Spring 2019 Columbia College Today RUJEKO HOCKLEY’S VERY BIG YEAR The contemporary art curator is poised to open the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Core to Commencement is over halfway to $750 million. Help us achieve our goal to make possible: core beyond the curriculum wellness and classroom Another 100 years of community Internships, research the Core, preparing our and global experiences, Programs, spaces and students to have an expanding students’ a community culture, impact on society. skills, worldviews and strengthening capacities to lead. the well-being and resilience of teaching and our students. access and mentoring support Providing support Committing to a diverse for exceptional and vibrant community, faculty, who invest in and offering equal undergraduates and access to our expand wisdom for all. unique education. The Campaign for Columbia College aims for new heights: to create the greatest undergraduate experience possible. Contents features 18 Behind the Scenes at the Museum Contemporary art curator Rujeko Hockley ’05 is about to open her biggest show yet — the 2019 Whitney Biennial. By Alexis Boncy SOA’11 23 Captain Marvel-ous Anna Boden ’02 breaks barriers as the first female director in the MCU. Story by Anne-Ryan Sirju JRN’09; art by Steve Mardo 30 The Transformation of New York Two esteemed documentary filmmakers discuss our ever-changing city. By Jamie Katz ’72, BUS’80 Cover: Photograph by Jörg Meyer Contents departments alumninews 3 Within the Family 38 Modernizing a Monument 4 The Big Picture 40 Message from CCAA President Michael Behringer ’89 6 Letters to the Editor Volunteers with the Alumni Representative Committee make a difference in the College’s future. 8 Message from Dean James J. Valentini Increasing opportunities for students 41 Lions to develop global awareness. Daniel Gritzer ’00, Joanna Parker ’05 and Bianca Guerrero ’17 9 Around the Quads William P. Barr ’71, GSAS’79 sworn in as 44 Bookshelf U.S. Attorney General; the John Jay Awards Milk Street Tuesday Nights: More Than 200 Simple Dinner; Reunion Weekend 2019 Alumni Weeknight Suppers That Deliver Bold Flavor Keynote speakers and more. by Christopher Kimball ’73 16 Roar, Lion, Roar 46 Class Notes Remembering legendary football coach Lou Little. Just Married! 35 Columbia Forum: Say Nothing: A True Story 85 Obituaries of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Harold Brown ’45, GSAS’49; by Patrick Radden Keefe ’99 Wallace S. Broecker ’53, GSAS’58 An investigative journalist from The New Yorker explores a decades-old mystery. 88 The Last Word Columbia’s lacrosse tradition leaves a lasting legacy for a former team member. CCT LION’S DEN | JAN. 17 Now on CCT Online THE LATEST “Chefs and musicians both must TAKE FIVE | FEB. 15 take a jumble of disparate elements and arrange them beside each college.columbia.edu/cct “I remember that one of our other just so — such that each, suitemates was a nationally somehow, complements the others, ranked debater, and he and I striking a chord that is greater than really got into it. It didn’t matter the sum of its parts. When that Like Columbia College Alumni what the topic was, we’d argue balance isn’t there, we notice. We’d facebook.com/alumnicc about it. I recall one afternoon notice if a rock band came onstage when another kid on the floor with seven bass players and no View Columbia College alumni photos got a haircut … three days guitar players … and we’d definitely instagram.com/alumniofcolumbiacollege later we were still battling over notice if our trail mix came with 99 the physics, history, semiotics peanuts and one M&M.” and phenomenology of hair Follow @Columbia_CCAA — Musician PJ Sauerteig ’15, from vis-à-vis faces.” “Will Cooking Make You a Better Musician?” Join the Columbia College alumni network — Book designer and writer Peter Mendelsund ’91 college.columbia.edu/alumni/linkedin JÖRG MEYER Within the Family Bringing You Stories That Are Cool, Cultural and Timely e’re excited about our Spring issue every which Patrick Radden Keefe ’99. This stunning work of narrative nonfic- way, but one aspect that’s been exhilarating and just tion has already picked up critical accolades for its reporting, crafts- plain fun is how current it feels. Being timely in a manship and all-around gripping storyline. It’s also a reminder to be W traditional news sense is one of the built-in chal- on the lookout for Radden Keefe’s byline in The New Yorker, where lenges of publishing a quarterly magazine. But all of our features he has been a staff writer since 2006. His recent look at how reality this spring have a pulse on what’s happening in culture right now. TV producer Mark Burnett turned Donald Trump into a paragon As I write this message, we are less than three