News

Executive Vice President for Facilities and Operations David M. Greenberg introduced Gerry McGillian as the new Vice President for Operations on Monday.

Columbia Health has been reaccredited for the next three years by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, placing it among the elite 10% of college health services who have met accreditation standards.

The Forum, the third new building to open at Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus, was recognized with a 2019 MASterworks Award for “Best New Building” from the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS).

Lerner Hall is one of the most widely used buildings on campus and by nature is in a constant state of activity and change.

Columbia University received a Gold Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York) for the construction of the Bubble at Baker, a seasonal air-supported structure covering the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium to create an indoor practice facility for Columbia Athletics during the winter months.  The award was received in the category of special projects as part of ACEC New York’s 2018 Engineering Excellence Award competition. 

January 29, 2019 Construction Update - The installation of the terra cotta tiles is complete at both the upper dome and lower pitched roofs.  Masonry cleaning and repairs continue at the lower roof areas.  Interior scaffolding around the altar dome is currently being installed.  The pipes from the organ have been removed for cleaning and protection.  Stained glass restoration is in progress and one fully restored window was installed.

Elysian Fields Café, a Mediterranean restaurant located at 1207 Amsterdam Avenue between 119th and 120th streets, is the latest eatery to join Morningside Heights. 

inFO is a monthly email with news from across Columbia University Facilities & Operations. Check out the January 2019 edition here.

Columbia Health is proud to be one of the University partners working in collaboration with the Jed Foundation (JED) to enhance student health and well-being on campus. Progress updates on the Columbia-JED Campus Strategic Plan made during Fall Term 2018 are detailed on the Live Well | Learn Well website on the JED Partnership page. Notable highlights from Columbia Health-led workgroups include:

• Ensure incoming students with health histories are supported in their transition to college (Objective 4)
  Within Medical Services, two new case manager positions are created, in order to oversee the Health History program moving forward. Both will begin during the Spring 2019 semester.
   
• Provide robust screening opportunities at diverse touchpoints in the student experience (Objective 5)
  Fall 2018 utilization of the screening tools ULifeLine and BASICS increased as a result of broader advertisement/promotions by Alice! Health Promotion and additional campus partners.
   

• Train campus community members to identify, reach out to and refer students who may be struggling (Objective 6)
  Work started on refinement of the Gatekeeper Training content and materials, training to all Core Curriculum faculty, and evaluation of expansion of Gatekeeper Training further among faculty.

• Promote help-seeking behavior through de-stigmatization efforts and increased access to resource information. (Objective 7, 9, 10)
  In December 2018, work began on a Student Ambassador program in which appointed student leaders from all three undergraduate schools will serve as liaisons to Columbia Health, providing information about available services, helping connect students with resources and providing feedback that may be useful to Columbia Health in improving programs and in resolving problems students may encounter. 

• Ensure substance use policies and protocols best support students (Objective 11)
  Ninety percent of Medical Services staff in Columbia Health completed training in use of Naloxone. Pilot program to expand Naloxone training to the Columbia community in development.

Read more about the work being done within Columbia Health to further these objectives, as well as progress made by other work teams collaborating on this critical initiative: wellbeing.columbia.edu/JED. 

As the fall semester comes to an end, winter break provides students and faculty a chance to pause, relax, and enjoy a well-deserved rest. For Facilities and Operations, winter break is an opportunity to perform a significant amount of work by taking advantage of a relatively empty campus. This winter break, a wide range of projects large and small took place across the Morningside campus, including ongoing initiatives such as restroom renovations, residence hall upgrades, and public space refreshes.

The Forum, the third new building to open at Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus, was recognized with a 2019 Merit Award in the Architecture category from AIA New York, the oldest and largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects.   

Mobile App for Facilities and Operations Staff Who Service Work Orders

Columbia University recently donated new HP all-in-one printers purchased with rewards points from HP’s loyalty program to 32 organizations in Harlem and the surrounding community.