Charles Hammond, Jr. is the Department Assistant for the Business and Entrepreneurship Program and a Columbia College alum. Charles is busy making sure the department runs like a well-oiled machine and still finds time for his own artistic pursuits.

Can you tell us a little bit about your professional (and maybe academic) background at Columbia?

I am the Department Assistant for Business and Entrepreneurship, and I assist with the day-to-day operations of the department, which includes assisting our Department Chair, along with the full- and part-time faculty with various needs. I also, in collaboration with the Chair, hire and supervise our students, both student workers and graduate assistants. While there are a number of other duties that I perform in this role, for the sake of time, that Cliff’s Notes version should suffice.

I am also a Columbia graduate and received my Bachelor of Arts in the Interdisciplinary fields of Vocal Performance (Music Dept.) and Music Business (Business and Entrepreneurship).

What is it about Business and Entrepreneurship that brought you to our department?

Since early childhood, I have always had a keen interest in music, performing, and more recently the visual arts, and just as much of an interest in the inner workings of each discipline from a business standpoint. I think what drew me to the Business Department had more to do with my own artistic pursuits and wanting to know how I could become as knowledgeable as possible about capitalizing on and, in some cases, making my own professional opportunities in the arts.

You are the eyes and ears of the department. During your time here, have you uncovered any secrets or fun facts that not many folks would know about us?

I think that one of the biggest fun facts about the Business Department is that the front window view from the office makes for some of the BEST Instagram posts, haha.

What’s a fun fact about you that we could share with faculty and students?

Speaking of The Gram, haha….  Even with my love for music, over the past few years I have developed a love for photography and the visual arts, which is most evident on my Instagram page. It’s just inspiring to me to know that even though I started out with one artistic pursuit, it has and continues to evolve. For anyone who may be interested, feel free to follow me at:  http://instagram.com/charleshammondjr

We understand that you are a singer.  What kind of music do you sing, and where do you perform?

I perform a variety of styles of music (soul/R&B, jazz, funk, pop, rock, electronic, etc.).  Shameless plug alert (lol), but I guess a good representation of my musical style could be found on my recording projects, which are available on all major streaming outlets (iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, etc.). I currently perform year-round at a variety of private events, and my music and performance schedule can also be found on my website at http://charleshammondjr.com

Where do you fall on The Christmas music debate–yea or nay? And if ‘yea,’ what’s your favorite Christmas song and why?

Yea for Christmas music! I’d probably say that my favorite Christmas song would be “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway, simply because it is the ultimate classic (holiday or not), and I could listen to it any time of the year.

If you could perform/collaborate with one singer–who would you sing with? It can be themed or not!

Just one? Well, if I had to choose, it would probably be Lauryn Hill.