President of Columbia
As president (known as "PrezBo"), Bollinger has attempted to expand the international scope of the University, taking frequent trips abroad and inviting world leaders to its campus. Bollinger has been criticized for taking a neutral public position on controversies regarding the Middle East Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) department placing the department in receivership. He has also been at the forefront of criticism for his role advocating the expansion of the university into the Manhattanville neighborhood and the possible use of eminent domain to help it seize property there. The Bollinger administration's expansion plans have been criticized as fundamentally incompatible with the 197/a plan for development crafted by the community, and for failing to address the neighborhood's need to maintain affordable housing stock. The local resistance to Columbia's plans continues a long tradition of opposition to the University's development plans.
President Bollinger has lived in the Columbia President's House since February 2004, after the building underwent a $23 million renovation. In 2008, his salary was $1.7 million.
In November 2006, Bollinger was elected to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City, a term lasting for three years.
Read more about this topic: Lee Bollinger
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