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Columbia College Chicago is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
art college in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Io ...
. Columbia College Chicago is the host institution of several affiliated educational, cultural, and research organizations, including the Center for Black Music Research, the Center for Book and Paper Arts, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Columbia College Chicago is not affiliated with
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 ...
, Columbia College Hollywood, or any other Columbia College in the United States.


History

Columbia College Chicago was founded in 1890 as the Columbia School of Oratory by Mary A. Blood and Ida Morey Riley, both graduates of the Monroe Conservatory of Oratory (now
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
), in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
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. Anticipating a strong need for public speaking at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, Blood and Riley were inspired to open their school in the exposition city, Chicago, and adopt the exposition's name. Blood and Riley became the college's first co-presidents, until Riley died in 1901; Blood served in this capacity until her death in 1927. The women established a co-educational school that "should stand for high ideals, for the teaching of expression by methods truly educational, for the gospel of good cheer, and for the building of sterling good character" in the Stevens' Art Gallery Building, 24 East Adams Street. The school ran as a sole proprietary business from 1890 to 1904, when the school became incorporated by the state of Illinois. On May 5, 1904, the school incorporated itself again in order to change its name to the Columbia College of Expression, adding coursework in teaching to the curriculum. When Blood died in 1927, George L. Scherger assumed the office of presidency after serving as a former member of the board of directors. Under his leadership, Scherger signed the paperwork at the board's annual meeting on April 14, 1928, to change the school's name to the Mary A. Blood School of Speech Arts. However, by April 30, 1928, the school reverted its name to the Columbia College of Expression by the board of directors, George L. Scherger, Herman H. Hegner, and Erme Rowe Hegner. During Scherger's presidency, the college became an official sister institution with the Pestalozzi-Froebel Teachers College, a family-run school centered on training its students for teaching kindergarten. As the president of the Pestalozzi-Froebel Teachers College, Bertha Hofer Hegner assumed the role as the fourth president of Columbia College of Expression in 1929 when Scherger resigned to become an assistant pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Hegner served as the institutions' head, although due to illness, her son, Herman Hofer Hegner served as acting president of the institutions from 1930 until 1936. By 1934, college curriculum also focused on the growing field of
radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
. Herman Hofer Hegner hired Norman Alexandroff, a radio programmer, in 1934 to develop a radio curriculum for the colleges as both institutions were suffering financially. When Bertha Hofer Hegner retired in 1936 due to health reasons, she was made president emeritus of the institutions and Herman Hofer Hegner became the institutions' official president. During Herman Hofner Hegner's presidency, the Columbia College of Expression was advertised under different names including, Columbia College of Speech and Drama, the Radio Institute of Columbia School of Speech and Drama, and Columbia College of Speech, Drama, and Radio. However, the college was never incorporated under any of these names by the state of Illinois. As the radio program gained prominence, Alexandroff was named as the vice president of the Columbia College of Expression and became a member on the board of directors at both institutions by 1937. The college left its partnership with the Pestalozzi-Froebel Teachers College, named Norman Alexandroff as its president, and filed the Columbia College of Expression as a not for profit corporation on December 3, 1943. On February 5, 1944, the college re-filed as a not for profit corporation and changed its name to Columbia College. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the college broadened its educational base to include television, journalism, marketing, and other mass-communication areas. Alexandroff also oversaw the development of the extension campuses of the school, Columbia College Pan-Americano in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, and Columbia Los Angeles in
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,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Both of these campuses became independent of their parent in the late 1950s. Prosperity was short lived, however, and by 1961, the college had fewer than 200 students and a part-time faculty of 25. Norman Alexandroff remained the president of the college until his death on May 26, 1960, and his son, Mirron (Mike) Alexandroff, assumed the role of president by 1961. Mike Alexandroff had worked at the college since 1947 and as president, he created a liberal arts college with a "hands-on minds-on" approach to arts and media education with a progressive social agenda. He established a generous admissions policy so that qualified high school graduates could attend college courses taught by some of the most influential and creative professionals in Chicago. For the next thirty years, Alexandroff worked to build the college into an urban institution that helped to change the face of higher education. With this renewed focus on building its academic program, the institution was awarded full accreditation in 1974 from the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...
