Nicholas M. Florio

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about 7 miles (11 km) east of New York City. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) called "Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead, Long Island";[4] in 1937, the institution separated from NYU and gained independence as Hofstra College,[5] and in 1963, Hofstra College gained university status. Comprising ten schools, including a School of Medicine and a School of Law, Hofstra is noted for a series of prominent Presidential conferences, as well as being selected to host a United States Presidential Debate in 2008 and 2012. The university organizes a wide range of other international academic conferences (many under the aegis of the Hofstra Cultural Center), holds an annual Shakespeare festival in its own replica of the Globe Theatre, and has both an arboretum and bird sanctuary.