The Committee on Global Thought was established by Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger in 2006 with the mission of enhancing the school's engagement with global issues. As the current events and concerns of the world are increasingly the subject of our academic focus, new structures need to be developed to facilitate avenues of inquiry that can identify and explain global phenomena. These issues, from democratization to supra-national governance to the role of new communication technologies, often fall between the conventional borders of academic disciplines. The Committee on Global Thought is designed to bridge these gaps, expanding cross-disciplinary connections to develop new ways to analyze and address the challenges and opportunities of globalization.

Since its inception, the Committee on Global Thought has grown to eighteen distinguished faculty members from all corners of the University. Their diverse scholarship addresses a broad spectrum of issues, but is united by parallels of global processes that assert themselves ever-more forcefully. In this respect, even seemingly disparate lines of inquiry may prove to be inextricably intertwined. The Committee on Global Thought provides a forum for these connections to be made, strengthened and interrogated. The Committee on Global Thought also recognizes that this dynamic new field of study is enhanced by drawing on resources beyond the traditional realm of academia. The Committee on Global Thought actively pursues the contributions of policy makers, journalists, architects and urban planners, practitioners from the international financial community, filmmakers, artists, and representatives of international, non-governmental and non-profit institutions.

The Committee on Global Thought disseminates this knowledge via public events and private seminars, publications, an undergraduate outreach program and a post-doctoral research scholars program, among other avenues. Several new academic programs are currently under development.