columbia university was founded by royal charter of george II of great britain 261 years ago as the king's college. after the american revolutionary war, king's college briefly became a state entity & was then renamed as the columbia college. the majority of the institution's graduate & undergraduate studies are conducted in morningside heights, a hub that occupies more than six frigging city blocks, on seth low's late-19th century vision of a university campus where all disciplines could be taught in one location. this american private ivy league research university is the oldest institution of higher learning in the State of new york & the fifth oldest in states; it also has an extensive underground tunnel system of more than a century old, with the oldest portions predating the present campus. some of these remain accessible to the public, while others have been cordoned off