Columbia University is a prestigious private Ivy League research university located in New York City. It is renowned for strong academic programs in earth and environmental sciences, liberal arts, political science, international relations, and graduate studies in history and social sciences, including its School of International and Public Affairs. Notable alumni include Loewenberg, who earned his BA in Political Science in 1962, and David Horowitz, who earned his BA in English. The university has produced influential figures in journalism, policy, and neoconservatism. Columbia maintains a powerful alumni network across business, politics, media, technology, and academia, fostering significant connections in academic and policy circles. Its faculty have included figures such as Khalilzad, who served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the School of International and Public Affairs from 1979 to 1989. The university's Middle East, South Asia, and African Studies (MEALAC) department was notably the focus of controversy during the "Columbia Unbecoming" campaign.