<p>Good questions. For one, you have a lot more availability now, and for another, a lot more stimulation and excitement. The department was always strong; now it’s brilliant, as it was till the late 60s, when due to the riots at Columbia and the general decline of New York, it lost faculty and students. Anyway, I personally find the distinction between grad and undergrad irrelevant; and particularly so at Columbia, where the two in fact can and do mingle quite a bit (to the benefit of both).</p>
<p>I think the trend is right now in the acceleration phase. In the few years before, the department recruited a couple of big names – Sachs and Stiglitz – but in the last two years, it recruited fourteen people; and it seems several more are to follow. Further, many of these new scholars know each and work together, which should add to the cohesiveness of the department.</p>
<p>A rising elevator is always more fun than a still one, and Columbia is one rising elevator.</p>