A Message from President Kim About Beginning a New Academic Year Together

September 5, 2017

Good afternoon,

I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts with you as we begin a new academic year together.

In these divisive times, I see our college’s core commitment to valuing diversity and inclusion as a source of hope and meaning for all of us as a community. To be a place where all ways of being are honored, respected, and valued is a noble ideal; let us take pride in that commitment and let us fully engage with one another to make that ideal a reality.

It seems to me that these very same times are casting a spotlight on the importance of our work at Columbia – to prepare young creatives to be successful in the world in new, transformative ways. Can any of us doubt that the world needs our students, who they are, and all they have to offer?

Last month, we saw white supremacists carrying torches and chanting Nazi-era slogans while openly marching through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, we have learned that our nation’s president is withdrawing support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA) and its protections for more than 800,000 young people who were brought to this country as minors. The latest reports are that North Korea has conducted another successful nuclear test and may be planning to launch a new intercontinental ballistic missile soon.

What must the world look like to our students? How successfully are they coping with what they see and experience? These are the questions we must keep foremost in our thoughts as we remain focused on their well-being. At last week’s New Student Convocation, my message to our students was that, faced with a rise of hate-filled speech and action in the world around us, our college’s response would be “Not at Columbia!” I ask that we all take that mantra to heart and work diligently to safeguard its truth.

By being there for one another and by living our values, our community and our college can generate an illuminating light by which others may see. Let’s let it shine.

Thank you.

Kwang-Wu Kim, President