Friday, December 18, 2009

Job Opening: Beijing Executive Director

Columbia University
Office of International Relations
Executive Director


Reporting to the Office of Global Centers in New York, the Executive Director is responsible for leading the Columbia Global Center in Beijing.


Bachelor's degree required. Seven years related experience required.  Advanced academic or professional degree preferred. Prior experience living and/or working in China. Fluency in Mandarin and English. At least 5 years working in academic administration, program development and financial management. Superior interpersonal skills with proven ability to successfully interact and collaborate with varied constituencies in a professional manner. Excellent written and oral communication skills and demonstrating tact and diplomacy working with a wide variety of personalities. Must be a team player and innovative self-starter. Computer proficiency (including Excel and Access) with expert knowledge of the Windows environment. Willing to accept multiple year commitment.


For a full job announcement and to apply, please visit our web site: https://jobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=117235


Req. # 057445


Columbia University is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Roaming for Records

According to Google Book Search, there are over 168,000,000 books in the world. So how does Columbia make sure that its students, faculty, and researchers have access to critical books and primary sources?

One strategy is to partner with researchers and libraries from around the world. Next Saturday, December 14th, Kaoukab Chebaro, a librarian at Columbia’s Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Collection will travel to Columbia University’s Global Center in Amman, Jordan. While visiting Amman, Chebaro will meet with local researchers and librarians to investigate materials that may be of interest to scholars here in New York. New materials, particularly primary resources, could help meet the growing demand here on campus for information on the Middle East and Islam, especially in the Social Sciences departments.


While Cairo and Beirut are the traditional publishing hubs of the Middle East, Amman offers a unique opportunity for two-way collaboration between Columbia University and Jordanian libraries. In addition to researching new materials, Chebaro plans to survey local librarians and researchers to see what their needs are. Columbia staff hope to assist Amman’s libraries by creating instructional workshops on current topics in Information Sciences such as the utilization of free internet resources.

“This trip will be really meaningful on both a professional and personal level,” Chebaro, who is originally from Beirut, explained. While Kaoukab’s visit will certainly build research resources for Columbia University it will also help bridge the wide geographic and cultural distances between Amman and New York.

- Shira Weiner