Nelson was recruited to Columbia from Yale in 2009 as an Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies. She was the first African American to be tenured in the Department of Sociology at this institution. At Columbia, she directed the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality, was the founding co-director of the Columbia University Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Council,[5] and was Dean of Social Science[6] for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.[7] As dean, Nelson led the first strategic planning process for the social sciences at Columbia University,[8] successfully restructured the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and helped to establish several initiatives, including the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity program,[9] the Eric J. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights,[10] the June Jordan Fellowship Program,[11] and the Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies.[12] She left the Columbia University faculty in June 2019 to assume the Linder chair at the Institute for Advanced Study.