months from the of American business success is illuminating, and his article about opening of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, co-curated by our cover the Sackler family’s culpability in the opioid crisis remains chilling star, Rujeko Hockley ’05. I had the pleasure of speaking with and relevant more than a year and a half after its original publica- Rujeko and getting a behind-the-scenes primer on what it takes to tion. Go back and read them. produce one of the most ambitious and highly anticipated contem- porary art shows in the country. The scope is boggling, and the pace from start to finish seems breathless. But what resonated most was the depth of her investment in the artists, and her commitment to championing their place in society. There’s no doubt that the show will be widely discussed and give cause for head scratching, argu- ments and swoons. But whatever our individual views on individual works, Rujeko reminds us that they all offer the gift of perspective, as well as the opportunity “to use a different part of our brain and a different part of our heart, a different part of our being, to think about things.” While we’re on the subject of big openings, we were thrilled to catch up with Anna Boden ’02, director of the surefire blockbuster Captain Marvel, not long before it hit theaters on March 8. For the uninitiated, the movie is the latest installment in the epic and inter- connected Marvel Cinematic Universe that has ruled the box office over the last decade. It’s also the first in the series to be directed by a woman. What better way, then, to pay tribute to this barrier breaker than by giving her a starring “superhero” role? Associate Editor Anne-Ryan Sirju JRN’09, herself an avid Marvel fan, pitched the idea for a graphic feature when we first learned that Anna was on board, and then collaborated with talented artist Steve Mardo. It’s been a joy to watch Annie marshal this passion project from con- ception to completion, and its approach marks a first for the pages of CCT — kapow! Shifting gears, former CCT editor Jamie Katz ’72, BUS’80 sat But really, I hope this entire issue inspires you to go, read, see and down with the two talents behind the landmark eight-part PBS do. (Bonus: Check out CCT’s website where, in mid-February, we series New York: A Documentary Film. The pair — filmmaker Ric published a feature exclusive about Beto O’Rourke ’95, the Texas Burns ’78 and architect and author James Sanders ’76, GSAPP ’82 Democratic Party candidate who nearly upset Sen. Ted Cruz in the — are in the midst of developing a ninth episode that considers the November elections.) We’ll be here waiting to hear from you, and future of cities. Their fascinating conversation previewed this new keeping our fingers on the pulse. chapter, an exploration of New York’s explosive growth, transform- ing culture and the challenges brought on by affordability, gentrifi- cation and climate change. Finally, “Columbia Forum” brings you an excerpt of a book just published at the end of February, Say Nothing: A True Story of Alexis Boncy SOA’11 Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by investigative journalist Editor-in-Chief Spring 2019 CCT 3 theBigPicture WE “SPOT” A WINNER! Each year, the Office of Global Programs hosts a photo contest for students who have participated in a study abroad or fellowship experience. Jason Hagani ’19 was one of this year’s three College winners; his photo “Peekaboo,” taken at the Mpala Research Center as part of the 2018 Columbia in Kenya program, won the top honor in the “Free For All” category. To see all three College winners, go to ogp.columbia.edu/study abroad/photocontest/2019. 4 CCT Spring 2019 Spring 2019 CCT 5 Letters to the Editor Columbia College CCT Today VOLUME 46 NUMBER 3 SPRING 2019 A Beloved Tradition EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alexis Boncy SOA’11 EXECUTIVE EDITOR In the Winter 2018–19 issue, which fea- Lisa Palladino tured the much-appreciated profile of my DEPUTY EDITOR classmate Dr. Richard Axel ’67, I was also Jill C. Shomer pleased to be reminded of the now–108- ASSOCIATE EDITOR year-old Yule Log tradition. Anne-Ryan Sirju JRN’09 I encountered the Yule Log ceremony in FORUM EDITOR my freshman year, 1963. It was presided Rose Kernochan BC’82 over by history professor Dwight Miner ART DIRECTOR CC 1926, who — in addition to his aca- Eson Chan demic expertise in American history and Contemporary Civilization — was an Published quarterly by the expert on Columbiana. This perhaps was Columbia College Office of the result of having grown up on Morn- Alumni Affairs and Development ingside Heights, matriculated at alma for alumni, students, faculty, parents JAIME DANIES SEAS’20 DANIES JAIME and friends of Columbia College.