Columbia’s 2017-2018 academic year has been a year of many milestones. Professor Joachim Frank shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry, the School of Nursing celebrated its 125th anniversary by dedicating a new, ultramodern building and the School of the Arts opened the Lenfest Center of the Arts on the Manhattanville campus.
And now the Class of 2018, a diverse group of some 16,000 men and women, receives degrees on May 16. They come from more than 100 different countries, and they range in age from 16 to 69. The youngest, Kai-Zhan Lee, earned his B.S. in computer science from Columbia Engineering in just three years. The oldest, physician Louis-Joseph Auguste, completed an MPH at the Mailman School of Public Health in October. More than 170 are military veterans.
During the Commencement ceremony, University President Lee C. Bollinger will confer five honorary degrees, award the University Medal of Excellence to entrepreneur and investor Shazi Visram (CC’99, BUS’04), and 10 alumni medalists will be recognized for their service to Columbia. At dusk, the city will join in the celebration as the iconic Empire State Building is bathed in Columbia blue to honor this year’s graduates. Roar Lion Roar!