President's Council on Student Affairs

The President's Council on Student Affairs was created in 2005 and met a few times. The council was created during the MEALAC scandal to mitigate (and silence) concerns that Columbia professors were intimidating students and was suppressing academic freedom. It seemed to work, because the Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman told the New York Times "We hope that these changes will create a new atmosphere on campus so that students may feel comfortable expressing their views without fear of unfair academic retribution by faculty."

The Council's lofty and ambitious mission was to "serve as a formal venue for students, the Office of Student Services, the Office of the University Chaplain and the deans of student affairs to bring important community matters and other issues of student concern directly to the attention of the president and the provost. The council also is designed to supplement the informal interactions between the president and the provost and students throughout the year."

They were originally supposed to meet three times per year, but after a few meetings it died out without announcement or fanfare. It is still listed as a club/organization on the website of Columbia undergraduate admissions.

Student Affairs Council Appointees in 2005

• President Lee Bollinger
• Provost Alan Brinkley
• University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis
• Vice President of Student Services Lisa Hogarty
• Hector Chavez SEAS '06 - Chair of the Student Governing Board
• Pavan Surapeneni GS '06 - GSSC
• Matan Ariel GS '06, BUS '11 - GS University Senatoor
• Montse Ferrer CC '06 - Committee on the Core
• Reina Gossett CC '06 - Chaplain's Associate/Students Promoting Empowerment and Knowledge (SPEaK)
• Nabeel Javed SIPA