DEMO Magazine

This 1972 poster for Columbia depicts 540 N. Lake Shore Drive, the school’s then-headquarters, as a hive of creative energy and self-expression. Lined up like the frames of a comic

DEMO: You became president of Columbia in 2013. What has surprised you about the college?

PRESIDENT KIM: A wonderful surprise was coming to understand more of the history. In pa

As Chicago prepared for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, two orators and educators wisely chose the Windy City as the home of a new public speaking college.

From the as

1927–1944: Columbia in Transition

Columbia College of Expression went through a period of great change following the deaths of its founders. The media landscape of the time was ch

In the mid-20th century, Columbia became a hub for veterans eager to enter the rapidly growing fields of radio and television. Columbia adapted to the demand for broadcast training

The Columbia of the ’60s was the ultimate underdog. With flailing enrollment and few resources, the school could have folded. Instead, President Mike Alexandroff turned it into a t

An ever-increasing focus on the student experience and a permanent home in the South Loop continued to transform Columbia through the new millennium. Today, the college thrives as