Media Contact: Elizabeth Burke-Dain 312.369.8695
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
Images are available.
CRITERIA
Can We Always Be Moving Upwards?
Criteria is an art and design exhibition about sustainability, but it is not about green design, ecology or environmentalism. Mexican curators and designers, Emiliano Godoy and Jimena Acosta, have set out to create an exhibition that aims to construct an argument on the need to transform current production and consumption patterns into a viable cycle of creating well-being. Our preconceived notions of progress and wealth could be described as the illusion of constant growth, or the wishful thought that progress is always moving upwards.
The design and art gathered in Criteria critically approach our current crisis through a number of themes and a variety of media that range from drawing, photographs, video and products. While some of them use a documental strategy others use daily life objects as their reference.
Participating Artists: Siri Brekke, Edward Burtynsky, Dante Busquets, goldiechiari, Máximo González, Aylin Kayser and Cristian Metzner, Jason Middlebrook, MINE, Paolo Pennuti, Diego Pérez, Richochet Studio, Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray, Ariel Rojo, Vitamin, Uli Westphal and Craig Zucker.
WHEN: January 15 – February 28, 2009
Opening reception: Thursday, January 29, 5-8pm
ArtTalks Lecture: Emilio Godoy (co-curator),
6:30 – 7:30, 623 S. Wabash, Room 203
WHERE: Averill & Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery 619 S. Wabash
Gallery hours: Tues – Sat, 11 am – 5pm, Thurs, 11 am – 8 pm
MORE INFO: 312 369 8687 or www.colum.edu/adgallery
Media Contact: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, 312-369-8695
In celebration of African Heritage Month, the Afro-Cuban artist, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, is exhibiting at Columbia College’s Glass Curtain Gallery. Campos-Pons is internationally known for her stunningly beautiful political artworks that address issues of gender and racial identity. Born in Cuba to a laundress mother and an herbalist father, Campos-Pons art exhibition entitled, Life Has Not Even Begun, takes on the hidden horrors of war and the untold stories of fallen soldiers. With images that convey messages of hope, loss and the surprising discovery of her own mother’s Chinese ancestry, Campos-Pons uses her own experiences to tell a universal story.
In her opening night performance entitled, Wet Feet/Dry Eyes (Pies Mojados/Ojos Secos), Campos-Pons will give a dramatic depiction of the experience of Cubans who arrive on the shores of Florida. They are allowed to enter the country only if they reach dry land; those caught in the water are less fortunate and face deportation. Campos-Pons is a lively and compelling presence who would make a great on-camera interview for African Heritage Month. She is in Chicago from January 26 – 30.
“The combination of strength and vulnerability gives the autobiographical work a powerful authenticity.” ArtForum, October 2008.
WHEN: January 26 – March 6, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 29, 5-8pm features a performance by the artist
WHERE: Columbia College Chicago’s Glass Curtain Gallery
1104 S. Wabash Avenue, 1st floor
Gallery hours: 9am – 5pm M,T,W,F and 9am -7pm Thurs.
COST: Free and Open to the Public.
MORE
INFO: 312 369 7696 or www.colum.edu/deps
Blog Entry at ArtSeenChicago on Campos-Pons
Artist Description:
Cubans arriving to the shores of Florida are allowed to enter the country only if they reach dry land; those caught in the water are less fortunate and face deportation. North Africans risk open seas to reach European shores as well, at times only dead bodies arrive. Water – the ocean of the south and north seas – is a wall of hope and desperation.
This performance was originally performed at the Tate Modern in October 2007.
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Media Contact: Micki Leventhal, 312-369-7383
Noted Chicago Historian Delivers 1st Annual Columbia College Chicago Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean’s Lecture
WHAT: The Daleys of Chicago: A Study in Political Power
Over the last fifty years, no other family has had a greater impact on the American city as have the Daleys of Chicago. During this time period, additionally, no family has had a greater influence on the national political stage than the Daleys, with perhaps the rare exception of the Kennedys, Clintons, and Bushes. Rising out of the intensely working-class, multi-ethnic Chicago community of Bridgeport, this family has come to national prominence—and notoriety.
Now, at the beginning of the twentieth-first century, the Daleys continue to play important political roles across the spectrum of Democratic and urban politics. With President Barack Obama, a Chicagoan who received the early and staunch backing of the city’s most important political family, the Daleys again sit near the seat of power in the Republic. Still, corruption haunts the Daleys and Chicago's image with recent scandals involving Rod Blagojevich, among others.
Join Dean Deborah H. Holdstein and Dr. Pacyga for a spirited look at the extraordinary rise of the Daleys as they have made their way through Chicago’s political jungle and onto the national theater, where they continue to play a vital role. Q & A follows.
