Reprinted from COLUMBIA, the magazine ofColumbia University, Spring 2007

what

know?will

we

Introducing THE COLUMBIA CAMPAIGN2006 – 2011

giving.columbia.edu

“Jerry [’26CC, ’28LAW] would be as excited as the

Foundation and I to be making this gift to build The

Jerome L. Greene Science Center, housing the

Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative. He believed in

education, especially a Columbia education, and he

believed in New York and its future.”

– Dawn M. Greene, president and CEO, the Jerome L. Greene

Foundation, about her $200 million gift in the spring of 2006

AsPresident LeeC. Bollinger has said, “It’s amazing howmuch

we have come to know, and yet it’s equally amazing how much

there still is to know. Universities live on the cusp of that mental

divide: pride and hope.” Through The Columbia Campaign,

donors and the University are laying the groundwork for an-

swering today’s most important questions—as well as critical

questions yet to be asked.

This five-year, $4 billion endeavor,launched in the fall of 2006, is dedi-cated to renewing Columbia’s corestrengths—extraordinary students,faculty, and programs across theboard—while aligning resources topursue key strategic directions. Theseinclude undergraduate education; thenurturing of discovery in the sciencesandmedicine; creativity and explorationin the arts and humanities; the broad-ening of access through financial aid;research and teaching beyond individ-ual disciplines; urban engagement inNew York and around the world; andthemeeting of global challenges throughunderstanding and action.In the next seven pages, the accom-

plishments andhopes of Columbia areexpressed through the voices andexperiences of generous alumni,students, faculty, parents, and friends.Whether turning a scientific break-through into increased support for thechemistry department, extending op-portunities for business ventures tobenefit society, or reinvigorating thefield of journalism, people who havebeen touched by Columbia are joining

forces to change the face of theUniversity—and, through the Univer-sity, the world.Momentum is clearly building.

Graduates of all schools and programsare choosing to secure Columbia’sleadership, with everything from$100 annual fund gifts and time spentmentoring students tomillion-dollarendowment donations. Gifts andpledges totaling more than $100million—in support of medicalresearch, scholarships and fellow-ships, professorships, programs inarchitecture, art, law, public health,athletics, libraries, the Earth Insti-tute—came in from nearly 21,000alumni and friends during the firstquarter of 2007 alone. Then onApril 11, President Bollinger an-nounced a $400million commitmentfrom John Kluge ’37CC for financialaid University-wide—the largest giftever to an Ivy League institution.Yes, people are transforming Co-

lumbia in unprecedented ways. Withthe help of the entire Universitycommunity, we can truly reachnew heights.

“The real fun of science isn’t in ‘Here’s whatwe all know that you should learn,’” chemistRonald Breslow says. “The part that’s mostfascinating is, ‘Here’s what we don’t know butwe’d like to work together to figure out.’” Uni-versity Professor, co-director of Columbia’sCenter for Electronic Transport in MolecularNanostructures, and an accomplished pianist(who plays everything from popular music toimprovisational jazz), Breslow is animated inexplaining organic chemistry to the uniniti-ated: “We make new things,” he says. “Wedon’t just study the world as it is. Probablymore than 95 percent of all known chemicalshave beenmade, but every once in a while youfind a new kind.”In some cases, invented compounds substi-

tute for identical substances that may exist innature but are rare or difficult to collect.Others are completely new. They may have areadily apparent function, likemimicking bi-ological enzymes, or theymay serve as buildingblocks for subsequent research. From poly-mers tomedicine, Breslow says, “most people

in industry are working onapplications, while we’re tryingto develop the new parts. Peopletake our stuff and run with it.”One drug company certainly

did. Joined by scientists atSloan-Kettering, Breslowhelpeddevelop a breakthroughmedica-tion that halts the growth ofcancer cells, turning half intonormal cells through a processknown as gene transcription.“We’re turning on and turningoff certain genes,” he explains.This drug has the potential to

treat a number of different

diseases—seemingly without causing harmfulside effects. Its conceptual genesis dates backthree decades, Breslow says, but it was only inthe past few years that researchwas sufficientlypromising to allow Breslow and his colleaguesto forma start-up companywith a license fromthe University for the underlying technology,and then to sell that company to Merck. Thispharmaceutical company now markets thecompound Breslow’s group invented as aprescription drug called Zolinza, which wasapproved by the FDA in October 2006.The story could have ended happily there,

with the University receiving a portion of thereturns from the sale of the company. Instead,Professor Breslow and his wife used part oftheir own proceeds from the sale to establishtheEstherBreslowProfessorship inOrganic orBiological Chemistry, with the help of a chal-lenge grant from University Trustee GerryLenfest ’58LAW. (EstherBreslow is a professor

Building a

ProfessorshipStrengthening Chemistry

withGenes

“If you getmoney, youshould dosomethingpositivewith it.”

