We love Columbia. So we have teamed up with Barnard College History Professor Emeritus Robert A. McCaughey. Professor McCaughey is one of our institution’s most revered “keepers of the flame”. He wrote “Stand, Columbia” for the 250th anniversary of Columbia University and for many years taught the famous “Social History of Columbia University” course. He is currently working on a history of Columbia in the 21st century and a brief history of the School of General Studies.
Professor McCaughey has generously shared with us a treasure trove of material that he has gathered over many years for his research, which we are thrilled to make available to our community in this new Columbiana section. This section will be updated periodically.
King’s College (1754-1776)
- A compilation of essays objecting to the establishment of King’s College (1749-1753)
- William Livingston, Objections to the Formation of King’s College (November 1, 1754)
- William Livingston, “No. XVII. Remarks On Our Intended College,” The Independent Reflector (March 22, 1753), in Milton Klein, ed., The Independent Reflector (Harvard UP, 1963)
- [Ibid.,] “No. XVIII. A Continuation of the Same Subject,” Continued,” The Independent Reflector (March 29, 1753)
- [Ibid.,] “No. XIX. The Same Subject Continued,” The Independent Reflector (April 5, 1753)
- [Ibid.,] “No. XX. A Farther Prosecution of the Same Subject,” The Independent Reflector (April 12, 1753)
- [Ibid.,] “No. XXI. Remarks on the College, Continued,” The Independent Reflector (April 19, 1753)
- [Ibid.,] “No. XXII. The Same Subject Continued and Concluded,” The Independent Reflector (April 26, 1753)
- Samuel Johnson, Advertisements of the Beginning of Tuition at King’s College [May 1754]
- Extracts from the Original Charter of King’s College [October 31, 1754]
- Samuel Johnson, Laws and Orders of the College of New York [June 3, 1755]
- Myles Cooper, Statutes of King’s College [1763]
- Myles Cooper, Plan of Education of King’s College [1763]
- The “Black Book”, a record of disciplinary incidents at King’s College (1771-1775)
- When John Jay was suspended after a disciplinary hearing
- A series of narratives on the early faculty, students, finances, and politics of King’s College (1754-1776):
- Timeline from the founding of New York though the end of King’s College (1524-1783)
Early Columbia College (1784-1857)
- First Charter of Columbia College (1784)
- Second Charter of Columbia College (1787)
- Third Charter of Columbia College (1810, still operative)
- Charters of Barnard College (1899, 1900, 1930)
- Timeline of events through 1857
Inclusion and antisemitism in the early 20th century
- Letter from Seth Low, President of Columbia University (1901)
- Op-ed from Frederick Keppel, Dean of Columbia College (1912)
- Letter from Herbert Hawkes, Dean of Columbia College (1922)
- Letter from Marcellus Hartley Dodge, Trustee of Columbia (1932)
Events and aftermath of 1968
- Timeline of the 1968 protests
- Commentaries in the October 10, 1968 issue of the Columbia Spectator on the different proposals for restructuring Columbia
- “Crisis at Columbia”, otherwise known as the Cox Commission Report
- Commentaries in the February 17, 1969 issue of the Columbia Spectator on the near-final proposal for the University Senate
- “A Plan for Participation”, the final proposal for the University Senate
- Various perspectives in the Columbia Forum quarterly journal on the new University Senate
- Minutes from the first University Senate meeting (May 28, 1969)
- Report of the first term of the University Senate (1969-1971)
- Dr. Paul Cronin, “The Beginnings of the Columbia University Senate” (2010).
Federal funding crisis (1971-1972)
- Letter from J. Stanley Pottinger (November 3, 1971)
- Letter from President William McGill (November 8, 1971)
- Letter discussing interim affirmative action plan (March 20, 1972)
- McGill’s statement on militant actions, prior to calling police (April 24, 1972)
- Final affirmative action program (December 1972)
Recent history (2000-2024)
- Working timeline of the Bollinger presidency (2002-2023)
- Working timeline of the Shafik presidency (2023-2024)
Architectural history (1754 to present)
Courtesy of Professor John Shekitka, CC ’07, MPhil ’17, PhD ’20 of Manhattanville College (also a former student of McCaughey)