car-ries many Dominican and “American” offerings. It’s agood place for traditional tamales, another dish thatmakes an appearance on Mexican holidays.

GABRIELA MEXICAN RESTAURANT685 Amsterdam Ave. between 93rd and 94th Sts.Gabriela’s may be a little out of the way, but it’s wellworth the trip. One of its special dishes for Day ofthe Dead is pumpkin-seed mole, which strikes me asbeing equally appropriate for Halloween.

GUADALUPE207th St. near Broadway (right by Baker Field)This restaurant just opened so is uncertain about whatit will be doing for Día de los Muertos. But if the regu-lar menu is any indication, we’re in for a treat. I canrecommend the grilled cactus salad, and the short ribs“El Diablo” could readily double as a Halloween dish.

TheRecordOCTOBER 19, 2006

EVENT H IGHL IGHTS OCT. 23–NOV. 3

BREAK T IME

6

MONDAYOctober 23

Art ExhibitionLast few days toview Jomar

Statkun’s “The Legend ofTubal-Cain and Other Stories.”9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. LeroyNeiman Gallery, Dodge Hall,Room 310. 212-854-4065.(Closes Oct. 26.)

ILAS SeminarThe Institute forLatin American

Studies hosts Judy Logback,the founder of the KallariAssociation, for a discussionof Ecuadorian varieties ofcocoa as well as the issues offree vs. fair trade. 1:00–2:30p.m. International Affairs Bldg.212-854-5468.

Herbert T. CohenNeuroethicsLecture

Eric Kandel presents the ethi-cal issues that emerged fromhis research on memory stor-age, especially cognitiveenhancement. 4:00–5:30 p.m.P&S Faculty Club, 4th Floor.Free and open to the public.ja2354@columbia.edu.

TUESDAYOctober 24

Policy SpeakerSeriesFrederick Kagan

of the American EnterpriseInstitute speaks on “Finding aNew Course for the AmericanMilitary.” Sponsored by theSaltzman Institute of War andPeace Studies. 4:00–6:00p.m. International AffairsBldg. 212-854-4616.

Music at St.Paul’sWith Tim Smith,

University organist. 6:00–7:00p.m. St. Paul’s Chapel. Freeand open to the public; chil-dren especially welcome. 212-854-6242.

SCE InformationSession Learn more about

the School of ContinuingEducation’s Master ofScience in ConstructionAdministration. 6:30 p.m.602 Lewisohn Hall.

Men’s Soccer vs.AdelphiColumbia Soccer

Stadium, Baker Field. 7:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAYOctober 25

AlternativeMedicine Event Bill Gallagher eval-

uates the use of Tai Chi andQigong for treating variousconditions. Sponsored by theRosenthal Center. 12:00–1:00p.m. CUMC, Hammer HealthSciences Center.jm653@columbia.edu.

Rabi-WarnerConcertRyan Karchut,

violin, and Anna Gourfinkel,piano, perform works byHandel, Mozart and Strauss.12:15 p.m. Faculty House.212-749-0800.

Climate ChangeRegulation in theU.S. P

A panel of leading expertsdiscusses state-levelresponses to global warming.Sponsored by the EarthInstitute’s Lenfest Center forSustainable Energy and theGlobal Roundtable on ClimateChange (GROCC). 6:00–8:00p.m. Faculty House. Open tothe public; reservations rec-ommended. 212-854-1200.

THURSDAYOctober 26

“Japan’sEconomicFuture”

All-day conference presentedby the Center on JapaneseEconomy and Business incommemoration of its 20thanniversary. Casa Italiana.Free to Columbia faculty andadministrators (withoutluncheon). Registrationrequired. cjeb@columbia.edu.

Panel on Scienceand the Media A panel of media

experts discusses whether sci-ence gets a fair shake in themedia. Sponsored byScientific American.8:30–10:30 a.m. Alfred LernerHall. dp2231@columbia.edu.

ComposerPortrait: “JohnZorn”

An all-star cast, handpickedby the composer himself, per-form four world premieres,one of which was written forMike Patton, lead singer ofFaith No More. 8:00–10:00p.m. Dodge Hall, MillerTheatre. 212-854-7799.

FRIDAYOctober 27

Ivy League CrossCountryHeptagonal

ChampionshipsThe Columbia women defendtheir title for the fifth straightyear at this contest involvingall 8 Ivies. Van Cortlandt Park.10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

ArchitecturePanelTo commemorate

the 125th anniversary of theGraduate School ofArchitecture, Planning andPreservation, the Temple HoyneBuell Center hosts a panel onarchitects’ initiatives inresponse to world crises.12:30 p.m. Avery Hall, Room114. 212-854-8165.