and in 1984, received accreditation for its graduate programs. In 1975, when the college's enrollment exceeded 2,000, it purchased its first real estate, the building at 600 South Michigan Avenue (the building is now known as the Alexandroff Campus Center). At the time of Alexandroff's retirement in 1992, the college served 6,791 students and owned or rented more than of instructional, performance, and administrative space. From 1992 until 2000, John B. Duff, former commissioner of the Chicago Public Library and former chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education, served as the college's president. On October 28, 1997, the college changed its name to Columbia College Chicago, and the institution continued to expand its educational programs and add to its physical campus by purchasing available buildings in the
South Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated Community areas in Chicago, community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercia ...
. This played a significant part in its presence in the
South Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated Community areas in Chicago, community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercia ...
and downtown
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. Today, the college's campus occupies almost two dozen buildings and utilizes over 2.5 million square feet. In 2000, Dr. Warrick L. Carter became the college's president. An educator, jazz composer, and performing artist, Carter joined the college from
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...
, where he spent four years as director of entertainment arts. Previously, he had spent 12 years at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, one of the world's-largest independent schools of music, where he served as dean of faculty and then provost and vice president of academic affairs. Through 2010, under his leadership, the college created new student-based initiatives such as Manifest, the annual urban arts festival celebrating Columbia's graduating students, and ShopColumbia, a store where students can showcase and sell their work on campus; partnered with local universities to construct the University Center; purchased new campus buildings; added new curricula; and oversaw the college's first newly constructed building, the Media Production Center. Recently, the college has a growing program of international exchanges, including associations with Dublin Institute of Technology, the
University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
, and the Lorenzo de' Medici Italian International Institute. Through the vast diversity of students and graduates, the school brings a rich vision and a multiplicity of voices to American culture, encouraging students to "author the culture of their times". However, Columbia has not been exempt from internal and external criticism in recent years. During the 2011–12 school year, the college administration attempted to implement a set of sweeping changes to the college's curriculum, staffing policies, and overall institutional structure, through an initiative dubbed Blueprint , Prioritization. As the specifics of the changes and cutbacks came to light over the course of the school year, students and faculty from affected departments and majors vocalized their opposition to the cutbacks by staging protests during administrative meetings, mic-checking Interim Provost Louise Love during an open hearing about the proposed cutbacks, and circulating petitions calling for certain decisions, and even the entire process, to be reversed, citing " union busting" practices, consistent tuition hikes, and frequent, unexplained personnel changes across the college. Press coverage and local awareness of the college's troubles surrounding Prioritization increased rapidly after Deanna Issacs, a reporter for the
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
, was shut out of President Warrick Carter's annual State of the College Address to the student body, which had been advertised as "open to the public." During the meeting, at which the president had been questioned extensively by students about cutbacks and tuition hikes, Carter appeared to lose his temper at one point, aggressively telling a student to "shut up," in his response to a question about his salary, which exceeds $400,000 per year. In addition to the reader, the grievances voiced over the Blueprint , Prioritization cutbacks received coverage in the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', the '' Chronicle of Higher Education'', and ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...
Chicago''. As of September 2012, most of the proposed changes from Prioritization had yet to be implemented. Programs and departments that were at one point or another slated for cuts include the Center for Black Music Research, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, the Fiction Writing Department (whose Chair was let go without explanation after 20+ years of service in April 2011, only to be reinstated just months later after a student uproar over the firing), the college's recycling program, which employed student workers to collect refuse, and the top-10 ranked
Cultural Studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
program, one of the few standalone undergraduate programs of its kind in the nation. On May 9, 2012, President Warrick Carter announced he would retire a year earlier than expected, stepping down at the end of the 2012–13 academic year. On July 1, 2013, Dr. Kwang-Wu Kim became Columbia College's 10th president. Dr. Kim holds a
Doctorate of Musical Arts The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in s ...
and an Artist Diploma from the Peabody Institute of
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
, where he studied with the legendary pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher and served as Fleisher's teaching associate. In 2013, Columbia College Chicago was ranked 13th best Film School in the country by The Hollywood Reporter. Columbia College Chicago is consistently ranked in The Hollywood Reporter's top 25 schools for music composition. In 2018, Hollywood reporter ranked Columbia College Chicago at number 13.


