Columbia College professor, Dr. John Zubizarreta “U. S. Professor of the Year” for undergraduate baccalaureate colleges. Zubizarreta is a professor of English and director of honors and faculty development for Columbia College. The Columbia College honors program has also produced two consecutive National Collegiate Honors Council Honor Students of the Year, Homa Hassan in 2009 and Diana Lynde in 2010. On Jan. 31, 2020 the board of trustees voted for the plan to admit men to the college's residential day program. This is a significant change for Columbia College, which was founded in 1854 as Columbia Female College. This will not be the first time a man has studied at the college as male students have previously participated in co-ed evening, graduate and online programs, but this will be the first time men can study in a “co-ed residential day program. Columbia College stated it made the change to enroll men as a result of “shifts in student demographics, cultural shifts and population trends.” Athletics The Columbia College athletic teams are called the Koalas. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2011–12 academic year. The Koalas previously competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC; formerly known as Georgia–Alabama–Carolina Conference (GACC) until after the 2003–04 school year) from 2005–06 to 2010–11; and in the defunct Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIAC) during the 2004–05 school year. Columbia College competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Men's sports debuted when the college became co-educational in 2020, beginning athletic competition in the 2021 fall season. Alongside the addition of men's sports, Columbia College added Esports as a program within the institution. This includes Overwatch 2, Valorant, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Notable alumnae Bettye Ackerman, actress Jenn Colella, comedian, actress, and singer Lucile Godbold, track and field athlete who won gold and bronze at the First International Games for Women, first woman inducted into SC Sports Hall of Fame, and annual touch football game named Ludy Bowl after her Wil Lou Gray, innovator in alternative education Betty W. Holz, mathematician for the United States Army Alicia Leeke, artist Janice McNair, owner of Houston Texans Carol Devine