– Ronald Breslow

of biochemistry at CornellMedical School; thechair will be renamed upon Ronald Breslow’sretirement to recognize him as well.)Increasing endowment funds helps attract

and retain the best faculty, across the Univer-sity, and provides an environment moreconducive to their work, both as scholars andteachers. “An endowed chair for an Arts andSciences professor teaching undergraduates,for instance,makes under-graduate educationmore visible and underscores its importanceto the University,” notes Robert Berne’60CC,’62BUS, a retired real estate developer, formerpresident of the Columbia College AlumniAssociation, former chair of the College Fund,and now a co-chair of Columbia’s undergrad-uate education Campaign committee.According toMarthaHowell,MiriamCham-

pion Professor of History, who was honoredwith her chair about five years ago, “endowedchairs are one of the currencies of the profes-sion. Columbia ought to have that currencybecause the faculty’s worth it. It’s astonishinghow good our faculty is, despite how poorColumbia is relative to our peer institutions!”(Harvard’s total FY2006 endowmentwas $28.9billion,Yale’s $18 billion, Stanford’s $14.1billion, and Princeton’s $13 billion—yet Colu-bia’s was $5.9 billion.) But, Howell cautions,to retain Columbia’s high caliber of faculty byrecognizing its most distinguished members,the University must increase the number ofendowed professorships across all schools.Since the Lenfest Challenge was announced

last September, alumni, parents, and friendshave endowed three other professorships

toward a Campaign goal of 50 in the Arts andSciences. Similar challenges are also buildingfaculty at the law school, where Lenfest estab-lished a second matching program, and at thebusiness school, through the generosity ofArthur Samberg ’67BUS.“With the leverage from the Lenfestmatch,”

Breslow says, “I could actually make a differ-ence here.” Many would argue that Breslow, aColumbia faculty member for more than 50years, had already been making a major dif-ference. Among his generations of students,he has taught three Nobel Prize winners. Hehas chaired a presidential search committee(leading to the hiring ofWilliam J.McGill, whoserved from 1970 to 1980). Andhis leadershipof another committee resulted in its recom-mendation that Columbia College admitwomen in the early 1980s.Breslow’s endowment gift will also provide

research funds for the chemistry department.“Research is part of the business of theUniversity,” Breslow says. “I think you canhave a very well defined, useful effect on adepartment by taking some responsibility forresearch support,” he explains, noting that“over the years, the chemistry department haslost some really great people” who have goneto other universities that offer more support.Breslow himself declined opportunities toleave because he believed “Columbia could bebetter than it was.” The University needsresources to be able to give its faculty moredirect research support.Fortunately forColumbia, Breslow’s breakthrough put him ina position to lead the way.

–Marcus Tonti

3

“If what people are hearing and reading andseeing isn’t fair andhonest and representativeof the diversity of society,” says Leo Hindery,Jr.,managing partner of InterMedia Partners,“then you can’t trust thedecisions they’re goingto make. Journalism is of critical importanceacross all aspects of society—in science andmedicine and arts, in business, on the frontpage and in sports, and in every other arena.”Hindery is committed to Columbia’s lead-

ership role in the teaching and practice ofjournalism. A member of the JournalismSchool’s board of visitors, he is co-chairmanof its Second Century Campaign, one of thecoordinated fundraising efforts that compriseThe Columbia Campaign. With a $40 milliongoal for endowed financial aid (40 percent ofthe school’s overall campaign goal), theSecond Century Campaign seeks to help theprofessionmeet its potential andmaintain itsstandards as fully as possible.It was in 2005, with this in mind, that

