CUSP ADMINISTRATION

DR. LAVINIA E. LORCH (lel52@columbia.edu)
     Senior Assistant Dean, Student Affairs
     Director, Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program

Born and raised on the Columbia campus, Lavinia Lorch earned her B.A. summa cum laude from Barnard College as a Senior Scholar and her PhD in Classics from Columbia University where she taught both Latin and Literature Humanities.  Lorch’s teaching career includes Latin and Greek at Vassar College and French at New York’s New School for Social Research as well as language and literature classes in several private city high schools.  She is the recipient of the Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowship for Greek Studies, the Lawrence H. Chamberlain Fellowship, the President’s Fellowship, the Murray Fellowship for the Humanities, and the Mary Allison Prize for General Excellence in Scholarship.  She has published on Euripides as well as Ovid and Dante, has translated poetry from Greek, Italian and French, has lectured both in the States and abroad, and played the lead role in Euripides’ Medea performed off Broadway in ancient Greek.  Lorch’s academic interests lie in relating and applying the lessons of classical literature and philosophy to real world issues.

In the Fall of 2000, Lorch was hired to design, implement, and direct the Scholars Program at Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.  Until 2005 she also directed the university’s Fellowships office which prepares and advises students for prestigious national fellowships. Lorch’s previous experience in educational administration includes ten years working in New York City's private school system, specifically in bilingual bicultural settings.  She served as the founding Headmistress of La Scuola New York (now La Scuola d’Italia), and later worked at the Lycée Français de New York as Director of the English Program, Director of Admissions, and Academic and Administrative Director. Believing in the philosophy of educating the complete individual, Lorch focuses on implementing interdisciplinary projects and paracurricular programs in collaboration with colleagues and professionals in diverse fields.  

Lorch spends weekends at her Catskills New York farm with her husband, Michael van Biema, and their children, Fiamma and Tristan, raising a barnful of animals including llamas, alpacas, goats and chickens.

TARA M. SPENCER (tms2105@columbia.edu)
     Advising Dean, Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program/Center for Student Advising
     Chair, CUSP Alliance Executive Council

Prior to joining the Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program, Tara Spencer earned invaluable experience working with U.S. Congressmen on Capitol Hill, Fortune 500 insurance brokers at Marsh & McLennan, and talented young researchers in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate National Fellowship Program where she served as Assistant Director of the Columbia Chapter.  Spencer earned a B.A. in History from Princeton University and an interdisciplinary M.A. from Columbia University’s Graduate School in Arts and Sciences.   Her research on intersectional identity politics (focusing on personal narratives, artistic expressions, and oral histories) as a method for understanding historical subjects, sociopolitical movements, and the creation of cultural space, won several honors and research grants including the Ruth J. Simmons Thesis Prize, the Institute for Research in African American Studies Master’s Thesis Research Grant, the Princeton University Thesis Grant in African American Studies, and the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowship (honorary mention).  In 2004 and 2006, Spencer was an invited fellow to Columbia University’s Summer Institute on Oral History.  Spencer’s interest in developing CUSP’s civic engagement philosophy can be traced back to her studying under Robin D.G. Kelley and Manning Marable, who emphasized creative, interdisciplinary approaches to historical studies rooted in historical political praxis—seeking to use history to influence the future; in other words, history as a theoretical interrogation. 

Outside Columbia, Spencer focuses her energy into Red Monsoon Arts Collaborative, an organization she co-founded, which brings together progressive artists, activists, social entrepreneurs, and philanthropists, seeking to enact social change in their communities.  Red Monsoon provides a shared socio-political safe-space that fosters dialogue, creative expression, and the tools for implementation.  In the future, Spencer plans to use this organization as a foundation for an intergenerational and intercultural salon-like space (reminiscent of Café Society in the Beatnik era) in Harlem which invites informed discussion and cross-cultural engagement.  Spencer is also a double silver medalist in Sparring and Forms at the National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Championships and, as an undergraduate, enjoyed playing flanker and full back with the Princeton University Rugby Women’s Football Club.

JENNIFER M. PRUDENCIO (jmp2163@columbia.edu)
     Advising Counselor, Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program/Center for Student Advising
     Leadership Development Advisor, CUSP Alliance Executive Council

Jennifer Prudencio received her BA from Saint Louis University in Missouri where she studied psychology, sociology, and biology. Frequently in inquiry about the Asian-American psyche, Jennifer's research led her to be an invited speaker to the National Association for Student Personnel Administration (NASPA) as well as various social science research conferences. Prudencio received numerous awards, including the Psychology Sayons Research Award, the Student Hall of Fame Honor, and the Kathy W. Humphrey Award for Diversity. From researching the effects of outmigration on college student development in the Philippines to expanding diversity and leadership programs in college, this summa cum laude graduate developed a strong thirst for public service and higher education.

Prudencio received the 2005 Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, a post-graduate experiential leadership training program geared towards teaching leaders how to translate vision into action for improving communities. Trained in general semantics and working with a team of 14 talented individuals, she gained experience in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and education sectors. She carried out rigorous projects, including transformational leadership programs for high level executives and analyses of community-school partnerships to build local involvement. To further build her interest in collaborations between universities and communities, she received her M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education focusing on social/comparative analysis. Her intellectual inquiry about curriculum, pedagogy, civic engagement, and student development in the collegiate world are always in movement through all aspects of this wonderful job she calls home.

During non-CUSP hours, Prudencio works closely with college preparatory programs in high schools near her hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She also engages in educational outreach with youth organizations for Filipino immigrants and Filipino-Americans. She can also be found ballroom dancing, hip hop dancing, and eating at delicious restaurants around the city.

GLENDA GONZALEZ (gg2312@columbia.edu)
     Administrative Assistant, Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program/Center for Advising

Glenda Lee Gonzalez received her BA from Marymount Manhattan College where she majored in the history, theory, trends and effects of all forms of communication-from interpersonal to mass media, and from producing video to hands-on multimedia authoring. Upon graduation, Gonzalez worked for Cductive, a pioneering online music store. Realizing that her passion was working with people in more hands-on ventures than behind the camera, she went on to work for Dr. John Bonamo an orthopedic surgeon (and former sports medicine doctor for the NY Yankees!!!) at New York University Medical Center. She learned that watching a patient slowly get better expands your heart and sharing in that delight expands theirs. Gonzalez later spent 3 years working for Kluge & Company and Metromedia Fiber Network, two of Mr. John Kluge's companies, where she gained invaluable experience. Gonzalez states, "it truly was an honor to have worked for such a generous man, for someone who is still so grateful to Columbia University for the academic scholarship he received, and believes that helping students today is an extension of the support he once received." She is delighted to be working again in a venture so closely connected to John Kluge's philosophy of life and education!

Her pastimes include working out, playing sports, watching Adam Sandler movies, spending time with her three cats (Gia, Ren, & Gray) and hanging out with her family-her nieces Kennedy and Kiara are the best. Spending time with them keeps her young, energized and always laughing.

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