Presidents

* Mary A. Blood, 1890–1927 * Ida Morey Riley, 1890–1901 * Rev. Dr. George L. Scherger, 1927–1929 * Bertha Hofer Hegner, 1929–1936 * Herman Hofer Hegner, 1936–1944 * Norman Alexandroff, 1944–1960 * Mirron (Mike) Alexandroff, 1961–1992 * Dr. John B. Duff, 1992–2000 * Dr. Warrick L. Carter, 2000–2013 * Dr. Kwang-Wu Kim, 2013–present


Academics

* The School of Fine and Performing Arts is composed of nine departments: Art & Design; Arts, Entertainment & Media Management; Dance; Dance Movement Therapy & Counseling; Music; Photography; Sherwood Conservatory; and Theater. * The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences is composed of six departments: ASL-English Interpretation; Creative Writing; Education; English; Humanities, History, and Social Sciences; and Science and Mathematics. It is also home to the First-Year Seminar, the LAS Core Curriculum, the college's Honors Program, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, and the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media. * The School of Media Arts is composed of eight departments: Audio Arts & Acoustics; Cinema Arts & Sciences; Interactive Arts & Media; Interdisciplinary Arts; Journalism; Marketing Communication; Radio; and Television.


Campuses

Columbia has a nontraditional campus located in the
South Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated Community areas in Chicago, community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercia ...
and Near South Side of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. The college owns sixteen academic, gallery/performance, administrative, and student residential buildings, and leases additional office and student residential space in four buildings. Most of the campus is contained in an area bounded by Ida B. Wells Drive, State Street, Roosevelt Road, and Michigan Avenue. Many of Columbia's buildings were built in the early 20th century and were acquired by the school as it expanded. The college also operates an intensive five-week Semester in Los Angeles program on the premises of
Raleigh Studios Raleigh Studios is a studio facility located in Hollywood, Los Angeles and has been under the ownership of Raleigh Enterprises since 1979. The location has been active since 1915. Before Raleigh, the studio was run by Famous Players Film Company, ...
in Hollywood, California, for upper-level (80+ credit hours completed, 3.0 GPA) Cinema Art & Science, Television, Communication and Media Innovation, Music, and Business & Entrepreneurship students.


Alexandroff Campus Center

Located at 600 S. Michigan Avenue, Columbia College's Main Building was built in 1906–07 by Christian A. Eckstorm, an architect popular for his industrial and warehouse designs, to serve as the headquarters of the
International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...
Company. 600 S. Michigan was a modern skyscraper of its era, built with a steel skeleton, high-speed
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...
s, electric light, the most advanced mechanical systems available and a floor plan designed to maximize natural light for all of its interior office spaces. The 15-story
brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
-
clad Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following: * Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell *Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings ...
building with classical stone detailing has an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
lobby that retains much of its original marble. In 1937 the building was purchased by the Fairbanks-Morse Company, makers of railroad locomotives, farm equipment and hydraulic systems. It was acquired by Columbia College in 1975. In its early years as the home of Columbia, it was adaptively reused to house
classrooms A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where educatio ...
, the library,
darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...
s, studios, and an
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...
. When the campus expanded through the acquisition of other buildings, especially after 1990, some of these functions, such as the greatly expanded library, were moved to other locations, and the spaces were again adapted for new uses. The building continues to serve as the administrative center of the college, and houses the
Museum of Contemporary Photography The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project ...
on its first two floors, along with the 180-seat Ferguson Memorial Theater, photography
darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...
s, three professional
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
studios, film/video editing facilities, and
classrooms A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where educatio ...
.


33 East Ida B Wells Drive

The 33 East Ida B Wells Drive (formerly 33 East Congress) Building was built in 1925–26 by noted Chicago architect
Alfred S. Alschuler Alfred Samuel Alschuler (November 2, 1876 – June 11, 1940) was a Chicago architect. "Alfred S. Alschuler" (history), archINFORM, 2006-10-12, ''Eng.archINFORM.net'' webpage: archINFORM-ASA Biography Alschuler was born in Chicag ...
, who designed the 1927
Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an ...
. The seven-story brick and
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
"Congress-Wabash Building" was commissioned by Ferdinand W. Peck, Jr., a real estate developer, and initially housed a
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
, offices, and recreation rooms that included dozens of pool tables. A national billiards championship was held here in 1938. By the 1940s, the building was known by the name of its major tenant, the Congress Bank. In the 1980s, it became the home of
MacCormac College Generations College is a private two-year college in Chicago, Illinois. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and approved by the National Court Reporters Association and American Bar Association. It is located in downto ...
. Columbia leased space in the building starting in 1997 and purchased the structure in 1999. It currently houses administrative offices, classroom space and the college's radio station (WCRX 88.1 FM). The building is home to Columbia's
American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expre ...
-English Interpretation, Audio Arts & Acoustics, Journalism and Radio departments.


