Columbia Associates was a group of alumni and other benefactors of
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
who committed to making periodic donations to the university and helped direct actions of the university that would do good for the greater community. It was formed in 1949, during the time that
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
was the
president of Columbia, and existed into at least the mid-1960s.
By the late 1940s, Columbia's financial position was somewhat precarious, and in 1948 the university drew up a 'development program' to raise some $200 million over the next six years.
Paul H. Davis, in charge of fundraising initiatives at Columbia, formed Columbia Associates in 1949 with the goal of recruiting alumni and friends to get the development program underway; over the next couple of years it did this, sometimes with Eisenhower urging benefactors to join.
Members of Columbia Associates were expected to donate $1,000 annually to the university and were given the chance to advise the university regarding the course of the development program.
Eisenhower had an image for Columbia Associates in which "men of circumstance" were given a "position of honor and respect in University life"; one such person that he tried to recruit, albeit unsuccessfully, was
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Eisenhower's favorite project during this time,
The American Assembly
The American Assembly is a think tank at Columbia University, founded in 1950 by General Dwight Eisenhower. It has become his most enduring achievement and legacy as president of Columbia. For over 60 years, it has fostered nonpartisan public-po ...
, was officially announced at a luncheon of the Columbia Associates, and the associates were employed in fundraising efforts for it.
The first head of Columbia Associates was James DeCamp Wise,
an alumnus and businessman. He was succeeded in 1952 by Peter Grimm, an alumnus and real estate executive;
in 1956 by Roscoe C. Ingalls, an alumnus and financier; and in 1959 by
Armand G. Erpf
Armand Grover Erpf (December 8, 1897 – February 2, 1971) was an American investment banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He was a senior partner at Loeb, Rhoades & Co., chairman of the Executive Committee of the Crowell-Collier Publishing ...
, an alumnus and investment banking partner at
Loeb, Rhoades & Co.
In 1952, Columbia Associates was described as "a group of alumni and friends of the university interested in promoting community welfare."
By 1959, this mission was being stated as "seek
ng through counsel and cooperative effort, to contribute to the social and educational good of the community through Columbia University."
Erpf and Columbia Associates played a significant role in the financing and creation of the ''
Columbia Lectures in International Studies'',
an educational television series that began in 1962 on
Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation
Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...
stations.
Columbia Associates was still active as of 1965. What became of it after that is unclear, although it may have lasted into the 1970s.
[See "1950s-1970s" index entry at Finding aids.]
References
External links
Finding aids for Columbia Associates, at Columbia University ArchivesColumbia University Libraries – Central Files: Personal Name Subseries with Notes{{Columbia University
Associates
Alumni associations
Organizations established in 1949