Hindery donated $5million to create scholar-ships for Columbia’sjournalism stu-dents.” No prospec-tive student shouldever have to declineacceptance becauseof financial circum-stances,” he says.The gift also hon-

ors his daughter,Robin Hindery’04JRN, a reporterfor the AssociatedPress. “My dad’srelationshipwith theschool was firstformed, and thenstrengthened, by thefact that I wentthere,” she says, “but

how the media operates, preserving a certainlevel of integrity—these are interests he’salways had. The kind of journalists thatColumbia is trying to send into theworld—whowill help get people back to respecting themedia and picking up their local newspapermore often—that’s very much in sync with myfather’s ideals. I think he sees these scholar-ships as encouraging that.”Leo Hindery is quick to praise Nicholas

Lemann, who became the school’s dean inSeptember 2003. “Nick walked in and saidthree things: That the curriculumhad to evolvequickly—the school had, perhaps, sat on itslaurels for too long; that the school had to be-come the premier voice on journalism ethicsand integrity, for all the world; and that heneeded a diverse student body to back that up.”Indeed, Hindery supports Lemann’s diver-

sity initiatives as vehemently as he does hisethical ones. “The media industry has neverneeded more diversity than it does now, ofevery characteristic—ethnicity, gender, race,orientation, and nationality.” But, he adds,“you can only meet this demand if you fill thejournalismpipelinewith diverse students andpractitioners from every walk of life and everypart of the world.”Columbia’s preeminence, he argues, makes

it vitally important that the best students areable to attend. “New York City will remain themedia capital of the world for many years tocome. There is not in any other professionsuch an obvious number-one graduate pro-gramasColumbia’s JournalismSchool, with itshistory and location. We need Columbia, withthe quality of education that it offers, to havethe best, brightest, and most diverse studentsapplying to it,” says Leo Hindery. “That’s thepurpose of the gift.”

–MT4

WhatweNeed

toKnowReviving Journlism

“Journalists of all stripesare grossly underpaid.There’s a real tensionbetween the cost of a

Columbia education andthe reality that journalists

simply don’t make the kindof money that can sustain

huge student loans.”– Leo Hindery, Jr., with

Robin Hindery ’04JRN

In the summer of 1999, the testimony of onewhite undercover narcotics officer led to theconvictions of ten percent of the black popula-tion of Tulia, Texas, on drug traffickingcharges. Despite a lack of evidence, the defen-dants received sentences of 20 to 341 years.According to one observer, the court cases un-raveled as a riveting legal thriller, resemblinga modern-day To Kill a Mockingbird.Theodore Shaw ’79LAW, director-counselandpresident of theNAACPLegalDefense andEducational Fund (LDF), now oversees thecadre of lawyers who proved that the officerhad lied in court andwon the Texas governor’spardon for 35 of the 38 defendants.LDF’s victory shed light on how the judicial

system and the nation’s war on drugs cango awry for peopleof color. The Tuliacases are among theLDF battles thatillustrate what Shawsees as the core civilrights issue forthe 21st century:“Whether or not it’sgoing to be legal andconstitutional inthis country todo anything, volun-tarily and con-sciously,aboutracialinequality.”For Shaw, who

grew up in a Bronxhousing projectduring the civilrights struggles ofthe 1960s, attend-ing Columbia wasnot a foregone con-clusion. Finally ad-mitted to the school

after beingwait-listed, hewas able to trace thepaths of two of his heroes. “I wanted to practicecivil rights law andwas aware that JackGreen-berg [’45CC, ’48LAW] and Constance BakerMotley [’46LAW] had gone to Columbia LawSchool. I knew about the connection thatColumbia had to Brown v. Board of Educationthrough them.”A Charles Evan Hughes fellowship for peo-

ple likely to serve in public interest enabledShaw to attend the law school. He creditsColumbia contacts with leading him to his twodream jobs—at the U.S. Justice Department’sCivil Rights Division and LDF.“It’s important to make sure that Columbia

affords opportunity across the board,” saysShaw, who teaches at the law school andsupports the Paul Robeson Scholarship, “par-ticularly given the kind of stratification alonglines of wealth that increasingly characterizesour country.”“If I hadn’t received the graduate fellowship

from Columbia,” Ellen Lumpkin Brown’85BUS says, “I would not have been able to

TheBESTMinds

Four Alumni DiscussBroadening Access

to Columbia

“What’s reallyimportant is being

able to ensurethat Columbia canbe a place where

not only theprivileged haveopportunity butwhere those forwhom Columbiaisn’t a birthrighthave access.”

