Barnard College: A Legacy of Empowering Women Through Education
Introduction
Barnard College, a private women's liberal arts college in New York City, stands as a testament to the enduring pursuit of rigorous education for women. Affiliated with Columbia University, Barnard has a rich history marked by its founding in 1889, driven by the vision of providing women with the same challenging educational opportunities available to men. This article explores the origins, evolution, and unique identity of Barnard College.
The Genesis of Barnard College
In the late 19th century, Columbia University, like many institutions of higher learning, restricted admission to white men. Despite arguments from its 10th president, Frederick A.P. Barnard, for the admission of women, the Columbia Board of Trustees maintained its stance. However, they agreed to create a syllabus for women to earn a certificate from the University, though they were prevented from joining regular classes. This sparked dissatisfaction among a group of New York City women, led by the determined student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who sought more comprehensive educational opportunities.
Meyer, along with a dedicated committee, petitioned the University Trustees for the creation of an affiliated, self-sustaining liberal arts women's college. Their efforts culminated in the establishment of Barnard College, named in honor of Frederick A.P. Barnard, who had championed the cause of women's education.
Early Years and Growth
Barnard's first class convened in 1889 in a rented brownstone on Madison Avenue, with a faculty of six and fourteen students enrolled in the School of Arts. Nine years later, the College relocated to its present location in Morningside Heights.
In 1900, Barnard was integrated into the educational system of Columbia University, with unique provisions that set it apart from other women's colleges. While sharing instruction, libraries, and degrees with the university, Barnard maintained its own board of trustees, faculty, dean, endowment, and facilities.
Read also: Entrepreneurship Program
A Mission of Empowerment
From its inception, Barnard's mission has been to empower intelligent, ambitious women by providing a rigorous and relevant academic community where women can thrive as leaders. This commitment to women's education has attracted remarkable individuals throughout its history.
Margaret Mead, the renowned anthropologist, transferred to Barnard as a sophomore. Zora Neale Hurston, celebrated author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God," became Barnard's first black graduate. Ntozake Shange, a groundbreaking playwright, and Edwidge Danticat, a National Book Award nominee, are among the many accomplished alumnae who have shaped literature and culture. Erica Jong redefined a generation of feminists with her novel Fear of Flying.
Navigating the tides of change
The relationship between Barnard and Columbia has evolved over time, marked by periods of cooperation and tension.
Early cooperation
Columbia president Seth Low was more favorably disposed toward Barnard, with his wife Anne serving on the Barnard board. Seth personally underwrote the initial salaries of Barnard’s first three permanent faculty appointments in 1895.
Challenges and negotiations
Nicholas Murray Butler was more skeptical of Barnard’s place in the University, while Dean Smith’s successor, Laura Drake Gill, was less adroit at managing the relationship. Gill’s resignation in 1907 led to a four-year period in which Barnard’s continued existence as a free-standing unit within the University remained very much in doubt. Resistance from parts of the Barnard board staved off the merger until a compromise was effected in early 1911 whereby the Barnard deanship went to Virginia C. Gildersleeve, a Barnard graduate (1899), an assistant professor of English at both Barnard and Columbia, and the personal choice of President Butler.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Student Planning
During the interwar years, several male faculty initially appointed at Barnard either migrated to Columbia or held appointments in bith the Barnard faculty and one of the University’s graduate faculties.
The two decades following World War II constituted an era of “benign neglect,” in which Columbia allowed Barnard to operate with little oversight or interference. These generous arrangements ended abruptly with the naming of William McGill to the Columbia presidency in 1970.
Columbia goes co-ed
In 1983, Columbia College finally admitted women, fulfilling Frederick A.P. Barnard's vision from a century earlier. This decision led to concerns about Barnard's future, but the college has continued to thrive as a distinct institution with a unique mission.
Last ditch efforts in 1981 by Barnard president Ellen V. Futter (1980-1993) to assure Columbia College “defacto co-education” by Barnard providing students sufficient to make Columbia classes 40% women failed when the lost-revenue estimates Barnard would experience proved prohibitive. Columbia announced in late December 1981 that it would begin enrolling women students in the fall of 1983. A deal was then negotiated between the two boards whereby Barnard agreed to change the 1900 Agreement allowing Columbia College to admit women, and where Columbia modified the terms of the 1973 Ad Hoc policy affecting Barnard faculty tenure cases in a way favored by Barnard.