623 South Wabash Avenue

623 South Wabash Avenue was built in 1895, designed by Solon S. Beman, architect of the industrial town of Pullman, one of the 19th century's largest, most complex, and globally famous planned industrial communities for the Pullman Palace Car Company. The ten-story 623 South Wabash building was originally built for the
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
Brothers Carriage Company of
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
as its
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
regional office and warehouse facility. It was later owned by the Brunswick Corporation, makers of wood furnishings and built-in
furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...
for libraries, universities and a variety of public commercial and governmental facilities. By the late 19th century Brunswick became specialists in designing such entertainment furnishings as bars, billiards tables, and
bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
alleys for drinking establishments nationwide. Subsequent owners are unknown. The building was acquired by Columbia in 1983 and now houses classrooms, academic offices, a computerized newsroom, sciences laboratories, art studios and two public gallery spaces. The building is also home to Anchor Graphics and ShopColumbia, a retail venue that sells the work of Columbia students and alumni artists, musicians, filmmakers etc. exclusively.


624 South Michigan Avenue

624 South Michigan Avenue was built by Christian A. Eckstorm in 1908 as an eight-story building to house the
Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution ...
, a concern headed by Florenz Ziegfeld Sr., father of Ziegfeld Follies producer
Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...
, Jr. A seven-story addition was designed and built in 1922 by Alfred Alschuler. The building was renamed the Blum Building and housed the studios of a dance school and boutique women's clothiers. Tenants in the building in the 1920s included Augustus Eugene Bournique's dancing schools and two select women's clothiers, Stanley Korshak's Blackstone Shop and Blum's Vogue. Brick clad with classical detailing, this 15-story building retains its period
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
and
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...
lobby. Columbia College acquired the building in 1990 and it now houses the college's five-story library, classrooms, departmental offices, student and faculty lounges and the college's bookstore


1104 South Wabash Avenue

1104 South Wabash Avenue, built in 1891, is on the City of Chicago Landmarks (1996) and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
(1980). Built by William LeBaron Jenney, acknowledged as the inventor of the
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...
for his fire-proofed metal skeleton-frame designs, the
Ludington Building The Ludington Building is the earliest-surviving, steel-frame building in Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Chicago Loop community area. It was designed by William Le Baron Jenney and was named a Chicago Landmark on June 10, 1996. It was ...
, as it was historically known, represents his continuing experimentation as the first entirely
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
-clad
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...
. The structure is also a rare survivor, being one of only two extant loft buildings in Chicago built by Jenney. This eight-story, steel-frame building, boasting one of the finest examples of a terra-cotta clad façade, was commissioned by Mary Ludington Barnes for the
American Book Company (1890) The American Book Company (ABC) was an educational book publisher in the United States that specialized in elementary school, secondary school and collegiate-level textbooks. It is best known for publishing the McGuffey Readers, which sold 12 ...
, which was owned by her husband, Charles Barnes. At the time, Chicago was a national center for the
publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
industry, as demonstrated by this building and many others, particularly those on Chicago's Printers Row, and including the former
Lakeside Press Building The Lakeside Press Building is a historic commercial building located at 731 S. Plymouth Ct. in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building served as a showroom, office, and printing press for the Lakeside Press. The building was built in two stages ...
owned by Columbia College. The American Book Company built the building to house its offices, printing presses, packaging and shipping operations. Its frame was built to withstand the weight and vibrations of the presses, which were originally located on the fourth through sixth floors, and to accommodate the anticipated eight-story addition that was never built. Its status as a manufacturing facility determined its form as a loft building, with a practical and efficient interior that had few elegant original elements. Its location, between the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
's Grand Central Station at Harrison and Wells Streets and the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...
's Central Station at Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road, made it ideal for the distribution of the company's products. The
Ludington Building The Ludington Building is the earliest-surviving, steel-frame building in Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Chicago Loop community area. It was designed by William Le Baron Jenney and was named a Chicago Landmark on June 10, 1996. It was ...
was owned by descendants of its original owners until 1960, although it was occupied by many different tenants, including the Pepsodent toothpaste company in the 1910s and 1920s. In 1960, it was sold to Warshawsky and Company, an autoparts firm, for use as a storage facility. The college purchased the building from Warshawsky in 1999. The Ludington currently houses the school's Center for Book and Paper Arts, a portion of the Film and Video Department, the Glass Curtain Gallery and the Conaway Multicultural Center.


