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If the last fiscal year is remembered by how COVID-19 changed the world overnight – and upended operations at every college campus including ours – then Fiscal Year 21 will be remembered as how we worked to make life at Columbia University safe within the new COVID-19 environment.  

As you read through this year’s annual report, one theme that will stand out above all else is the unwavering commitment, dedication, and professionalism of staff across Facilities and Operations. The approximately 1,300 Facilities and Operations staff members working on-site throughout the year and hundreds of others supporting the continuation of services remotely were steadfast in their focus on rekindling the campus experience as much as possible while adhering to dynamic health and safety guidelines through each phase of the return to campus, leading up to preparations for the return to full in-person learning and undergraduate living in the fall.  

Our top priority was to prepare the campus for a successful and safe return. New health and safety precautions were implemented through building systems, maintenance, signs, and more to help bring activities back to campus. In addition, teams across Facilities and Operations implemented creative solutions to safely serve the University community, including the Campus Services Express program to deliver essential items; new outdoor tents and seating amenities for safe, small gatherings outdoors; creating a commuter shuttle serving parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan; and new practices in mail operations to meet the unique needs of remote and hybrid working.  

Other important initiatives carried on despite the pandemic, including the fourth cohort of the CU Grow Vendor Development Program completing their year virtually and remote internships for local high school students. Cherished Thanksgiving traditions were celebrated in new ways, with Columbia Dining hosting our first-ever Thanksgiving Feast To-Go and pre-Thanksgiving meals for local senior citizens were boxed up and delivered by Facilities and Operations staff. 

Continuous improvement on campus and in our operations proceeded, including refreshing public space corridors, launching LiveChat on the Columbia Residential website, creating a Public Safety smartphone app, and expanding Columbia’s Emergency Notification System to allow anyone in the community to register.  

Other significant highlights from FY21 include unveiling the University’s new ten-year sustainability plan, the start of construction on a new building for University housing at the Manhattanville campus, and the opening of a new multi-concept food hall at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. Renovations of laboratories, enhanced administrative spaces and improvements to building systems were among capital improvements started or completed at Morningside, and significant progress continued in Manhattanville at the new Business School buildings, the one-acre Square and associated infrastructure spaces with construction remaining on schedule for opening in January 2022. 

During FY21, Facilities and Operations team members demonstrated an unrelenting dedication to service excellence through the myriad personal and professional challenges posed by the pandemic. Their work has been inspiring, and I am confident that the challenges overcome this year will lead to an even stronger organization supporting the Columbia community in the years ahead.