An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia's U.S. News Ranking
51–52 of 52 posts
Re: An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia's U.S. News Ranking
#52This is an amazing takedown by one of Columbia’s own professors. Wow
I can't speak for the math department, but I've noticed that there are general contentions between Columbia's faculty and administration that seem somewhat unique to the school. Professor Martin Chalfie has noted how cramped and run-down his lab is in an interview, which seems like soft-spoken criticism at the way Columbia has failed to use its enormous endowment towards acquiring more research and teaching spaces. P…
I was formerly a PhD student at Columbia in the social sciences. The faculty I interacted with didn't seem to care a whit one way or the other about the school at large, they were just really invested in the department's competitiveness in attracting faculty, grad students, etc.
I can't speak to any run-down labs, but regarding cramped working conditions -- space is just always going to be at a premium in Manhattan. Arguably Columbia is going above and beyond to acquire more space by opening up the Manhattanville campus [0,1,2].
In general, when academics complain about things, I take it with a grain of salt. Having said that, I don't doubt for a minute that the administration juked the stats to get a better USN&W ranking.
[0] (https://neighbors.columbia.edu/news/robert-fullilove-appoint...
[1] https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-twin-buildings-with-s...
[2] https://ny.eater.com/2022/2/22/22939502/columbia-jerome-gree...