“Vaclav Havel—Acts of Courage”With playwright

Carol Rocamora. 1:00–3:00p.m. Hamilton Hall. ccnmtl-havel@columbia.edu.

Volleyball vs.BrownLevien

Gymnasium, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAYOctober 28

SAI Symposium“The Art ofExchange—

Circulation of Visual Culturein Colonial India.” Sponsoredby the Southern AsianInstitute. 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Casa Italiana.al2308@columbia.edu.

Volleyball vs. YaleLevien Gymnasium,4:00 p.m.

“Bach for theLone Violin”John Holloway

brings to life three of Bach’smasterworks. 8:00–10:00p.m. Dodge Hall, MillerTheatre. 212-854-7799.

SUNDAYOctober 29

PhotographyExhibitionFeaturing Peggy

Jarrell Kaplan’s portraits ofRussian artists who were sub-ject to persecution under theSoviet regime, “Subject toArrest” is sponsored by theHarriman Institute and the NYCDept. of Cultural Affairs.International Affairs Bldg, 12thFloor. (Closes Dec. 15.)

Taiko DrumLessons Teacher: Janet

Youngblood. 5:00–7:00 p.m.Horace Mann Bldg, Room 512.Free for students of TeachersCollege; $10 for others. 516-238-0069.

Go online!Complete event listings:

www.calendar.columbia.edu.

The Record welcomes your input for news items,calendar entries and staff profiles. You can now

submit your suggestions directly at:www.columbia.edu/cu/news/newcontent.html.

SCIENCESARTS SPORTSCAMPUSTALKS

TUESDAYOctober 31

“Distrust andDemocracy”Pierre

Rosanvallon of the Collège deFrance explains how the ero-sion of trust in elected repre-sentatives leads to “counter-democracy.” 6:00–7:30 p.m.Maison Française (Buell Hall,East Gallery). maisoncoordi-nator@columbia.edu.

Volleyball vs.ManhattanLevien Gymnasium,

7:00 p.m.

Halloween Party Featuring BobStewart and the

First Line Band, with specialguest Jonathan Batiste.Sponsored by the Center forJazz Studies. 8:00–10:00 p.m.Faculty House, East Room.Free and open to the public.jazz@columbia.edu.

THURSDAYNovember 2

“Spanish Culturein New York”Spanish novelist

Antonio Muñoz Molina dis-cusses New York’s Spanish-language cultural heritage.4:00–6:00 p.m. Hamilton Hall,Room 602. 212-854-6698.

Native AmericanStudies LectureFeaturing Joseph

Gone, a clinical psychologistand Native American studiesexpert. Sponsored by the ViceProvost for DiversityInitiatives. 4:10–6:00 p.m.Alfred Lerner Hall, RoomE569. Open to the public.at2251@columbia.edu.

ChemistryColloquiumAndrew Phillips of

the University of Colorado atBoulder lectures on “SomeExamples from ComplexMolecule Synthesis.” 4:30–6:00p.m., Havermeyer Hall, Room209. 212-854-2202.

WEDNESDAYNovember 1

“Ending theDarfur Crisis”A conversation

between Earth InstituteDirector Jeffrey Sachs andEconomist correspondentJonathan Ledgard. 10:30a.m.–12:30 p.m. Alfred LernerHall, Room 555. Open to thepublic; RSVP recommended.events@ei.columbia.edu.

Rabi-WarnerConcertCandace Hoyes,

soprano, and Marin Neron,piano, perform works byBach, Debussy and Strauss.12:15 p.m. Faculty House.212-749-0800.

OpeningReceptionA lecture by Vitaly

Komar launches theHarriman Institute’s “Subjectto Arrest” exhibition.6:30–8:30 p.m. InternationalAffairs Bldg, Room 1219.ar2052@columbia.edu.

MONDAYOctober 30

ChemistryColloquiumAlois Fürstner of

the Max-Planck-Institut lec-tures on “Catalysis for TotalSynthesis.” 4:30–6:00 p.m.,Havermeyer Hall, Room 209.212-854-2202.

ECEC LectureBrian Porter of the University of

Michigan, on “ApocalypticAntisemitism: PolishCatholicism in the Early 20thCentury.” Sponsored by theEast Central European Center.6:10–7:30 p.m. InternationalAffairs Bldg, Room 1512.jsm6@columbia.edu.