– Theodore Shaw ’79LAW

have the career of public service that I’ve had.I probably would have taken very corporatejobs so that I could pay back loans.”As an economic development program offi-

cer for the Ford Foundation, Brown fundedorganizations to facilitate financing in low-income communities from Chicago to Miamito Nairobi. She also spent five years inpost-apartheid South Africa issuing grants tosupport inner-city and rural microenterpriseand business development, before returningto the United States in 1998. Today, as chiefoperating officer of the Newark-based NewJersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ),Brown directs economic initiatives that arechanging the social capacity of urban centersand dismantling barriers for the unemployed.She recalls a Columbia international busi-

ness course in which Professor MichelAmsalem impressed upon her that businesscould be an agent of change, “that one could dowell and do good,” she says. In her spare time,this wife andmother of three has parlayed herlove for sewing handcrafted felt dolls into anonline business called the Doll Loft. “Both atNJISJ and in my own business, I continue touse Professor Amsalem’s four-part analyticalmodel to this day,” shenotes, “amodel that hashelped me look for risks and opportunitiesthat others don’t seem to see.”Domingo C. Nuñez, MD, ’76CC, ’80PS,

considered Columbia a magical place whenhe was growing upnot far from campus.The financial aid thatNuñez, a New YorkRegents Scholar, re-ceived enabled him torealize his dream ofpracticing medicine.After majoring in biol-ogy, minoring in an-thropology, andplayinglightweight football atColumbia, he is now aleadinggastrointestinalsurgeon and director of

surgery at St. Luke’sHospital.“Iwantother students tohave theopportunity

I had,”Nuñez says about his having givenmorethan $60,000 to the College Fund, includingscholarships, and to the football program. “Be-sides, Imetmywife atColumbia!”he adds. TheUniversity truly has become a family affair: heand his wife, Sandra Nuñez, a Teachers Collegegraduate, are the parents of both a Columbiafootball Lion (Justin Alexander Nuñez ’07CC)and a Columbia College alumna (Manelle

VictoriaNuñezMartino ’00CC).Many alumni whose families had the means

to cover full tuition, such as Jonathan Lavine’88CC, are just as passionate about the rolethat scholarships play in drawing the best,brightest, andmost varied students to campus.

“Columbia exposedme intellectually as wellas socially to so many new experiences,people, andways of thinking about theworld,”says Lavine, who grewup inProvidence, RhodeIsland. “It helped me develop an intellectualopenness and a curiosity that changedmy life.”Attending an investment banking presenta-

tion his senior year upon a classmate’sinsistence, Lavine postponed law school tobegin working on Wall Street at DrexelBurnham.Henowheads Sankaty Advisors, theglobal fixed income and credit business ofBain Capital, a global private investment firmwhose assets under management have grownfrom $300 million in 1993 when he joined toover $45 billion today.Lavine has pledged $2.5 million to help

endow financial aid at Columbia so that thecollege’s critical need-blind admissions andfull-need financial aid policies can be guaran-teed in perpetuity. He says proudly, “Givingstudentswho can’t afford to go toColumbia theopportunity to have the wonderful experienceI had is one of the best ways I can give back.”

– Regina Lewis Barboza ’84JRN6

As a young German immigrant living inDetroit in the 1930s, John W. Kluge dreamedof attending an Ivy League school. He had thebrains, but not the money.Columbia made an investment in Kluge

