Welcome to the website of the Columbia University Club of Washington, D.C. (CUCDC)! And if you're new to metro DC, welcome to life in our nation's capital-city region. CUCDC events unite the Columbia University family to carry on the traditions Intellectual rigor Curiosity  Enjoying life in the company of similarly talented people -- traditions we all remember as being so very central to our experience at one of Columbia's 13 schools.

These events include lectures by visiting professors, informal dinners with graduates who have published books recently, professional networking events, receptions at various embassies, private tours of prominent DC museums and collections, and, of course, that staple of post-graduation life in a big metro area -- especially for younger graduates -- happy hours (both Columbia-exclusive, and in collaboration with the other Ivy League schools' clubs here in metro DC).

Events occur conveniently in downtown DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Although club events are open to all Columbians -- and most lectures are even open to the general public, should they find out about them -- the CUCDC board would like to alert you to the fact that we are a membership-based organization. Annual dues are $40 (or to put it in even more Columbia-centric terms: 4-Alexander Hamiltons) -- except for recent graduates of the University, who enjoy free membership for 2 years. The member discount ranges from $10 to $20, depending on the nature of the event. So after 5 events -- or maybe just 2, 3, or 4 -- your membership pays for itself.

We certainly don't aim to gouge anyone, but the reality is the DC region is bustling. Securing the venues where our events occur presupposes resources. Although we always try to find a graduate who can help us by donating space for a given event, your dues enable CUCDC to operate from a position of strength, confident that when we get that great speaker, we'll have a convenient, commodious environment in which to listen and learn, one that befits our collective standards and the University's.

For less than $4 a month, you'll hear about -- and enjoy preferential prices for -- lectures by the like of Attorney General (and College and Law graduate) Eric Holder, Professors Eric Foner and Simon Schama, and the vice dean of the Business School, Chris Mayer -- to cite but a few highlights of our 2009 calendar of events. We're even trying to cultivate a certain other prominent graduate of the College, living in a lovely neoclassical house painted white ...

All in all, it's win-win. There are over 10,000 graduates of Columbia's various schools in the NoVa-DC-Baltimore corridor, and the CUCDC board strives to build this network from that dry fact of "10,000". When we show up, and come together, the power of our network grows. Remember: The Power of the Columbia Network Starts With You.

So come join us at a CUCDC event soon. We're confident that it won't be your last.