Columbia University Establishes Global Centers in South Asia and Europe

In a coordinated effort to further enhance its global perspective in teaching, research and problem solving, Columbia University is establishing the Columbia Global Center/South Asia in Mumbai, India, and the Columbia Global Center/Europe in Paris, France. L-R: Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger; Digvijaya Singh, general secretary, All India Congress Committee; Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs; Indu Shahani, sheriff, Mumbai and principal, H.R. College, University of Mumbai The Mumbai center is the fourth in a growing network of international centers that the University is developing to promote and facilitate new collaborations, research projects, academic programming and study abroad to address the interdisciplinary challenges of an increasingly global society. Last year, Columbia opened its first two global centers, for East Asia in Beijing , China, and for the Middle East in Amman , Jordan. The Paris center opened last week. "The University is proud to mark the opening of our next Columbia Global Center in Mumbai," says President Lee C. Bollinger . "It is essential that our students and faculty know and understand more about our world and we are committed to providing new opportunities to deepen our engagement with scholars, ideas and challenges across the globe. Columbia's intellectual history and engagement in South Asia have deep roots and our global center in India will allow us to build on this foundation in new and innovative ways that enhance our knowledge and contribute to society." While some U.S. universities have built branch campuses and degree-granting schools abroad, Columbia is taking a different path.