’37CC, ’88HON that paid off big time: TheCollege awarded him an academic scholarshipand he graduated with honors in economics,eventually becoming one of the world’s mostsuccessful businessmen and most generousphilanthropists. The founder, chairman, andpresident of the communications giantMetro-media, Kluge has been especially kind toColumbia over the years, giving theUniversitymore than $110million,mostly to fund schol-arships for students from underrepresentedpopulations.In his effort to improve access to higher

education, Kluge recently outdid himself. OnApril 11, President LeeC. Bollinger announcedthat Kluge has pledged $400 million toColumbia, all designated to support financialaid for undergraduate and graduate students.The gift, which will be made through Kluge’sestate, is the fourth largest ever to a singleinstitution in American higher education andthe largest for financial aid.The announcement was made at Low Library,

in a ceremony that included CongressmanCharlesRangelandNewYorkCityMayorMichaelBloomberg, and was attended by former MayorDavid N.Dinkins. The 92-year-old Kluge, ap-pearing radiant and jovial in a bright green tie,was greeted by a standing ovation that lastedseveral minutes.“When I came to Columbia in 1933, I was a

country bumpkin,” Kluge told the crowd. “Iprobably still am. The first time I walked up116th Street and stood before this building, Iwas in awe. Columbia made me a better per-son. And as a beneficiary of a scholarship here,I want to help other young people benefit fromthis institution, just as I did.”

The Gates OpenWider“John’s extraordinary gift, coupled with hisearlier gifts, will help generations ofColumbians,” said Bollinger in announcingthe $400 million pledge. “The essence ofAmerica’s greatness lies, in no smallmeasure,in our collective commitment to giving all peo-ple the opportunity to improve their lives, es-pecially through access to education. John’sown life is a fulfillment of that Americandream, and he has spoken frequently and elo-quently of the critical role that Columbiaplayed in his life. That he has chosen to directhis amazing generosity to ensuring that youngpeople will have the chance to benefit from aColumbia education regardless of their wealthor family income is both a testament to his

A LifetimeInvestment

Kluge’s Gift Brings Many Happy Returns

7

personal history and values and a challenge toall of us to do our best to live up to our nation’sideals.”Kluge has stipulated that half of the $400

million go to Columbia College; Universityofficials say it’s too early to determine exactlyhowColumbia’s other schools and collegeswillshare the rest. The College will use its portionto fund and improve financial aid packages sothat students receive more grants and fewerloans, according to College dean Austin E.Quigley. The University has already begunshifting financial aid away from borrowing:Beginning this fall, the University will issuegrants instead of loans to all ColumbiaCollege and engineering undergraduateswhose families earn less than $50,000 a year.“With the help of John’s remarkably gener-

ous gift,” saysQuigley, “wewill, in future years,improve the quality of aid for all recipients.”Raising endowment for financial aid, as well

as for faculty support, is a major emphasis ofthe $4 billionColumbia fundraising campaignlaunched last September. The campaign hasraised so far about $2.2 billion, or 55 percent ofthe total goal, including Kluge’s commitment.Improving the quality of Columbia’s student

aid is crucial for several reasons, Quigley says.“First, if loan burdens are very high, studentsfrom low-income families are discouragedfrom applying,” he says. “Second, studentswho enroll at Columbia need to have full ac-cess to the educational and social experiencewe offer. That’s difficult if their loan burden ismounting every year, and they feel the pres-sure to devote more time to earningmoney.“Third, we need to ensure that graduates

have access to a full range of careers,” he

continues. “Students graduatingwith $20,000in loans are less likely to choose low-salarycareers, even if that is where their sense ofpersonal fulfillment and public responsibilitywould otherwise direct them. Providing morefinancial aid grants and fewer loans is vital ifour full-need financial aid policy is to achieveits traditional goals.”Kluge’s $400million pledge gives a dramatic

boost to The Columbia Campaign, says SusanFeagin, executive vice president for develop-ment and alumni relations. “This represents10 percent of our campaign goal, which is ex-traordinary,” she says. “And virtually everypart of the University has financial aid as oneof its top campaign priorities, so the fact thatJohn’s gift is designated for financial aid isextremely important. It certainly gives us theconfidence that we’ll meet our goals, if otheralumni are motivated by John’s example. Hehas been clear that he understands Columbianeeds evenmore support for financial aid, andhewants his gift to challenge others to dowhatthey can.”

