Bollinger and Murphy Statements

Below are the official announcements from both Columbia President Lee Bollinger and now-outgoing Athletic Director Dianne Murphy on Murphy's upcoming departure:

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

I write to inform you that earlier this summer Dr. M. Dianne Murphy shared with me that she will be stepping down from her role as Columbia’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education at the end of this academic year.  She will then have completed a decade of remarkable service to the University, a period during which she has led the transformation of our athletics program and overseen an unprecedented record of success in the modern history of Columbia Athletics.

When I appointed Dianne as our Athletics Director, it was with the understanding that Columbia expects excellence in all that we do, whether in the classroom, the research lab, or our athletic competitions.  Her dedication has enabled our student-athletes to meet that high standard consistent with the demanding academic and competitive values of the Ivy League.  Since the 2004-05 academic year, Columbia Athletics has won 26 Ivy League team championships in 11 different sports, the most in any single decade in the University’s history.

This decade of achievement was capped in emphatic fashion throughout the 2013-14 seasons, which were filled with team and individual Ivy championships.  Last spring alone, Columbia won a second straight baseball crown, had an undefeated Ivy League record in Men’s Tennis (an Ivy champion that only fell in the NCAA tournament to the nation’s top-ranked team), won several Men’s Golf championships, and won a national championship in Lightweight Rowing.  Those successes followed fall and winter seasons highlighted by the Women’s Swimming team’s undefeated run of Ivy League dual meets and a Men’s Basketball team that won the most games in nearly half a century, including its first two post-season tournament games since 1968.  Completing this past year’s remarkable record, Columbia also claimed Ivy League titles in Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Fencing.

These team victories were mirrored by our student-athletes who competed in individual events, winning ten Ivy League individual and relay event championships in swimming and track and field.  Over the past ten years, Columbia athletes have won 128 individual championships, the fourth most in the Ivy League during that period.  Overall, Columbia finished in the top 21 percent of 292 Division 1 schools in the NACDA Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings for 2013-14, the highest finish for Columbia since the competition was launched in 1993.  Dianne has spearheaded upgrades to Baker Athletics Complex, helped realize the new Campbell Sports Center, initiated the Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame, and added Men’s and Women’s Squash as Columbia’s 30th and 31st varsity sports programs, while leading a historic fundraising campaign to support Columbia Athletics.  Dianne’s commitment to recruiting talented coaches in all areas has been essential to our progress.  And in sports that have not yet achieved up to their potential, she has continued to recruit exceptional coaches with a mandate to improve.

In the year ahead we will have many opportunities to honor Dianne for her service to Columbia and to intercollegiate athletics nationally.  We will also have ample time for a search committee to work with me on finding a successor who can build on the extraordinary foundation she has established.  At a fundamental level, Dianne’s impact has been to change our collective expectations for Columbia Athletics.  And you can’t ask for more than that.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger

Dear Friends of Columbia Athletics:

I am writing to let you know that earlier this summer, I let President Lee C. Bollinger know of my decision to step down from my position as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education at Columbia University, effective June 30, 2015. I am proud to have served as Columbia’s Athletics Director for the past ten years – and incredibly gratified at all that we have been able to accomplish together since my arrival in 2004. I know that the time is right for new leadership to build on what we have achieved, and take our Department to the next level.

In recent years, Columbia has experienced a renaissance in intercollegiate athletics – and we have laid a real foundation for continued progress and success in all our varsity sports and physical education and recreational programs. I am so privileged to have collaborated with so many great people – at the University, and on my staff – who have brought us to this point.

I am so proud to have worked closely with President Bollinger. His visionary leadership and belief in me, personally, and what we do in Athletics has made all the difference. I am also appreciative of the incredible support that we have received from the University Trustees, especially Chair Emeritus Bill Campbell, among so many other Trustees and Trustees Emeriti.

I have had such an amazing opportunity to get to know so many Columbians and Columbia parents, fans and friends personally. Your passion for our great University and our varsity teams is what sustains us, and your overwhelming generosity over the years has enabled our student-athletes and coaches to pursue and achieve success.

In addition to our 26 Ivy League Team Championships and the incredible performances of our talented student-athletes over the past decade, one of the highlights of my tenure was the completion of the $100 Million Columbia Campaign for Athletics: Achieving Excellence this past December. Through the Campaign, the largest in the history of our athletics program, we have truly revitalized the athletics program – with the construction of the award-winning Campbell Sports Center, and the infusion of capital throughout all our programs and initiatives. We are indebted to the men and women who served on our Campaign Leadership Committee, chaired by Bill Campbell and Robert K. Kraft, as well as the Co-Chairs of The Columbia Campaign, Richard Witten and Philip Milstein, for their inclusion of athletics towards the University’s record-breaking six-billion-dollar fundraising effort.

Our success over the past ten years would not have been possible without the incredible dedication of our coaches, athletics administrators and staff. I am so grateful for their hard work on behalf of our student-athletes and the entire Columbia community. I am also greatly appreciative of my University colleagues who have provided me and our Department with unbelievable support. Most notably, I thank Special Advisor to the President Susan K. Feagin for her incredible friendship, insight and counsel over the years.

Over the next several months, President Bollinger will conduct a national search for my successor. In the meantime – for the entire 2014-15 academic year – I will remain fully engaged as Athletics Director, leading our coaches, student-athletes, athletics administrators and staff in pursuit of excellence. As you must certainly be aware, leadership change in all organizations is inevitable. Because athletics is an important part of the fabric of the campus community, our goal throughout this entire academic year will be to ensure a seamless transition for our Department and the entire University.

The support and camaraderie that I have personally experienced throughout my years at Columbia means more than I can say, especially in one letter. Whether individually or collectively, you have been an important part of my incredible experience as Columbia’s Athletics Director. I thank you for your passion for Columbia and Columbia Athletics.

Roar, Lion, Roar!

Best regards,

M. Dianne Murphy

Director, Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education