Centered in New York City, the global hub of business, Columbia Business School offers its diverse and entrepreneurial students daily access to influential industry leaders. Our renowned faculty members are at the forefront of their fields, producing groundbreaking research across disciplines. And our worldwide alumni network continues to grow and impact change. At Columbia Business School today, we're celebrating our place at the very center of it all.
Our mission is twofold: we are committed to educating and developing leaders and builders of enterprises who create value for their stakeholders and society at large; we accomplish this through our MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. We are equally committed to developing new scholars and teachers, and to creating and disseminating pathbreaking knowledge, concepts, and tools which advance the understanding and practice of management; we accomplish this through our faculty research and PhD programs.
Columbia Business School was founded in 1916, thanks in part to a generous gift from banking executive Emerson McMillin. Eleven faculty members taught the inaugural class of 61 students, which included eight women. Over the past 100 years, the School has evolved alongside the ever-changing world of business. To meet the demands of a new century, Columbia Business School will move to a new location on Columbia's Manhattanville campus. The new facilities - designed by renowned New York architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFowle - will reflect the fast-paced, high-tech, and highly social character of business in the 21st century.
Similarly, faculty researchers understand that they must work cross-functionally in order to ensure innovation and relevance to business practice, particularly in multidisciplinary, problem-solving areas such as negotiations and decision making or strategy. The construction of state-of-the-art facilities therefore offers Columbia Business School a unique opportunity to create spaces that lend themselves to a variety of uses, and that foster a deep sense of community - spaces where students, faculty members, and external constituents can gather and exchange ideas. In effect, the new campus will unlock the full potential of Columbia Business School, providing the necessary underpinning for the ongoing transformation of the School's programs and the growth of its intellectual capital.
Five bus lines (M4, M5, M11, M60, M104) and one subway line (the No. 1 local) serve the Columbia neighborhood. The M60 bus is a direct link between the campus and LaGuardia Airport. When taking the subway, the Columbia stop is 116th Street. Do not take express trains Nos. 2 and 3, which eventually follow a different route and do not stop at Columbia University. If you take these express trains, be certain to transfer at 96th Street to the No. 1 local. Google Maps provides a helpful guide to navigating the city using public transportation.
Take one look around Uris Hall and you will see the world reflected in our culture and the content of our work. Students come to Columbia from all parts of the world and bring with them every kind of business experience, from hedge funds to marketing to nonprofits and more. Our unparalleled relationship with New York City also opens doors to a wider world of opportunity. We create a community that promotes the individual, yet always values the collaborative experience fostered in your learning teams and clusters. Student organizations are a natural place to flex your leadership skills and make connections with like-minded students from all across the School. Also, our active, accessible alumni, more than 44,000-strong, play a key role in the lives of current students, through advising, speaking, and often mentoring the next generation of business leaders. Those connections live on well beyond graduation, giving you a lifetime of benefits from the Columbia Business School community.