What happened to the Dart Center at Columbia?

For more than 15 years, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma operated out of Columbia University, providing journalists with resources to ethically report on survivors of violence and grapple with the toll of that reporting.

That changed this summer when Columbia suddenly decided to “sunset” the center. The Dart Center’s website stopped working, returning an error. At a time when journalists are facing an unprecedented level of hostility and stress — much of it incited by those at the highest echelons of power, including the president of the United States — the center seemed to have disappeared. Gone were the years of tipsheets, research and resources the center had amassed on everything from covering war to interviewing child victims to dealing with hate campaigns.

On Facebook, the center’s page was renamed to the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. A website popped up under the new name, preserving the center’s old resources. On Aug. 1, the Facebook page reshared a post from Bruce Shapiro, who had been with the Dart Center since its founding and had most recently served as its executive director.