Book TalkFormer provostFritz Stern dis-

cusses The Five Germanys IHave Known. Reception fol-lows. 7:00–8:30 p.m.Labyrinth Books, 536 W.112th St. Free and open tothe public. 212-865-1588.

FRIDAYNovember 3

“Religion andGlobalization”Seminar

With Faisal Devji and AlfredC. Stepan. Sponsored by theCommittee on GlobalThought. 4:10–6:00 p.m.Schermerhorm Hall, Room501. Open to the public.rs2295@columbia.edu.

3rd Annual HowlThis year’s cele-bration of

Columbia’s beats, JackKerouac and Allen Ginsberg,begins with a panel on JackKerouac and ends with anight of poetry and jazz.Philosophy Hall, Room 301,and The West End, 2909Broadway. 4:30–10:00 p.m.ebm23@columbia.edu.

“Poetry Slam!”With CC studentand budding poet

Jonathan Walton. 7:00–9:00p.m. Alfred Lerner Hall,Bookstore. 212-854-7799.

What would you most like to do forHalloween—other than the Village parade?

Kayak around Manhattan. The Manhattan Kayak Company offers a“Halloween Night Paddle” on the 31st. — James Danoff-Berg, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation

I’m going to a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show theSaturday before Halloween.

— Allison Scola, General Studies

Dress up as General MacArthur (again!). — Kip Conlon, Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid

I hope to see the silent horror film Nosferatu at St. John the Divine, with liveorgan accompaniment.

— Suzanne Lipuma, School of the Arts

My kids and I are going for a walking tour of Green-Wood Cemetery inBrooklyn. Historian Jeff Richman has been hosting these tours for more thana decade. Part I is on the 28th, Part II on the 29th.

— Rebecca Lax, Leroy Neiman Center for Print Studies

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AROUND TOWN

Do you have suggestions for things to doaround town to share with other Record readers?

E-mail us at: curecord@columbia.edu.

Talking to Susan Feagin aboutColumbia’s recently launched $4 bil-lion fundraising campaign, you findyourself believing that this business

of approaching people for major gifts isn’t ashard as it looks. Her energy and enthusiasmfor Columbia are infectious, and she exudesthe kind of professionalism that makes thefeat of raising billions seem, if not exactly apiece of cake, then something that can easilybe achieved through hard work and persist-ence, along with teamwork.

President Bollinger recruited Feagin whenhe arrived as president-designate five yearsago, but she was no stranger to the campus.Morningside was her first stop when shecame east from Tyler, Texas, having just mar-ried her high school sweetheart, a junior atColumbia College. She enrolled in the Schoolof General Studies because the school wouldallow her to finish her own degree whileworking full time at Columbia. Within a year,she was working as the secretary to the pres-ident, and eventually she moved to the alum-ni office, where she served as Columbia’s firstfull-time development researcher, creating alist of potential major donors.

From this last experience, a career wasborn. For more than 30 years now, Feagin hasbeen zigzagging back and forth among threeuniversities—Harvard, Columbia (where shecame back to manage a major fundraisingdrive in the mid-1980s) and Michigan (whereshe worked under Bollinger)—all of whichhave richer coffers as a result.

The Record sat down to talk with Feaginabout what it feels like to have just nowlaunched the most ambitious fundraisingcampaign of her long career—not to men-tion in the history of higher education.

Q.How did you decide on the figure of$4 billion?

A.Columbia had a very successful cam-paign in the 1990s, which raised

$2.5 billion. Shortly after Lee Bollinger be-came president in 2002, conversations start-ed again about having another big campaign.Some of the universities with whomColumbia competes have endowments thatare much bigger, so the sense was that wecouldn’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Thequestion became: what is the biggest goal wecan take on, one that’s not a slam dunk but isultimately doable? Over time, we began tofeel comfortable about the $4 billion number.

Q.Does such an ambitious target requiremore than the usual planning?

A.It’s interesting. A lot of the rules aboutcampaign giving are the same no mat-

ter what size your goal. Ninety percent of theamount raised comes from 10 percent ofyour donors. You spend a couple of yearsdoing planning and priority setting, solicitingleadership gifts and recruiting campaignleaders. Then you figure out how muchmoney you want to raise. Then youannounce, usually with 35–45 percent of thegoal in hand. So for this campaign, the plan-ning began at the end of 2003, and then onJuly 1, 2004, we started counting newpledges and commitments. We were able tolaunch at the end of last month with a littleover 40 percent in hand.