WHEN: Thursday, February 26, 5:30
WHERE: Columbia College Concert Hall, 1014 S. Michigan, first floor
HOW MUCH: Free and open to the public
MORE INFO: 312-369-8217
Dominic A. Pacyga, Ph.D., is an award winning author, or co-author, of six books concerning Chicago’s history including the upcoming Chicago: The Biography of a City (University of Chicago Press, Fall 2009). A faculty member in the Department of Humanities, History and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago, Pacyga has also lectured nationally on topics ranging from urban development to labor history, immigration, and racial and ethnic relations, and has appeared in both the local and national media. He has consulted with, and curated exhibits for, numerous museums and organizations including the Museum of Science and Industry, the Chicago History Museum, the Field Museum and the Chicago Architecture Society. Pacyga has also served as a consultant to numerous organizations and neighborhood groups to help them preserve and exhibit their ethnic and labor history. He was a visiting fellow at Oxford University in 2005 and holds his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Micki Leventhal, 312-369-7383; mleventhal@colum.edu
CHICAGO, IL (January 22, 2009) -- Responding to the need for creative solutions to increased financial pressures on college students and their families, the Columbia College Chicago board of trustees has approved several initiatives designed to assist current and prospective students as they continue to pursue a college education during these tough economic times.
“Our first priority is keeping our current students in school and assisting them in practical ways that will help them graduate with a minimum of long-term debt,” said Dr. Warrick L. Carter, president of the arts and media college. “We also must continue to be able to bring new students to Columbia, providing them with increased financial assistance as they pursue their educational and career goals.”
Beginning with the 2009 fall term, Columbia will increase its scholarship funds by nearly 50%. Scholarships will be available for both continuing and new students and will be heavily geared to students with demonstrated need.
Also increasing by 50% is institutional support toward the Columbia’s “Third-Party Scholarship Award.” For this award, the college matches qualifying scholarship dollars obtained from outside sources by students.
An innovative scholarship fund raising initiative has also been announced. Scholarship Columbia is a $1 million challenge grant to raise unrestricted scholarship dollars for continuing students with demonstrated need and merit. Primarily targeting Columbia alumni as donors to the fund, the college will provide a two-to-one match on alumni gifts up to $25,000. The college will match alumni gifts above $25,000 and non-alumni gifts on a one-to-one basis. All matches are based on new and increased giving. An anonymous donor has given a launch gift of $100,000 to jump start Scholarship Columbia.
In addition to increasing financial assistance through scholarships, the Columbia trustees have set the 2009-10 tuition increase at a modest 3%, bringing annual tuition for next year to $18,490. Columbia continues as one of the most affordable private arts colleges in the country.
Regarding cost containment, Columbia has frozen the salaries of senior administrators at and above the vice president level, cut travel and entertainment expenditures and has instituted an ongoing review process for all non-classroom related expenditures; campus renovation projects will focus on building safety and infrastructure and the learning environment.
“I believe strongly that as an institution we should take the long-term view,” adds Carter. “We must make every conceivable effort to help support our students’ aspirations. It is imperative for our society and each individual in it that young people continue to dream, to learn, to create and to meet their futures with energy and enthusiasm. As the most diverse arts and media college in the country, it is especially incumbent upon Columbia to continue to provide access to higher education so that our graduates, who represent the many visions and voices of contemporary America, can continue to author the culture of their times.”
“When Warrick Carter began his tenure as President of Columbia less than 5% of our students received financial assistance from the institution,” explains Kelly. “We are currently providing assistance to 14% of our students and with the new scholarship initiatives, that figure will increase to about 20% in the fall. We will continue to work together to exponentially increase scholarships. Our goal is to continue to increase institutional assistance to as many students who have need, while remaining one of the most affordable private colleges in the country.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 12, 2009
Media Contact: Micki Leventhal, 312-369-7383
Columbia College Chicago will undergo a comprehensive evaluation visit March 30 – April 1, 2009, by a team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Columbia College Chicago has been accredited by the Commission since 1974. Its accreditation is at the graduate and undergraduate degree level and includes all degrees within Columbia College Chicago.
The Higher Learning Commission is one of six accrediting agencies in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Institutional accreditation evaluates an entire institution and accredits it as a whole. Other agencies provide accreditation for specific programs. Accreditation is voluntary. The Commission accredits approximately 1,100 institutions of higher education in a nineteen-state region, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
For the past year and a half, Columbia College Chicago has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the Commission’s requirements and criteria for accreditation. The evaluation team will visit the institution to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will recommend to the Commission a continuing status for the college; following a review process, the Commission itself will take the final action.
The public is invited to submit comments regarding the college to:
Public Comment on Columbia College Chicago
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60605
Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Written, signed comments must be received by February 27, 2009. The Commission cannot guarantee that comments received after the due date will be considered. Comments should include the name, address, and telephone number of the person providing the comments. Comments will not be treated as confidential.
Note: Individuals with a specific dispute or grievance with an institution should request the separate Policy on Complaints document from the Commission office. The Higher Learning Commission cannot settle disputes between institutions and individuals. Complaints will not be considered third party comment.
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