Title: History | Columbia University in the City of New York
Headings: History
History
The Columbia University Campus

Content: It was also in the 1960s that Columbia experienced the most significant crisis in its history. Currents of unrest sweeping the country—among them opposition to the Vietnam War, an increasingly militant civil rights movement, and the ongoing decline of America's inner cities—converged with particular force at Columbia, casting the Morningside campus into the national spotlight. More than 1,000 protesting students occupied five buildings in the last week of April 1968, effectively shutting down the University until they were forcibly removed by the New York City police. Those events led directly to the cancellation of a proposed gym in Morningside Park, the cessation of certain classified research projects on campus, the retirement of President Grayson Kirk, and a downturn in the University's finances and morale. They also led to the creation of the University Senate, in which faculty, students, and alumni acquired a larger voice in University affairs. Statue of Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton Hall
In recent decades, Columbia's campuses have seen a revival of spirit and energy that have been truly momentous. Under the leadership of President Michael Sovern, the 1980s saw the completion of important new facilities, and the pace intensified after George Rupp became president in 1993. A 650-million-dollar building program begun in 1994 provided the impetus for a wide range of projects, including the complete renovation of Furnald Hall and athletics facilities on campus and at Baker Field, the wiring of the campus for Internet and wireless access, the rebuilding of Dodge Hall for the School of the Arts, the construction of new facilities for the Schools of Law and Business, the renovation of Butler Library, and the creation of the Philip L. Milstein Family College Library. The University also continued to develop the Audubon Biotechnology and Research Park, securing Columbia's place at the forefront of medical research. As New York City's only university-related research park, it also is contributing to economic growth through the creation of private-sector research collaborations and the generation of new biomedically related business.