The P&S Alumni Association and You

Pictured Left to right: Katherine Couchells, Mary Garris, Elizabeth Williams, Sonia Winters, Faye Farese, Peter Wortsman

Associate Dean: Anke Nolting, Ph.D.
Email: aln1@columbia.edu
Director: Elizabeth Williams
Email: ej75@columbia.edu

Back To The Future

Welcome to the Alumni Association of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the oldest (and most congenial) medical school alumni group in the nation. Your membership really began the day you became a P&S student and will continue throughout your life. You are what we’re all about! Our goal is to insure the quality of your education and the quality of your life while you’re here.

Back in 1859, a couple of P&S graduates got together to foster a sense of fellowship and, above all, to serve as a benevolent influence on the future of the school. One of the Association’s first philanthropic acts was to raise money to build a laboratory and lecture hall. After 145 years, with a membership now at 7,130, we remain committed to your present and our shared future.

  • The Home-Away-From-Home Program matches new students with interested New York City Metropolitan area alumni on the basis of common concerns in medicine/research, alma maters and hobbies. The purpose is to promote mentor relationships and to help students cope with the often difficult transitional period in the first year.

  • The Parents’ Day Program, an annual gathering at P&S, gives parents, other family members and significant others an opportunity to put themselves in students’ shoes and get a feel for the rigors and pleasures of the P&S student experience.

  • The Minority Students’ Recruitment Program is coordinated by the Association’s Committee on Minority Student Affairs in conjunction with the Dean’s Office and the Black and Latino Students’ Organization. The Alumni Association hosts an annual dinner for minority applicants, students, alumni and faculty.

  • The Externship Program permits students to get a real taste of medical life by spending a week shadowing alumni in their practice. Students generally reside with alumni, who, teaching by example, serve in the capacity of adjunct members to the P&S faculty.

  • At Career Forums, sponsored by the Association through the Student-Alumni Relations Committee, alumni and faculty panelists from a variety of fields share their professional experiences and insights, helping current students make informed career choices.

  • The Alumni/ae Career Advisory Service, a program established in 1997, sponsored by the Association, serves as a long-term resource assisting P&S students in their career decisions during and after medical school.

  • The Host Program. To help smooth your transition from student to professional, the P&S Alumni Association sponsors an alumni-student Host Program. Our far-flung P&S alumni have always opened their homes and hearts to students on an informal basis. Many alumni around the country participate in this program to officially host visiting students during their internship and residency interviews, offering lodging and an insider’s glimpse at what it’s really like to practice in a particular field and geographic area.

As alumni-to-be, students play an important role in the work and deliberations of the Alumni Association. Our primary link is the Student-Alumni Relations Committee, whose student and alumni members meet regularly to address the most pressing student needs and concerns.

The Association supports a wide variety of student-related projects, including social events, scholarships and financial aid. We also take a special interest in Bard Hall, the student dorm, and designate funds for its improvement. You are the current beneficiary of the largesse of generations of P&S alumni whose staunch support is keeping your classrooms and lecture halls, laboratories, library, computer links and health and fitness facility at the cutting edge.

Long a mainstay of student life, the P&S Club, of which we are an enthusiastic sponsor, offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, including sports, concerts and theatrical performances

Our door is always open to you. The P&S Alumni Relations Office is located in Room 250 of the Black Building, at 630 West 168th Street. Please stop by and get acquainted with Alumni Director, Kathy Couchells and the staff. Or call us at (212) 305-1472.