The Columbia Bartending Agency and School of Mixology is a student-run business at

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 ...

that trains, certifies, and represents

bartenders A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. All instructors at the School of Mixology are Columbia students and themselves alumni of the program, and all classes are open to the public. Students who complete the mixology program and perform well enough on the final examination, which consists of both a performance test and written portion, have the option of joining the Columbia Bartending Agency, which hires out its bartenders' services around New York. The business is financially self-sufficient and independent from the university. The bartending agency began operating in 1965 as one of sixteen agencies within Columbia Student Agencies, which was founded in 1964 as part of an initiative to encourage student employment. The course that would eventually become the School of Mixology was cosponsored by the agency and the university, and for the first several years it was taught by Joseph Reilly, the bar manager of the Barclay Hotel. During its first two years of existence, clients of the Columbia Bartending Agency included

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

, authors Leo Rosten and Arnold Schulman, and informal gatherings at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

References

{{Columbia University Columbia University student organizations Bartending Student organizations established in 1965 1965 establishments in New York City