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 and staff (with office hours, campus office addresses and residence), from 1893-1894 to 1944-1945, can be found in the back of the yearly Catalogue of Officers and Students.
     
  • Columbia Spectator and Columbia University Record
    The student newspaper (1877 to 2015) and the university-wide newspaper (1973-2016) are both great sources to find out information about former faculty members. The Spectator and the CU Record have been scanned and are 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 schedule an appointment and request materials directly from the finding aids.

  • 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. 
     
  • Historical Biographical Files
    Compiled by the Columbiana curators and University Archives staff, this collection contains information on alumni, faculty, officers and other notable Columbians. 
     
  • Directories of Officers and Students
    The University Archives has paper copies of the staff and student directories from 1893-1894 to 2006-2007. Staff and student directories, from 1893-1894 to 1944-1945, can be found online in the back of the yearly Catalogues of Officers and Students. 

 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 schedule an appointment and request materials directly from the finding aids.

  • 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. 
     
  • 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, as well as individuals and organizations from outside the University. 
     
  • 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. 
     
  • 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.
     
  • Faculty Handbooks (call number #CM I2)
    First issued in 1959, Columbia University maintains a Faculty Handbook which acts as a guide to University policies and procedures, providing information for the guidance of Columbia University faculty and officers of research. Topics include an overview of University history, the organization of the University, rules and regulations for various types of teaching staff, information about the Libraries. Fold out organizational charts are found in the editions from 1959 to 1968. The University Archives maintains physical copies of the handbook from 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1975, 1987, 2000 and 2008. These can be requested at the CLIO link provided above. The current version of the handbook (which is updated periodically) is available online at https://facultyhandbook.columbia.edu/ .

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: Mar 20, 2025 9:21 AM
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