2008

2008 in Columbia history:

Spring

• February: plagiarism scandal involving Professor Madonna Constantine at Teachers College
• April 4: Stats PhD student Minghui Yu is killed by an SUV on Broadway while fleeing muggers
• Alumni mark 40th anniversairy of the 1968 protests

Summer

• June: The Housing SSN security breach was discovered.

Fall

• Judith Shapiro steps down from her post as President of Barnard and is succeeded by Debora Spar.
• September 11: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain made a joint campus appearance as part of the ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum
• October 8: Bio chair Matin Chalfie wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• November 4: Presidential election: CC '83 alums Barack Obama (presidential nominee for the Democrats) and Wayne Allen Root (VP nominee for the Libertarians) are competitors. CC '87 alum Matt Gonzalez is an independent VP candidate running with Ralph Nader. GS '56 alum Mike Gravel (Democrat) was a competitor during the Democratic primaries.

Preceded by 2007

History of Columbia University  2008

Succeeded by 2009