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COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
Alumni
News
PHOTO: COLIN SULLIVAN ‘11
41 Message from the
CCAA President
42 Norman Dorsen ’50
46 Bookshelf
49 Obituaries
53 Class Notes
96 Alumni Corner
MESSAGE FROM CCAA PRESIDENT KYRA TIRANA BARRY ’87
CCYA Builds Engagement
Among Newest Alumni
Where can you find almost 2,000 Columbia alumni
in one place At the Young Alumni Party
on the U.S.S. Intrepid during Alumni Reunion
Weekend. This is no surprise: CCYA is Columbia’s
strongest, most vibrant alumni program.
It is a constantly evolving alumni organization with a tradition
of passionate leaders and a calendar of
multi-class events tailored to the interests
of young alumni.
The Columbia College Alumni Association
(CCAA) can learn from CCYA’s
success and develop programming that
reflects former students’ ever-changing
interests and needs, in order to increase
connections within the general alumni
population.
CCYA creates a community for alumni
from graduation through the 10th reunion
through programs such as
n summer rooftop cocktail parties,
n a wine and chocolate tasting,
n the Young Alumni Fund Spring
Benefit,
n career-focused events that bring together students and
young alumni,
n networking events and
n community service events.
Like previous CCYA leaders, President Calvin Sun ’08 and
V. P. Robyn Burgess ’10 have considerable experience as Columbia
student leaders and a passion to keep CCYA on track and growing
to serve our newest alumni.
Sun was v.p. of his class and president of the Columbia University
Asian American Alliance. Now a medical student, he is on
the Board of Directors for the East Coast Asian American Student
Union, the oldest and largest ethnic-interest collegiate organization
in the country. Sun says the key to CCYA’s success is its “continual
shift in emphasis to respond to the desires of the newest
alumni and in helping graduates make the transition from college
life by continuing the close community that existed on campus.”
Young alumni in the Bay Area volunteered with the San Francisco
Food Bank, one of CCYA’s growing number of community outreach
efforts.
Social events such as the happy hour at NYC’s Sky
Room on July 26 have long been a popular part of
CCYA programming.
PHOTO: SCOTT RUDD PHOTOGRAPHY
Burgess, who works in client services for email marketing company
Experian CheetahMail, was a leader of the Black Students
Organization and v. p. of campus life for the Columbia College
Student Council. She sees her role in CCYA as related: “When I got
involved I noticed that there wasn’t enough multicultural representation
at alumni programs, so I wanted to help tie my network
to the organization. CCYA offers a space
for young professionals to interact with
people from different professional backgrounds,
leading to greater creativity in
all of our pursuits. That’s why even our
frequent happy hours help young alumni
to become stronger adults and stronger
alumni.”
During the past two decades, CCYA
has expanded from a series of networking
events to the multifaceted organization
it is today. The recent creation of its
Community Service effort is one example.
Since 2011, CCYA has been working
with organizations including the Bowery
Mission, Paddle for Autism, A Better
Chance, Let’s Get Ready, the San Francisco
Food Bank, Toys for Tots and the NYC Parks Department.
This year, CCYA will participate in Columbia Community Outreach
Day on Saturday, April 6, which is organized by the student
organization Columbia Community Outreach. CCYA Community
Service Chair Christina Macchiarola ’10 encourages everyone in
our young alumni network to go out and serve their communities
on that day (columbia.edu/cu/outreach). We hope other CCAA
members will get involved as well.
CCAA is very interested in adapting CCYA’s approach of connecting
classes and interacting with current students. Alumni of
all ages tell us that in addition to class reunions they would like
more opportunities to get together with the other classes that
were on campus when they were there.
Dean’s Day, which occurs during the Saturday of Alumni
Reunion Weekend, is one such opportunity. And we are excited
that the Society of Columbia Graduates has moved its Great
Teacher Awards celebration to Dean’s Day so a broader group
of alumni can come together for a communal celebration. This
luncheon brings together faculty, students and former students
— three of the College’s greatest assets — to honor our most inspiring
and supportive teachers.
CCYA is a good model for CCAA and for College Alumni
Affairs as we continue to think about building ever-stronger relationships
with our alumni. Please continue to write to me about
what interests you (ccaapresident@columbia.edu).
I hope to see all alumni — not just those in reunion years —
on campus at Alumni Reunion Weekend, Thursday, May 30–
Sunday, June 2.
SPRING 2013
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SPRING 2013
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