Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York (Columbia University) is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States,[4] and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. Today the University operates four global centers overseas in Amman, Jordan; Beijing, China; Paris, France; and Mumbai, India. The University was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain. After the American Revolutionary War King's College briefly became a state entity, and was renamed Columbia College in 1784. The University now operates under a 1787 charter that places the institution under a private board of trustees, and in 1896 it was further renamed Columbia University. That same year, the University's campus was moved from Madison Avenue to its current location in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, where it occupies more than six city blocks, or 32 acres (0.13 km2). The University encompasses twenty schools and is affiliated with numerous institutions, including Teachers College, Barnard College, and the Union Theological Seminary, with joint undergraduate programs available through the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as well as the Juilliard School. Columbia annually administers the Pulitzer Prize and has been affiliated with more Nobel Prize laureates than any other academic institution in the world. Additionally, the University is one of the fourteen founding members of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and was the first school in the United States to grant the M.D. degree. Notable students of Columbia include five Founding Fathers of the United States; three United States presidents; nine Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States; and 26 foreign Heads of State. See Wikipedia, Columbia University, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University

What do you get when you combine a world-class university with the city that never sleeps? The answer lies in the myriad social, political and entertaining events found on the campus of Columbia University New York. From the annual Concert on the Steps to the World Leaders Forum, whether you’re looking to dance the night away or broaden your global perspective, you’re sure to find it here.

Varsity Show
The Varsity Show (http://www.thevarsityshow.com/), founded in 1894 as a fundraiser for athletic programs, continues to be one of the most popular events at Columbia University. The excitement begins months in advance with auditions for the few highly coveted roles in this lively, full-length performance that offers a fun, and oft sarcastic, look at life on the Columbia campus. Sold out shows each April testify to the talent and inspiration found in the Varsity Show.

World Leaders Forum
The World Leaders Forum (http://www.worldleaders.columbia.edu), initiated in 2003, is a series of free yearlong events providing Columbia students, faculty and staff with the opportunity to participate in public discussion and debate on a variety of issues facing the planet today. From presidents and prime ministers to CEOs and religious leaders, the range of speakers at this Columbia event offers attendees a global perspective on economic, social, cultural and political concerns. Recent speakers at this Columbia University New York event include former U.S. vice president Al Gore and Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics.

Concert on the Steps
Although not officially held on the steps of the Columbia Library in 2011, the Concert on the Steps (http://www.wikicu.com/Concert_on_the_Steps) is a free event culminating the Bacchanal Festival at Columbia and continues to be one of the most attended events of the year. The Bacchanal committee strives to book up and coming acts for a springtime concert sure to please the masses. This year’s rap theme headlined by Snoop Dog follows a tradition of bringing popular, and perhaps controversial, music to the campus. Thousands of students, faculty and staff eagerly await the announcement of acts which includes the winner of the Columbia New York Battle of the Bands held each spring.