Columbia University – “Great place if you want something stable.”

Pros

The location of the university is awesome, being as it is on Manhattan. The caliber of colleagues is very high, many of them have studied at Columbia themselves. Everyone is really sharp. The opportunities for study are very good, tuition is free for employees and I think it is a policy that you must allow an employee to take one daytime class at a time (in other words they won't try to interfere with your going to class.)

Cons

Not much room for advancement, slow pace, somewhat political. It can be easy to get into a daily grind, and forget how to be creative and entrepreneurial in what you do.

Advice to Senior Management

Find a way to make salary/promotion more tied to performance, even if it means making total compensation for everyone more of a bonus-based system. 3% raise every year no matter what just doesn't cut it.