Reflections on the State of the Modern University

On March 27, 2025, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination had the pleasure of welcoming Columbia University President Emeritus Lee C. Bollinger to Reid Hall to deliver the third annual Sidney N. Zubrow Lecture. In the Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, Bollinger reflected on the modern state of the university in a period of great strife and extraordinary external criticism. His presentation was followed by a discussion with Sylvie Kauffman, a former editor-in-chief at Le Monde. The Institute is deeply grateful to Betsy, Edward and Daniel Cohen and the Areté Foundation for making this lecture possible.

This event took place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.