BackWhen They Had BootstrapsKluge came a longway fromhismodest begin-nings in Detroit, where his family relocatedfrom Germany when he was eight. After at-tending Columbia and serving in the U.S.Army during World War II, he made his startin business with the $15,000 purchase of asingle radio station in 1946. Kluge went on toassemble the nation’s largest group of inde-pendent television stations, as well asrestaurants and entertainment propertiesranging from the Ice Capades and theHarlemGlobetrotters to Playbill magazine. In 1986,Kluge sold his television stations to RupertMurdoch, who turned them into the Fox net-work. Under the moniker Metromedia, Klugehas continued to invest in telecommunicationsand biotechnology interests.The 25th richest American, according to

Forbes magazine, Kluge has been amongColumbia’s top donors for decades. Forinstance, he has given $85 million to fundscholarships for economically disadvantagedstudents. About $60 million of that has gonetowards the Kluge Scholars Program, whichawards four-year, need-based scholarshipsto approximately 50 first-year students at Co-lumbia College every year. Founded in 1987,the program also runs seminars, networking

8

Congressman Charles Rangel, and New York City Mayor MichaelBloomberg, John Kluge, and Columbia president Lee C. Bollinger

Imagine hearing that two of your threechildren won’t live to see age five. That grimprognosis faced John Crowley in 1998, whenhe learned that daughter Megan and sonPatrick both had Pompe disease, a geneticmuscle disorder that destroys the abilityto walk, eat, and breathe with-out help.Pompe was so rare that no one had developedeffective treatments. Crowley (subject of anew book called The Cure) launched a foun-dation, a bio-tech company, and a globalsearch for expert help.Enter Alfred E. Slonim, MD, a pediatric

geneticist at the Columbia University MedicalCenter. One of the first physicians to treatMegan and Patrick, Slonim helped prolongtheir lives by developing a high-protein,low-carbohydrate diet and anew formof phys-ical therapy that keeps their limbs as active aspossible. “Dr. Slonim’s care, expertise, andpassion are extraordinary,” Crowley says.

Maintaining this high standard of patientcare and research throughout CUMC, alongwith fortifying its outstanding education,faculty, andpublic health initiatives, is a primeCampaign goal. Support includes a $500mil-lion goal in key clinical and research areas.To help fund Slonim’s research and beginbuilding a medical unit that treats metabolicmuscle diseases and serves 200 patientsper year, Amicus Therapeutics, headed byCrowley, recently gave CUMC a $100,000grant. Slonimcontinues to care for Patrick andMegan—who are now eight and nine years old.

–Molly Ginty

events, and faculty-supervised summerresearch projects that encourage participantsto pursue academic careers.“I want to help ensure that Columbia will

always be a place where the best and thebrightest young people can come to developtheir intellect, make something of their ownlives, and give something back to our commu-nities, our country, and ourworld,” saysKluge,who graduated from the College 70 years agothis spring. “Yet because Columbia’s endow-ment is not nearly as large as some of ourcelebrated peer institutions, achieving thatgoal will take support from many otherColumbia alumni and friends. So I inviteeveryone to join me in this commitment tochanging the lives of extraordinary studentswho will go on to be extraordinary leaders inour society.”

Denise De Las Nueces ’03CC, who is thedaughter of immigrants and was raised in theWashington Heights section of Manhattan,certainly saw her life change at Columbia. Sheattended as part of theKluge Scholars Programand now is pursuing a medical degree atHarvard Medical School. “Mr. Kluge’s altru-ism has allowed me to unhesitatingly takechances and accept opportunities without aconcern for financial constraints,” she told theaudience at the Low Library ceremony. “As amember of an underrepresented group atan Ivy League university, I think there issomething very powerful about knowing thatsomeone believes in you.”Kluge is married toMaria “Tussi” Kluge and

is the father of three children, Samantha,Joseph, and John, Jr., ’05CC,who is writing hisfather’s biography.

9

InSearchof a

Medical Answers

Cure

John Crowley

10

Love andMoney

Good Business“If you pursue your passion, you’ll be success-ful financially.” Alexander W. Casdin ’96BUSrecalls the words of a guest speaker during hisvalue investing class at Columbia BusinessSchool. The speaker was Warren Buffett’51BUS and the words have resonated withCasdin for over a decade.Taking Buffett’s advice, Casdin has pursued

an investing career that melds his varied in-terests in technological innovation, business,andhealth care.His first job in the investment

field was as a health care analyst for theDreyfus Corporation. He then managed $1.4billion as portfolio manager of the PequotHealthcare Fund and is now CEO of CooperHill, a health care-dedicated hedge fundfounded in 1997 by his father, Jeffrey W.Casdin. Cooper Hill invests in all areas ofhealth care: biotechnology, pharmaceuticals,medical devices, and services.True to Buffett’s prediction, doing what he

