Columbia World Projects draws on knowledge and resources from across our departments, schools, and campuses in ambitious pursuit of what I call the Fourth Purpose of universities — advancing human welfare by merging our distinctive intellectual capacities with groups and organizations beyond the academy to bring about meaningful change.
Columbia University is committed to achieving a ‘Fourth Purpose’ for the University of advancing human welfare and confronting the great challenges of our time.
We do this by;
Connecting scholars, thought leaders, practitioners, and emerging young leaders from across academic, government, civil society, and private sectors to identify interdisciplinary, actionable solutions.
Empowering leaders and community actors through innovative training programs to enhance social impact skills at distinct stages in their leadership journeys.
Accelerating research, practice, and policy initiatives with the potential for achieving social impact.
To date, CWP has launched the CWP Impact Awards for faculty and researchers, the Early Career Faculty Impact Fellowship, and the Social Impact Fellowship for students, with additional planned programing to come.
Learn more about this commitment, and Columbia World Projects' role in it, in the University's Fourth Purpose report.