From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Columbia University School of General Studies
Motto	Lux in Tenebris Lucet (The Light that Shines in the Darkness)
Established	1947
Type	Private
Dean	Peter J. Awn
Post-Bacc	433
Undergraduates	1,249
Location	New York, New York, USA
Campus	Urban, 36 acres (0.15 km²) Morningside Heights Campus, 26 acres (0.1 km²) Baker Field athletic complex, 20 acres (0.09 km²) Medical Center, 157 acres (0.64 km²) Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
Degrees	B.A., B.S. and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Pre-Med.
Colors	Columbia blue (education) and white (arts and letters)
Nickname	GS
Mascot	Owl
Affiliations	Albert A. List College (Jewish Theological Seminary), Hostos Community College and the Juilliard School
Website	www.gs.columbia.edu

The School of General Studies, commonly known as General Studies or simply GS, is an undergraduate school at Columbia University for non-traditional students. Unlike Columbia College, whose students are required to attend full-time, students in GS have the option of attending part-time or full-time, and the student body is divided evenly along those lines.

GS awards both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Located at Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, GS is also home to Columbia's Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program, which is the largest and oldest in the United States.

The school is unique in that it is the only such college in the Ivy League. While both Brown University and Yale University have similar programs, they are much smaller and less fully integrated. GS students take the same courses, with the same faculty, as students in Columbia's other undergraduate colleges.

While Columbia University’s mascot is a lion, the School of General Studies has its own mascot: the owl. It is believed that the owl was selected for either or both of two reasons. First, it represents a connection to night classes. Second, a symbol of knowledge which can be found hiding in the robes of the university's central Alma Mater statue. The school also has a separate motto - "Lux In Tenebris Lucet," Latin for: The light that shines in the darkness.

Contents 1 History 2 Non-Traditional Students 3 Deans 4 Notable Alumni and Attendees 4.1 Alumni of the School of General Studies and its precursors 5 Student Groups 6 External links

Nontraditional education began at Columbia in the 1830s. A formal program, Extension Teaching (later renamed University Extension), was created by Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler. In 1947 University Extension was reorganized as an undergraduate college and designated the School of General Studies, with an influx of students attending the university on the GI Bill.

Formerly housed in the Alumni House, now known as Buell Hall, the School of General Studies moved to its current location, Lewisohn Hall, in 1964.

Columbia defines non-traditional students as those who have interrupted their education for a year or more. Additionally, it includes students who are otherwise traditional but have a strong reason to attend part time (e.g., they must split time with a career in New York's performing arts industry) and students enrolled in the List College Joint Program with Jewish Theological Seminary, which awards two Bachelors of Arts degrees (one from GS, one from JTS) to each graduate.

While there is no typical student, many students share similar histories. Many have enjoyed successful careers in fields such as investment banking and information technology. Several are published authors, and quite a few are non-traditional due to previous conscription or community service requirements in their home countries. Others are able to attend only part time due to work or family commitments. A substantial portion of the population enters as transfer students; the previous schools of these students range from community colleges to Columbia's peer institutions. Many GS students are veterans of the US Military, and have their own group, the US Military Veterans of Columbia University (or "MilVets"; see link below). In addition, there is a significant population of former Israeli soldiers who have completed their pre-university military duty.

• Nicholas Murray Butler, (1900-1902) Dean of University Extension.
• James C. Egbert, (1902-1942) Director of University Extension.
• Harry Morgan Ayers, (1942-1948) Director of University Extension (re-established as School of General Studies in 1947).
• Louis M. Hacker, (1949-1958), former student of University Extension. First Dean of the School of General Studies.
• Cliford L. Lord, (1958-1964)
• Clarence C. Walton, (1964-1969)
• Aaron Warner, (1969-1976)
• Ward H. Dennis, (1977-1992)
• Caroline W. Bynum, (1993-1994)
• Gillian Lindt, (1994-1997)
• Peter J. Awn, (1997-Present)

The following list contains some of the notable alumni and attendees of the School of General Studies and its extension school predecessors only. For a full list of people associated with Columbia University as a whole, please see the list of Columbia University people.

An asterisk (*) indicates an attendee who did not graduate.

• Ira Gershwin* (1918) Attended pre-medical, Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.
• Amelia Earhart* (1920) Attended one semester, American aviator and early female pilot.
• Simon Kuznets (1923), Nobel Prize-winning economist.
• David O. Selznick* (1923), Hollywood Producer, Gone with the Wind
• Federico García Lorca* (1929), Attended briefly, Spanish poet and dramatist.
• Isaac Asimov (1939), science fiction writer and biochemist
• Jane Jacobs* (1940s), Attended for two years, author The Death and Life of Great American Cities, urban theorist and activist.
• Baruj Benacerraf (1942), Nobel Prize-winning immunologist.
• Telly Savalas (1946), Actor, Emmy-award winner and Oscar nominee.
• John W. Backus (1950), Developer of Fortran -the 1st True Computer Language
• Anthony Perkins* (1950s), Actor and writer.
• Donald Clarence Judd (1953), Artist
• Donald Richie (1953), Film Critic.
• Sandy Koufax* (1955), Attended classes, Baseball Player
• Mike Gravel (1956), Former US Senator from Alaska. A candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
• Pat Boone (1957), Singer and actor.
• Mary McFadden (1959), Fashion Designer
• Edward Klein (1960), author.
• R.W. Apple (1961), New York Times associate editor.
• John Tauranac (1963), Chief designer of the New York City subway map of 1979.
• Jehuda Reinharz (1964), President of Brandeis University
• Malcolm Borg (1965), Chairman of North Jersey Media Group (formerly Macromedia, Inc.) owner of The Record (Bergen County)
• Jacques Pepin (1970), French Chef.
• Edward Cecil Harris (1971), Creator of the Harris Matrix.
• Peter H. Kostmayer (1971), Former (D) Congressman Pennsylvania.
• Roger Pilon (1971), Constitutional scholar and legal theorist.
• Kristi Zea (1974), Production designer and producer. Academy Award-winner for Best Picture, As Good As It Gets. (1997)
• Howard G. Chua-Eoan (1983), News Director, TIME.
• Gil Shaham (1990), Violinist.
• Ted Rall (1991), Syndicated cartoonist.
• Trent Dimas (2002), Olympic Gold-medalist in Gymnastics.

• Columbia Dramatists.
• Columbia University Postbac Premed Association.
• Columbia Producers and Directors Club.
• General Studies Student Council, the student governing body of GS.
• General Studies Theatre Company.
• US Military Veterans of Columbia University (MilVets), a student-veterans group.
• Non-Traditional Students Action Coalition.
• The Observer, a literary magazine.

• Columbia University homepage
• Columbia University School of General Studies
• History of the School of General Studies
• School of General Studies Student Council (GSSC)
• Columbia University Postbac Premed Association
• The GS Lounge - Student-run portal about Columbia's School of General Studies
• US Military Veterans of Columbia University (MilVets)