Q.A number of Columbia’s peer institu-tions have launched, or are about to

launch, similarly ambitious campaigns. Howdoes that affect your efforts?

A.Yale kicked off a $3 billion campaignthe day after we did. Cornell and

Stanford, who are looking for $4 billion and$4.3 billion respectively, are also starting thismonth. None of us planned to kick off at thesame time; it just sort of happened. Science isa big priority for all of us, as is developing aglobal agenda. With all of these other cam-paigns, Columbia has had to think harderabout what distinguishes us from our peers.Fortunately, and as articulated so well byPresident Bollinger, Columbia has a lot ofthings going for it at this particular moment:our long history in international studies, ourNew York City location, and our opportuni-ties for physical expansion.

Q.How much of the $4 billion is for theproposed Manhattanville expansion?

A.Right now, 25 percent of the campaignis targeted for facilities, of which $400

million would go toward the Manhattanvilleplan. Of that, half is earmarked for the

Jerome L. Greene Science Center—I’m refer-ring to that spectacular gift we got earlier thisyear from Dawn Greene and the Jerome L.Greene Foundation.

Q.Do you have any advice for facultyand staff who might like to contribute?

A.I encourage everyone to visit the cam-paign’s Web site <alumni.columbia

.edu/campaign>, or to direct others there. Akey point to remember is that 40 percent ofthe total, by far the largest goal, focuses onbuilding the endowment to do more for ourundergraduate students and faculty. Of that,a total of $440 million is earmarked forundergraduate financial aid. The rest will goto underwriting faculty salaries and research.

Q.What do you like most about develop-ment work?

A.The opportunity to have a foot in theUniversity, working closely with

faculty and students, and a foot outside: ourdonors are from all walks of life. I also live forthe moments when I realize that somethingI’ve worked hard on has had an impact onColumbia. It makes all the anxiety and back-room work worthwhile. For instance, when Iworked here in the 1980s raising money forArts and Sciences, a junior faculty memberstopped me on the street and said, “Thanksso much for my computer.” I’ve alwaysremembered that moment because it mademe see the connection between what I doand a real person. Those of us who work indevelopment have to deal with a lot ofdelayed gratification.

Q.What do you do to relax?

A.My husband and I have a farm in NewHampshire, and I’m an amateur birder.

It’s a wonderful change of pace from the cityand the pressures of work. I’ll be up theresoon, in time to see the peak of the fall color.

STAFF Q&A

TheRecord OCTOBER 19, 2006 7

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POSITION:Executive Vice President, University Development

and Alumni Relations

LENGTH OF SERVICE:4.5 years

COLUMBIA HISTORY:Feagin graduated from GS in 1974 cum laude with

a degree in sociology. She returned in 1982 todirect an Arts and Sciences campaign, part of a

larger fundraising effort that raised $600 million.

SUSANFEAGIN

Interviewed by Mary-Lea Cox and Dan Rivero

COLUMBIA’S ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGNColumbia’s annual giving campaigns rely ontelemarketing by paid student workers. Thestudents are based in a dedicated callingcenter at 2875 Broadway (between 112thand 111th Sts.).

YEARS OF OPERATION: 15

HOURS: Shifts are held Monday throughThursday, 6:30–9:30 p.m., and Sundays,2:00–5:00 and 5:30–8:30 p.m. The callingcenter is operated year-round, though hoursvary in keeping with the University calendar.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS INVOLVED: The call-ing center currently has 18 stations. The jobdoes not qualify as work study.

MISSION AND CONNECTION TO THE CAM-PAIGN: “Increasing alumni engagement andannual giving is a goal of the ColumbiaCampaign. Student calling is one of the mainways in which we reach large groups of alums,”says Alicia Sanchez, director of annual giving.

NIGHT IN THE L IFE OF . . .

“We decided on the$4 billion because it’snot a slam dunk butis ultimately doable.”

JOHN

SMO

CK

Susan Feagin (center) takes stock of the Columbia Campaign with senior development staff: (clockwise from Feagin) Jerry Kisslinger, Linda Nelson, Liz Braden and Eric Furda.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?HINT: These aren’t gummy bears. You also can’t find them on Morningside.First to e-mail us the right answer receives a RECORD mug.

