Messages from the Dean
With March comes the anticipation of spring – a season of renewal, new birth, and planting new seeds. The month of March also marks the time we acknowledge and celebrate some of the communities most often pushed to the margins, including: Women’s History Month, Development and Disabilities Awareness Month, and International Transgender Day of Visibility. We get to lift up these communities while also acknowledging how our profession, the social work profession, supports and advocates for individuals and communities to enable not just surviving but thriving – an important reminder during Social…
As Acting President Claire Shipman shared last night in a video with our campus community, the Columbia student who was detained yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security has been released. While a relief, this does not diminish the range of emotions that many of us are still feeling. I want to state again that we are one community, committed to taking care of each other.
As we close out February, I want to recognize the 100th anniversary of Black History Month – a time when our country formally honors the contributions, fight, and triumph of Black Americans. At Columbia School of…
I've been giving a lot of thought to the seasons of deanship. I have concluded that my time as dean of the Columbia School of Social Work (CSSW) should come to a close. I have notified the University of my plans to step down as dean on August 31, 2026, when I will rejoin the faculty at CSSW.
This role has been the honor of my career. I first began as dean in the fall of 2019, right before the COVID pandemic struck and took a horrific toll on NYC (and our own community) in the spring of 2020. From that point forward, we have together weathered many challenges to our School and its work. I am…
Welcome back to the spring 2026 term. We want to extend a warm welcome in particular to our incoming class of students in the 16-month program who started in January. We are thrilled that you are new members of our community, and we look forward to the fresh ideas and insights you will bring to our classrooms and hallways.
We learned this week that more welcomes are needed. By now, all of you have likely heard that Dr. Jennifer Mnookin, a scholar who currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will join Columbia on July 1st as our new University President. I invite…
Since the start of the semester, we have all been thinking intentionally about how to contribute to the community we are building at CSSW. In just a few short months, I have seen that commitment come to life in powerful and meaningful ways. You have organized a food drive to support one another during a time of uncertainty. You have created spaces for connection and stress relief, including a wall filled with words of encouragement. You have shown up as advocates for one another and for the Harlem community more broadly. These acts reflect care, solidarity, and a deep sense of responsibility to…
So many of the conditions in our society continue to be at times baffling, infuriating, disappointing, and frustrating. And yet you are all here, more than halfway through the semester, having chosen this community to move forward with the aim of promoting equity and justice. Your dedication to these goals is significant and meaningful. It’s a glimmer of hope among other glimmers, wherever we find them, worldwide.
The work of social justice is not easy. Nor is it solitary, or quick. History reminds us that to keep going in the face of so much pain and suffering requires us to do three things:…
Now that we are one month into the new semester, I wanted to reach out and share some updates with you. While the challenges in our world seem only to grow larger by the day, our community is moving forward with their important work. It’s important to acknowledge it.
Welcome to the new academic year. I want to extend an especially warm welcome to the newest members of our community – our students who joined us this summer and fall.
I am delighted to announce that Dr. Brooke S. West has now successfully passed through all stages of review, including the University Trustees, and has been granted tenure at Columbia University. This is a tremendous milestone to Dr. West’s exceptional scholarship, impactful teaching, and meaningful contributions to both our School and University community.
As a medical sociologist, Dr. West focuses her research on the social, economic, physical, and policy determinants of health disparities among marginalized and criminalized populations both domestically and globally. Her work addresses…
It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Robert D. Eschmann has successfully passed all stages of review, including approval by the University Trustees, and has been granted tenure at Columbia University.
The awarding of tenure reflects the University’s belief in the excellence of a scholar’s research, teaching, and mentoring, and their vital contributions to the intellectual life of the institution. A rigorous, multi-level review is involved. As many of you know, Dr. Eschmann’s innovative research focuses on the intersection of race, education, and technology, with a particular emphasis…
Next week, many of our students will walk across the stage as the 2025 graduates of the Columbia School of Social Work. Our newest graduates will take their knowledge and skills and apply them to promote justice in the professional spaces where they choose to work. Your voices are needed.
I am delighted to share the wonderful news that Dr. Desmond Upton Patton, the Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor and PIK University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice, will be Columbia School of Social Work’s 2025 commencement speaker.