Office Announcements
Letter from the Director
Fall 2025 – Office Announcements
Seminar News
Announcements from the Office
Friday, October 17, 2025
1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Please join us in commemorating the 80th year since the founding of The University Seminars with an interdisciplinary dialogue and conversation among representatives of different seminars. Printed materials representing all the seminars will be made available as well as selected publications supported by the Leonard Hastings Schoff and Aaron Warner Publication Funds.
The event will include a presentation of A Community of Scholars: 75 Years of The University Seminars at Columbia, Thomas Vinciguerra (ed.) — the volume published for The Seminars’ 75th anniversary year.
UNIVERSITY SEMINARS IN CONVERSATION
1:30 PM
Death (founded 1971)
Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity (founded 1987)
Public Humanities: Expanding Scholarship and Pedagogy (founded 2021)
Shakespeare (founded 1982)
2:30 PM
Brazil (Founded 1976)
Human Rights (founded 1978)
Law and Politics (founded 1963)
The Ancient Near East (founded 1966)
3:30 PM
PRESENTATION OF ‘A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS’
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 from 4:00-5:00 PM over ZOOM
Seminar meetings cannot be scheduled to take place during this meeting.
GENERAL MEETING
This is the only organized opportunity for all chairs to meet and hear updates on The University Seminars policies and news.
- All seminar chairs are required to attend or send another seminar member as proxy.
- The General Meeting may require voting on issues or nominations.
- Only chairs are invited; rapporteurs are not allowed to attend.
- In advance of the meeting, chairs are encouraged to email agenda items to The University Seminars Director, Susan Boynton at slb184@columbia.edu.
Register in advance. Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing the Zoom link needed to join the meeting. In order to get the Zoom link, one must register for the meeting.
New Policies
NEW MINUTES TEMPLATE REQUIREMENT
Beginning in AY2025-2026, we are requiring rapporteurs to use the Minutes Template. Rapporteurs may change the formatting of the template, but all information must appear in the order in which it is listed. This template includes a new Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct statement to be read at the beginning of every meeting. The template also includes an option for the speaker to donate their presentation to The University Seminars Digital Archive, a replacement for the Speaker Acknowledgement form.
NEW PRIVACY POLICY FOR MINUTES
At its last meeting, the Executive Committee decided that the policy for the minutes will be the same for all seminars. All seminar minutes will be closed. Minutes will be archived, held for five years, and will then be made available through The University Seminars Digital Archive at Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
NEW SPEAKER PRESENTATION DONATION OPTION
The University Seminars Digital Archive is an invaluable piece of Columbia University’s intellectual history consisting of minutes and associated documents since 1945. The addition of a speaker’s presentation adds depth and context to the collection but is only included with the express consent of the author.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENT TEMPLATE
In addition to providing meeting information to seminar lists, announcements serve multiple administrative purposes for the office. An announcement template is available through the Administrative Portal.
PAYMENT FOR MEALS AT FACULTY HOUSE
Attendees may use the Credit Card Payment Form to pay in advance or on the day of the event via credit card. Checks can be accepted in special circumstances. Cash is not an allowed method of payment.
UPDATED CODE OF CONDUCT
At its last meeting, the Executive Committee amended The University Seminars Code of Conduct and how it appears on the website.
The University Seminars are based on the idea that all participants are regarded as equals in inquiry. Accordingly, all seminar meetings and events should be conducted on a basis of mutual respect among all participants. This norm is especially applicable to instances of sharp disagreement. No participant should ever be the subject of disparaging remarks.
Please see a fuller statement of The University Seminars Code of Conduct HERE.
Access to Campus
Please keep up to date with the current Campus Access Level and Public Safety Guidelines.
You can find the most recent information regarding access to campus at the Columbia University Public Safety website.
If a guest, a chair, or a speaker without a CUID will attend your seminar, rapporteurs or faculty chairs must register them in advance using the GUEST REGISTRATION PORTAL.
Once the registration is processed and approved by your dean or head of department, please confirm that your guests received the QR code.
If you need assistance with guest registration, please contact Gary Mayta at gm2965@columbia.edu no later than 48 hours before the day of your seminar meeting.
If you are having difficulty or need assistance or advice, email univ.seminars@columbia.edu to make an appointment with a member of our team. We can meet over Zoom to answer your questions or provide seminar-related guidance. The office is available to answer questions or direct you to the information you need throughout the year.