ANSWER TO LAST CHALLENGE: The slide library in Schermerhorn Hall (room 901). WINNER: Cassy Juhl

SC R A PB O O K OCTOBER 19, 2006 8

Lions and tigers—oh my! The Princeton Tigers may havedefeated the Columbia Lions at this year’s Homecominggame on Sept. 30, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of thestudents and alums, cheerleaders and players—evenPresident Bollinger and the proud Roar-ee—who partici-pated in the day’s events. The balmy weather probablyhelped, as did the energy created by the $4 billionColumbia Campaign, which had been launched the daybefore. The game against Princeton was further remark-able in that it provided Columbia’s supporters with anopportunity to see new coach Norries Wilson in action.Despite the defeat, Wilson has led the Lions to severalnoteworthy victories, including, most recently, a 24–0shutout in their first-ever meeting with Iona College.

Johnsonian professor of philosophy and a foundingmember of the Committee on Global Thought. “Orhan isone of the most deserving of the Nobel, so one feelsgreat pride in his achievement,” he told The Record, “butcourage of the kind he has shown is something one canrespect in a more deep and abiding sense.”

Bilgrami was referring to the way Pamuk was treat-ed after he dared to speak out to a Western newspaperabout Turkey’s failure to come to terms with the mas-sacre of the Armenians during World War I and withthe treatment of the Kurds in the 1980s. Last year, aconservative group in Turkey charged him with insult-ing Turkish identity, a crime that carries a three-yearjail sentence. The charges were dropped in Januaryafter much international protest.

Pamuk has visited Columbia once before, in themid-1980s. He wrote his novel The Black Book—aboutan Istanbul lawyer searching for his missing wife andassuming a new identity in the process—in a roomabove Butler Library.

This semester, Pamuk is participating in theCommittee on Global Thought’s inaugural seminarseries on secularism and diversity, being offered to 32undergraduates. According to Bilgrami, there is a planafoot to have Pamuk hold a symposium in November,possibly with Salman Rushdie.

Pamuk is also slated for a joint appointment in theDepartment of Middle East and Asian Languages andCultures (MEALAC) and at the School of the Arts,where he may be teaching writing seminars.

Orhan Pamukcontinued from page 1

Quigley’s 10continued from page 1

Homecoming2006

Oceans ofDiscovery

Craft Fair

At this year’s Open House for the Lamont-Doherty EarthObservatory on Oct. 7, visitors were invited to explore theEarth’s oceans. For some this meant a virtual encounterwith the Earth’s cryosphere—made up of sea ice, freshwa-ter ice, snow, glaciers, frozen ground and permafrost. Forothers it meant learning about what happens when freshwater meets saltwater or what causes a tsunami. For oth-ers still, it meant contemplating radiolarians and diatomsunder a microscope. Some of the younger visitors learnedthat after a major disaster, the usual services we take forgranted may be unavailable. They were encouraged to fig-ure out the best items to pack for their immediate safety.One of them drew a Go-bag containing Oreo cookies anda GameBoy in addition to a flashlight and piece of rope.

TheRecord

In early October, Columbians turned out to support thelocal community by visiting the International Craft Fair,held twice a year on Low Plaza. Profits from the sales ofjewelry, hats, prints and other crafts from such countriesas Guyana and Guatemala go toward childcare fellow-ships for the Red Balloon Day Care Center, on RiversideDrive in Morningside.

noted that they could not have been achieved withoutQuigley’s leadership.

“Austin brings to his role as dean a deep sense ofwhat an undergraduate education should be and ofthe extraordinary possibilities a place like Columbiaoffers to its students,” Bollinger said. “He hasarticulated a vision of excellence and of expandingopportunity for qualified students since his earliestdays as dean.”

Bollinger added that Quigley has been able to achieveso much because of having forged close relationshipswith other key faculty, especially Arts and Sciences VicePresident Nicholas Dirks and Zvi Galil, dean of the FuFoundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences(SEAS). As a result of such collaborations, quite a fewprograms and services are now being offered jointly bythe College and SEAS, like the “Frontiers of Science” class,which challenges students to perceive the relationshipbetween science and the humanities.

Frontiers of Science is part of the Core Curriculum,which, too, has evolved with the times thanks toQuigley’s determination to make it more relevant,Bollinger said. For instance, the curriculum for MusicHumanities now includes the works of LouisArmstrong, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.

“The Core, of course, is one of Columbia’s greattraditions,” said Bollinger. “And, during Austin’s tenure,Columbia faculty have made sure that the Corecontinues to evolve and remain alive and vital fortoday’s students.”

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