Event: The Power Shift: Rethinking the University-Government-Big Tech Relationship
Time: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (Doors open at 5:00 p.m.)
Location:
The Forum at Columbia University
Foyer (Second Floor)
601 West 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
Registration Link: https://events.columbia.edu/go/thepowershift
Description: Since World War II, research universities have been deeply shaped by government funding and influence. But today, the balance is shifting: Silicon Valley is emerging as a new epicenter of research, sometimes displacing and sometimes bankrolling academic work.
This panel, “The Power Shift: Rethinking the University-Government-Big Tech Relationship,” will explore how universities are confronting these competing forces of government and industry, and ask what it will take to preserve academic independence in a rapidly changing landscape.
Panelists:
Angela Olinto, Professor of Astronomy and of Physics and Provost, Columbia University
Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor, Financial Times
Michael Belinksky, Director in the AI Institute, Schmidt Sciences
Moderator:
Alexander Cooley, Claire Tow Professor of Political Science, Barnard College
This event belongs to a new interdisciplinary series, The Future of Academic Freedom: Universities and the Erosion of Democratic Norms, organized by SIPA’s Technology, Policy & Innovation concentration, Columbia World Projects, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue.