Music Department

1014–16 South Michigan Avenue was built in 1912 by Christian A. Eckstorm A red brick 4-story building with terra cotta detailing, this structure was erected by a developer as a speculative commercial building. During its first 30 years, it housed offices for a shingle distributor, a lumber company and an electrical parts manufacturer. In 1941, the building was rehabilitated for the Sherwood Conservatory of Music, founded in 1895 by William Hall Sherwood, a
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
virtuoso, teacher and composer. The school's most famous alumna may be the comedian Phyllis Diller, who was a
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
student at the Sherwood School in the 1930s but did not graduate. The building was acquired by Columbia College Chicago in 2007 and now houses the school's music department. The artistic, cultural and performance education tradition of this building, as it was adaptively reused since the 1940s, is continued today in the programs of the Music Center of Columbia College.


Getz Theater

72 East 11th Street was built in 1929 by
Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...
, architects of notable
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
skyscrapers such as the
Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exch ...
, the Palmolive Building and the 333 North Michigan Avenue Building. 72 East 11th Street, a six- story,
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
-clad
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
building, was originally owned by the Chicago Women's Club and housed the organization's meeting rooms, offices and a theater. Rich in history, it was the site for rallies in support of women's voting rights, efforts on behalf of compulsory education laws and fund raising for scholarships at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a women's dormitory at the University of Chicago. Subsequent owners and uses are unknown. Acquired by Columbia in 1980 as the school's Theater Center, it currently houses a renovated 400-seat theater, classrooms, and space for film and photography studios.


The Dance Center

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is one of the region's education centers. Presenting companies have included:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
, Lucky Plush Productions,
Cloud Gate Dance Theater Cloud Gate Dance Theater () is a modern dance group based in Taiwan. It was founded by choreographer Lin Hwai-min in 1973, and later he shared its management with his late protégé, choreographer Lo Man-fei. The troupe was inactive from October ...
of Taiwan, Koosil-ja/danceKUMIKO, JUMP RHYTHM Jazz Project, Troika Ranch,
Wayne McGregor Random Dance Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of t ...
, and Hedwig Dances. 1306 S. Michigan Avenue, the Dance Center Building, was built in 1930 by architect Anker S. Graven. This sleek four-story Art Deco building, clad in
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
, was erected as the Paramount Publix Corporation as a film exchange, a venue for the presentation of films to the independent cinema operators throughout the Midwestern United States, Midwest who could rent them for exhibition at their theaters. The studio occupied the building up to about 1950, when it was taken over by the AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, Equitable Life Assurance Company. In the 1970s it was known as the Seafarers International Union Building. The City of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
took possession of it in a tax sale in 1984, and used it for the Health Department's Environmental Health Clinic. The building was acquired by Columbia College in 1999 for use as the school's Dance Center. After extensive interior renovation and adaptation, the Dance Center opened its state-of-the-art educational and public performance facilities in the fall of 2000. Prior to the relocation to Michigan Avenue, the Dance Center was located at 4730 North Sheridan Road in a former movie theater in the Uptown, Chicago, Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. The first floor housed the department office, lobby, dressing rooms, and the "main space", the primary dance studio. The second floor, accessed via a metal staircase in the back of the main space, held the ballet studio, the T'Chi room and music recording rooms.


Media Production Center

Located at 1600 South State Street, the Media Production Center (MPC) was completed in 2010 and was the college's first new-construction building in its history. Designed by Studio Gang Architects, the 35,500-square-foot facility serves students in the Cinema Art + Science, Interactive Arts & Media, and Television programs. It contains two film production soundstages, a motion-capture studio, digital labs, animating suites, a fabrication shop, and classrooms. It received a 2010 Citation of Merit in the Distinguished Building category from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It has also received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.


Environmental record


Commitments to action on climate change

Columbia College Chicago signed onto the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2010. The college has met ACUPCC reporting deadlines that included submitting a formal Climate Action Plan and updating their Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The college has yet to set a climate neutrality date with the ACUPCC.


Energy profile

A Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory was completed in June 2011. The results show total equivalent emissions of 19,381.1 metric tonnes for the baseline year of 2010. The GHG Inventory was updated in May 2013. The total e emissions were 9,399 metric tonnes for the 2012 fiscal year. This reduction was due in part to the inclusion of purchased Renewable Energy Credits to offset emissions generated from purchased electricity. In conducting the GHG update, new methodologies were employed, emissions from purchased paper were used, and commuting data was collected from a streamlined transit survey. In 2011, the college hired the company Sustainametrics to complete the college's Sustainability Roadmap. This document was updated in September 2013 to reflect progress made since its initial adoption. The roadmap was submitted to the ACUPCC as the college's official Climate Action Plan. In 2012, the college decided to consolidate the Recycling Program into a sustainability-based program. The position of Recycling Manager became Sustainability Manager. Other part-time staff from the Recycling Program moved under the Sustainability Manager's direction into this new sustainability program. These part-time positions are responsible for maintaining the campus green spaces and managing diversion efforts such as compost and atypical recycling (batteries, technotrash). Campus recycling and waste collection is coordinated by its janitorial services contractor.


