On May 6, 2024, while Columbia’s Morningside Campus was still closed due to student protests, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences held its annual awards ceremony to honor our treasured students and alumni. In his opening remarks, GSAS Dean Carlos Alonso noted, “this ceremony is a celebration of the very elements about Columbia that will allow us to regain our equilibrium when the current dismal situation abates: superlative teaching and mentoring, world-class research, and the training of graduates who will change the world through their contributions.”
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The winners of the Faculty Mentoring Award, chosen by the GSAS students, through the Arts and Sciences Graduate Council (ASGC), were Jason E. Smerdon, a Professor of Climate from the Columbia Climate School, Co-Senior Director for Education, and Co-Director of the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development. Professor Smerdon, when accepting said that “I am humbled before my colleagues. We mentor by committee. It’s a team effort.”