loves has enabled Casdin to give back in a bigway to Columbia. In 2001, five years after

graduating, he made his first major donationto the business school: $25,000 to the annualfund. Casdin believes that “philanthropicparticipation—regardless of the amount—withthose institutions that have helped personallyand professionally is important throughout acareer, not just at the end.”He also believes that business can be a

crucial vehicle of social change. So he has nowdonated $250,000 in all to the businessschool’s Social Enterprise Program. WhileWall Street beckonsmanyMBAs, this programhelps inspire students to explore howbusinessventures can help improve society.“An attractive aspect of giving to Social En-

terprise,” Casdin says, “is that you can see yourgift having a direct positive impact in a varietyof situations, whether you’re funding newcourse development or summer internshipsfor students who are thinking creatively aboutapplying their MBA skills.”One of Casdin’s early gifts helped students

travel to Costa Rica to perform clean-energyinvesting. Other Social Enterprise studentshave pursued private equity opportunities inKabul, Afghanistan, and microfinance devel-opment in Madagascar. Some work closer tohome, at not-for-profits such as theDoe Fundor onprojects including the creation ofmicro-lending banks in underservedneighborhoods.Casdin now sits on the advisory board for theSocial Enterprise Program and is a strongadvocate for the sense of social responsibilityit engenders.

“It’s extraordinarilyimportant for oursociety that wetake the skills ofMBAs and applythem on a civic,not-for-profit, orcultural basis.”

– Alexander W. Casdin

’96BUS

11

A film studies major (“So I could catch up onthe R-rated movies my mother never let mewatch”), Christin LeighMoné ’07CCwrote hersenior thesis on howBreakfast at Tiffany’s notonly reflected but influenced changing genderroles during the early 1960s. A year-roundcaller for the College Fund since she was afreshman, Moné says, “I’m on the phone allday, but I have trouble finding time to call myfriends back!” She enjoys spreading the wordto alumni about the importance of current-useannual fund gifts in strengthening financialaid, academic programs such as the Core Cur-riculum, and the overall student experience.With no small thanks to Moné and callers likeher, College Fund giving from alumni grew by38percent from2002 to 2006—putting the $85million annual fund goal for 2004 to 2011 wellwithin reach. Here Moné reflects on hercollege years andwhat she has learned fromallthose chats with alumni.

Why did you decide to become an annual

fund caller?

A friend found a flyer about the job and Ithought it wouldbenice to help fundraise sinceI benefit so much from those very funds. Shestayed for four weeks. I stayed for four years.

What has made you keep this job for so long?

I’ve had some wonderful conversations withColumbians. They have felt free to ask meabout my college experience, while I get theopportunity to ask for career advice and to seejust where a Columbia education can take you.I once talked to a woman who told me howmuch she loved her new nonprofit job eventhough it paid much, much less than the cor-porate job she had just left. She said it took hertoomany years to finally dowhat she loved andthat I shouldn’t wait to go after what I want, nomatter how hard or how monetarily unprof-itable it might be. That’s an important thingfor a film student to hear.

This sense of responsibility plays out in hisown business as well. Noting that health carespending is now 16 percent of the GDP andforecast to grow by 10 percent annually, Cas-din says, “The only way to lower costs and im-prove quality is through technologicalinnovation. By addressing a major societalneed—better health care at lower costs—theprivate sector is creating significant benefit tooverall society.”Casdin calls personalizedmedicine the next

big frontier. “This means providing the rightdrug for the right person,” he explains. “Forexample, instead of taking a general drug forall people with high cholesterol, we’ll have tai-lored drugs, designed to address a patient’sspecific genetic makeup and disease subtype.We’ll usemolecular diagnostics to identify andstratify these patients andmake sure the drugs

they are taking are working.” Casdin believesthat personalized medicine is the wave of thefuture in drug therapy.The future for Columbia as he sees it is in

continuing to offer new educational opportu-nities and to take advantage of being situatedin New York, often called “the number-onesocial laboratory in the country.” ColumbiaBusiness School leads the way at the Univer-sity in finding the resources to develop trans-formative programs like this. Casdin adds, “Bystrengthening good programs and adding newcourses, the business school continues to im-prove the breadth and diversity of its curricu-lum, whether in Social Enterprise or finance.This allowsColumbia to keep turning out someof the nation’s top business leaders.”

