News

Each year, Facilities and Operations utilizes the summer months to perform a significant amount of improvements while the campus has a reduced population.  As this summer is different from typical years, Facilities and Operations has planned an abbreviated summer schedule to perform work on select projects before classes are anticipated to resume in the fall. 

Facilities and Operations has implemented a number of recommended safety measures to reduce risk for employees and the Columbia community during COVID-19.

Columbia Dining to produce 1,000 meals a day over the summer as part of the University Food Relief program.

Columbia Transportation and Public Safety have partnered with Via to transition the Evening Shuttle service to an app-based rideshare system to provide a new and improved on-demand, safe, convenient and free transportation service for Columbia affiliates after hours. 

As New York City enters into phase 1 of reopening which allows all construction to proceed, construction work is resuming at select projects at the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses with strict safety measures in place.

During the COVID-19 health emergency, Facilities and Operations has implemented the New York State Construction Guidelines for all construction and facilities-related activities. These guidelines have been posted on the Purchasing website. For more information, please visit https://finance.columbia.edu/procurement/lifecycle/purchasing/facilities.

In response to the many challenges businesses and their staffs are facing because of the COVID-19 outbreak, University Facilities and Operations along with the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the University’s Central Procurement office hosted a virtual vendor town hall geared toward small and medium-sized and diverse vendors who work with the University.

Columbia Housing made a major shift this year, successfully transitioning Room Selection—historically an intensive, largely in-person process—to a fully automated, online process that enabled students to register, browse housing options and policies, and complete the Room Selection process without ever stepping away from their web browser.

Congratulations to our Facilities and Operations colleagues who have successfully completed their degrees this academic year at schools and programs throughout Columbia while balancing the demands of a full-time job for their intellectual and professional development. 

Columbia is committed to providing stability and flexibility during this uncertain time and to work with each student’s unique circumstances so they can continue to feel safe and secure in their housing 

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent restrictions put in place by New York State, there were approximately 70 active construction jobsites at academic and residential buildings in and around the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses. The large majority of the previously active projects are currently suspended. Other projects that are deemed essential in accordance with New York State guidance on the updated Executive Order 202.6 have resumed or will be resuming in the coming weeks.

The Sustainable Columbia newsletter was disseminated on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day complete with a Mid-Year Update Report with progress on Columbia's sustainability goals, as well as sustainability-related news stories from the Columbia community and ways to celebrate Earth Day virtually with the Earth Institute. Read the full newsletter here. 

We are extremely proud of and grateful for the dedication of our employees who work on campus in service to the University during this challenging time. Facilities and Operations’ executive leadership offer words of thanks and appreciation.

Five residence halls across Columbia University's Morningside and Irving Medical Center campus in northern Manhattan have been made available to doctors and other healthcare workers so they can avoid long commutes and the risk of infecting others.

Many Columbia retail tenants near the Morningside, Manhattanville, and Irving Medical Center campuses have modified their service and remain open to fulfill takeout and delivery orders. We are providing a list of Columbia tenants that have informed us that they are open and providing service during this time.

Due to COVID-19, only essential personnel are required to be physically present on campus. Earlier this week, all academic and administrative buildings on the Morningside campus with card-reader-only access were set to weekend access.