Energy investments

Columbia College has at least $8 million invested in the oil, gas and coal industry. Ken Gotsch, the former CFO of Columbia, reported that these companies include oil and gas companies Murphy Oil Corporation and Apache Corporation.


Campus media

''The Columbia Chronicle'' is the college's award-winning weekly newspaper. Frequency TV is the college's television station. WCRX (FM), WCRX (88.1 FM) is the college's radio station. These outlets are run by students for class credit in their respective departments. However, students working at ''The Chronicle'' and Frequency TV can get paid for their work. The newspaper has won numerous awards, the most recent in 2009–10 as Best Weekly College Newspaper in the state, midwest and nation. Broadcast journalism students produce two television news shows that are broadcast each week on Frequency TV: ''Newsbeat'' and ''Metro Minutes''. The student-produced ''Out on a Limb'' comedy television show has been nominated for a local Emmy Award. Radio students work on WCRX producing live mixes by local DJs, their own imaging, Public service announcement, PSAs, and carrying select sport games. In 1998–1999, WCRX produced and broadcast ''Entertainment Primetime Weekly'', a show that is produced in newsradio style. It has also broadcast the Emmy Awards. Journalism students, and others, report and write articles that are published on Chicagotalks.org, a community and citizen journalism website sponsored by the Journalism Department. Journalism Department students in the Magazine Workshop class produce a magazine each semester called ''Echo''. AEMMP Records is the student-run record label. The staff develops an artist, produces an album, and markets the product throughout the course of an academic year. Other Columbia College Chicago publications include: ''Hair Trigger'', ''Columbia Poetry Review'', ''South Loop Review'', ''Center for Black Music Research Journal'', ''DEMO'', and''@LAS''


Student organizations

In addition to the academic programs offered at the college, students engage in many extracurricular activities. There are several major organizations on campus run by students. They include XC3ND: Columbia College Show Choir, Producer's Guild of Columbia (PGC), the Student Government Association, the Student Organization Council, the Student Alumni Association, the Student Athletics Association (Renegades), Columbia Urban Music Association, ReachOut, Senior Class, the Student Programming Board, the Asian Student Organization, Students Supporting Israel, Hillel, the International Student Organization, the Columbia College Association of Black Journalists (CCABJ), Hispanic Journalists of Columbia (HJC) and Columbia Pride, the on-campus LGBT student group. Other notable organizations are the Latino Alliance and Black Student Union, two of the oldest student groups on campus. These student organizations work together to provide leadership training and experience to Columbia students so they will be ready to take on leadership roles in their future places of employment.


Student Government Association

The Student Government Association (SGA) consists of an executive board, the Senate, and committees. The executive board, or E-Board, consists of the president, executive vice president, vice president of communications, vice president of finance, and the student representative to the college board of trustees. The Senate consists of student representatives from each of the colleges academic departments, eight senators "at-large" who represent the college community as a whole, two senators who represent the college's vast commuter population, one senators from the Student Organization Council, one senator from the Student Athletics Association, and two senators from the Residence Hall Association. From those senators there are six committees, each with a different focus. SGA Senate meetings are open to the public and are held on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. during the academic year.


Notable alumni and faculty members


Reception, reputation, and awards

In 2013, Animation Career Review ranked Columbia College Chicago as the Midwest's Top Animation and Game Design School. Nationally, Columbia College Chicago is ranked #8. In 2010, GamePro listed Columbia College Chicago in their list of "6 Game Design Schools to Watch". In 2010, Columbia Journalism students won an Emmy Award in the Student News Feature category for the piece "Youth Programs Aim to Combat Chicago Violence" In 2011, YouTube chose Columbia College Chicago and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts to launch the first YouTube Creator Institute programs.


See also

* List of colleges and universities in Chicago * Manifest (urban arts festival)


References


External links

* {{authority control Columbia College Chicago, 1890 establishments in Illinois Art schools in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1890 Film schools in Illinois Universities and colleges in Chicago Vocational education in the United States Private universities and colleges in Illinois