– RLB

ColumbiaCalling

Annual Giving

I also work for the annual fund because, if itweren’t for the significant financial aid that Ireceive—that others likeme receive—we couldnever have come to Columbia. Even so, therehave been times when I’ve had to choosebetween books and food—that should neverhappen to any student.Lots of students have been calling for reform

of financial aid on campus. It’s great that nowpeople with household incomes under$50,000 have had their loans replaced withgrants. Other ideas that would greatly help a lotof students include having Columbia convertloans into grants for students who work fornonprofits and the public sector after gradua-tion, increase subsidized summer housing sothat students can pursue the great internshipand job opportunities available in New YorkCity, expand work-study, and provide a bookstipend for students whose parents make lessthan $45,000 a year. I hope to see some of thepeople who are pushing for these reformscome help us call our alums to get themessageout and raise the money that we need to makethese changes.

What issues and ideas seem to resonate most

with donors?

Most are happy to support the future genera-tion with donations that they know are goingto help in large part with financial aid.

What has most surprised you about alumni?

How different their attitudes about the Uni-versity and about giving can be! Some peoplecan’t wait to get off the phone and can be quitevicious—for instance, they’re angry that theirchildren weren’t accepted or they’re upsetabout old campus politics. Others are so gen-erous—not just with their money, but withtheir time, advice, and support.

What has been the best part of your

Columbia experience?

The amazing friends I’vemade fromacross thecountry, friends I would never have met any-where else. I was lucky enough to grow up in adiverse environment, in Greenburgh, NewYork. But at Columbia, I now have friends whowere the only person of color in their wholeschool and I can learn a lot from their experi-ences. And I get to hear about what life is likein other parts of the country. But it’smore thanjust meeting fellow undergraduates—it’s alsoabout meeting professors, graduate students,visiting speakers, and alumni.Meeting alumniat some of the school functions has shownmethat once a Columbian, always a Columbian.While I was going through the Core Curricu-

lum, I didn’t always appreciate it. But lookingback as a college senior, I now realize that Ilearned somuch andwas exposed to such greatprofessors. I’m so glad to have that academicfoundation. And I’m grateful for the valuableinternships I’ve had, like the one I had last fallin production at ABC’s soap opera One Life toLive.

What are your future plans?

I’d like to work in a film production companyor at a TVnetwork, likeABCorNBC. They bothproduce such creative shows and I’d love to bea part of that. Ultimately, I’d like to become aproducer. My background in fundraising hascertainly helped prepare me for that!

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$4 billionGoal of the Campaign, which is expected toconclude by December 31, 2011.

$2.54 billionColumbia’s annual budget, supporting more than 3,000 faculty members, a staff ofover 9,000, and almost 24,000 students across 16 schools and various independentprograms on four campuses.

$1.6 billionThe largest portion (40 percent) of the Campaign goal—focusing on building endow-ment. Nothing is more important for ensuring continued academic excellence andhelping Columbia attract the best students and faculty.

$54.8 millionAmount Columbia received in bequests, ranging in size from $500 to nearly $15million, during the 2006 fiscal year.

$250,000Columbia’s FY05 endowment per student. With Princeton’s at $1.66 million perstudent, Yale’s at $1.35 million, Harvard’s at $1.33 million, and Stanford’s at$820,000, Columbia lags far behind its peers.

16,700Number of alumni and friends who have participated in the 232 Columbia AlumniAssociation programs since the University-wide association was founded inJune 2005.

83.5 and 87Percentage of seniors from the College and Engineering, respectively, who madeannual fund donations in 2006, up from 52 and 59 percent in 2002.

THE COLUMBIA CAMPAIGNBY THE NUMBERS

“The Columbia Campaign must reinforce the es-sence of what we do as a university: attract andretain the greatest minds in the world who withcourage, dedication to academic ideals, and a lustfor understanding an ever-evolving world will dotheir part to change it for the benefit of men andwomen everywhere.”

– President Lee C. Bollinger