Columbia University Archives: Faculty Search

University Archives

Butler Library postcardColumbia University Archives
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Butler Library, 6th Floor
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027

Phone: (212) 854-3786
Fax: (212) 854-1365
E-mail: uarchives@columbia.edu

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Related Collections

Barnard College
The Barnard Archives and Special Collections serves as the final repository for the historical records of Barnard College, from its founding in 1889 to the present day. For more information, please contact archives@barnard.edu.

Health Sciences Library
The Archives and Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library of Columbia University can help you find information about the schools of the Medical Center: College of Physicians & Surgeons, School of Nursing, College of Dental Medicine (formerly the School of Dental & Oral Surgery), Mailman School of Public Health, and the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. For more information, please contact hslarchives@columbia.edu.

Faculty Search

How to find former faculty members

If you are looking for a former faculty member at Columbia University, here are the most popular sources available online.

  • Columbia University General Catalogue, 1916
    The Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Columbia University includes the names of all officers of instruction (faculty members) and graduates of the University as well as a list of honorary degree recipients. For earlier editions of the Catalogue, sometimes called the Register, visit the Alumni Registers page of the University Archives website.

  • Directories
    The directories of officers (with office hours, campus office addresses and residence), from 1893-1894 to 1943-1944, can be found in the back of the yearly Catalogue of Officers and Students.
     
  • Columbia Spectator
    The student newspaper, from 1877 to 2015, is another great source to find out information about former faculty members. The Spectator has been scanned and is easily searchable online. For additional publications available online, visit our Publications page.

These collections are only available in person at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) reading room. Visitors are required to register their own Special Collections Research Account before their visit and to validate the account in person with government-issued photo identification or Columbia ID card. Once you have created your Special Collections Research Account, you will be able to request the materials directly from the finding aids: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form. For more information on how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website.

  • Academic Appointment Records
    Originally compiled by the Office of the Secretary, this card catalog contains a record of all appointment letters sent to faculty members beginning in the 1890s. The cards include the appointees' name, degrees, and a record of each appointment (rank, school and academic year). For faculty and officers of research, the last date on the cards is June 30, 1990. For officers of administration, there are cards with information through July 1987. The cards are divided between inactive (last appointment ended before June 1990) and active (still at Columbia in 1990). The active appointments are also subdivided by school or division.  You can request materials directly from Academic Appointment records finding aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
     
  • Historical Biographical Files
    Compiled by the Columbiana curators and University Archives staff, this collection contains information on alumni, faculty, officers and other notable Columbians. You can request materials directly from HBF Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
     
  • Directories of Officers and Students
    The University Archives has paper copies of the staff and student directories from 1893-1894 to 2005-2006. When requesting Directories from CLIO, the online library catalog, look for the University Archives holdings on the right, and click on "Request: Special Collections." This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form. When requesting the directories, please specify the academic year and/or summer session.

 To learn more about how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website. If you have any questions about how to find materials, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

These collections are only available in person at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) reading room. Visitors are required to register their own Special Collections Research Account before their visit and to validate the account in person with government-issued photo identification or Columbia ID card. Once you have created your Special Collections Research Account, you will be able to request the materials directly from the finding aids: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form. For more information on how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website.

  • Columbia College Papers
    This collection includes official correspondence, reports and documents from the days of King’s College (1750-1784), Columbia College (1785-1890) as well as Columbia University (up to 1964). The materials are catalogued at the item level so the names of all correspondents are easily searchable. You can request materials directly from the Columbia College Papers Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
     
  • Central Files / Office of the President Records
    This is the core administrative collection of records, from the 1890s to the present. Central Files chiefly contains correspondence (sent and received) between Columbia University administrators and other University officers, faculty, trustees, and individuals and organizations from outside the University. You can request materials directly from the Central Files Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
     
  • Office of the Provost Records
    These records include documentation on the administration, development, and history of departments, programs, research institutes and centers, schools, and academic services, from 1939 to 2006. You can request materials directly from the Office of the Provost Finding Aid: click the check box located on the right for the box(es) you need, and then scroll back to the top of the container list document and click “Submit Request” button in the red-rimmed box at top. This should lead you directly to your Special Collections Research Account to complete the request form.
     
  • Columbia Oral History Archives
    The Columbia Center for Oral History (CCOH) was founded by History professor and journalist Allan Nevins in 1948 and is credited with launching the establishment of oral history archives internationally. At over 15,000 interviews, the Oral History Archives is one of the largest oral history collections in the United States. You can find interviews with individuals who are or were Columbia alumni, faculty and staff in their research guide or use the library catalogue CLIO to search their collections.
     
  • Course Descriptions
    To find out which course(s) a former faculty member taught, with course descriptions, sometimes with meeting dates, times and classroom information, you will need to consult the course catalogues or as they are known, the Bulletins of Information or Announcements. To find out how to request these volumes, please check out our Course Descriptions research guide.

 To learn more about how to access our collections, check out our Research & Access website. If you have any questions about how to find materials, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

Faculty Papers by Department, A-G

You can find collections of faculty papers by looking for the former faculty member in CLIO. Below are most of the Columbia faculty papers, organized by department and then alphabetically. If you are interested in other schools or departments not included in the list, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

African-American Studies
Anthropology
Art History and Archaeology
Astronomy
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Classics (formerly Greek and Latin)
Earth and Environmental Sciences
East Asian Languages and Cultures
Economics
Engineering/School of Mines
English and Comparative Literature
French and Romance Philology
Germanic Languages

Faculty Papers by Department, H-Z

You can find collections of faculty papers by looking for the former faculty member in CLIO. Below are most of the Columbia faculty papers, organized by department and then alphabetically. If you are interested in other schools or departments not included in the list, please contact uarchives@columbia.edu.

History
Italian
Mathematics
Medicine

For the faculty papers of additional members of the School of Physicians and Surgeons and the other schools at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), please consult the Archives and Special Collections at the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library.

Music
Philosophy
Physical Education
Physics
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Slavic Languages
Sociology

About the image

Low Library and campus view postcard. (Scan #0128)  Historical Photograph Collection, University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries. Postcard caption:“The Library and Main Approach to Columbia University, New York City”

  • Last Updated: Dec 2, 2024 10:35 AM
  • URL: https://guides.library.columbia.edu/uarchives
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