CUAFA Annual Picnic 2025: Building Community, Sharing What We Love: “Research!”

CUAFA Picnic 2025

On September 20th, 2025, the Columbia University Asian Faculty Association (CUAFA) held our annual picnic at Ellington in the Park. More than 90 faculty members, family, and friends gathered to enjoy the crisp fall breeze, delicious food, and the warmth of community.

We were delighted to welcome new colleagues who are only weeks into their Columbia journey, reconnect with long-time members, and former board members who continue to support our mission.

CUAFA President Anil Lalwani opened the event by reminding us that building a stronger community is more important than ever. One theme echoed in many conversations was how much we enjoy learning about one another’s research—and how little time we usually have for it. Out of this realization came an exciting idea: CUAFA Speed Research Sharing.

We hope to launch a new series of community events where CUAFA members will deliver lightning talks highlighting their work, followed by informal networking opportunities. The goal is to foster connections, spark collaborations, and deepen our appreciation of the wide-ranging scholarship across our community.

We’re looking for volunteer organizers (2–3 members per event, each around a broad theme) as well as faculty interested in speaking. If you’d like to help shape or participate in the series, please fill out this short Google form—we’d love to hear from you.

This year’s picnic reminded us that CUAFA is not just an association, but a thriving community of scholars, colleagues, and friends. We look forward to building on this momentum in the months ahead.