For Columbia, the opening of the College to women brought immediate positive results. The overall quality of its recruitment improved markedly, allowing the College thereafter to steadily increase its size (and revenues). Meanwhile, alumni support for the move was if not unanimous, widespread.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Barnard Transfer Requirements
Barnard’s resurgence
For Barnard, the results were slower coming. The College continued to struggle, despite innovations in recruitment, with expanding its applications in a period when college-agers were in decline and women’s colleges in general were losing market share.
The opening of a fourth dormitory in 1988 that allowed the College to guarantee all students admitted campus housing and the increased attractiveness of Barnard course offerings enticing Columbia students westward allowed Barnard turn a decisive corner. The increasing attractiveness of New York City provided an added boost to both Barnard and Columbia, while Columbia’s economic recovery during the Sovern presidency allowed Barnard-Columbia relations to lose its “beggar-thy-neighbor” quality that obtained in the 1970s and much of the 1980s.
Academic Excellence and Opportunities
Barnard College offers Bachelor of Arts degree programs in approximately 50 areas of study. Students can also pursue joint programs for Bachelor of Science degrees with Columbia University, the Juilliard School, and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Barnard students are required to complete liberal arts general education requirements, known as Foundations, which include courses in the sciences, foreign languages, arts/humanities, and social sciences.
Barnard students have access to the libraries at Columbia University, and the college has always maintained a library of its own. The Barnard Zine Library is a unit of the Barnard Library and Academic Information Systems (BLAIS). Zine collections target primarily female, default queer, intentionally of color, and gender expansive topics.
Campus Life and Traditions
Barnard College provides a vibrant campus life with a range of extracurricular activities and traditions. Every Barnard student is part of the Student Government Association (SGA), which elects a representative student government. Barnard students can join extracurricular activities or organizations at Columbia University, while Columbia University students are allowed in most, but not all, Barnard organizations.
Barnard's McIntosh Activities Council organizes various community focused events on campus, such as Big Sub and Midnight Breakfast.
Barnard students participate in various sororities. Barnard Greek Games: One of Barnard's oldest traditions, the Barnard Greek Games were first held in 1903, and occurred annually until the Columbia University protests in 1968. Since then they have been sporadically revived.
Take Back the Night: Each April, Barnard and Columbia students participate in the Take Back the Night march and speak-out. This annual event grew out of a 1988 Seven Sisters conference.
Midnight breakfast marks the beginning of finals week. As a highly popular event and long-standing college tradition, Midnight Breakfast is hosted by the student-run activities council, McAC (McIntosh Activities Council). In addition to providing standard breakfast foods, each year's theme is also incorporated into the menu. Past themes have included "I YUMM the 90s," "Grease," and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." The event is a school-wide affair as college deans, trustees and the president serve food to about a thousand students.
Big Sub: Toward the beginning of each fall semester, Barnard College supplies a 700+ feet long subway sandwich. Students from the college can take as much of the sub as they can carry. The sub has kosher, dairy free, vegetarian, and vegan sections.
Affiliation with Columbia University
Barnard College is an affiliated institution and a faculty of Columbia University. Both institutions evaluate Barnard faculty for tenure, and Barnard tenured professors are also Columbia tenured professors. Barnard students wear the same graduation gown as undergraduates from Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of General Studies, and their degrees are conferred during the University Commencement ceremony.
Despite the affiliation, Barnard is legally and financially separate from Columbia, with its own independent faculty and board of trustees. Barnard is responsible for its own admissions, health, security, guidance and placement services, and has its own alumnae association.
Barnard students and faculty are represented in the University Senate, and student organizations such as the Columbia Daily Spectator are open to all students. Barnard athletes compete in the Ivy League (NCAA Division I) through the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium, making Barnard the only women's college offering Division I athletics.
Notable Alumnae
Barnard College has produced a remarkable array of alumnae who have made significant contributions in various fields. These include leaders in science, religion, politics, the Peace Corps, medicine, law, education, communications, theater, and business, as well as acclaimed actors, architects, artists, astronauts, engineers, human rights activists, inventors, musicians, philanthropists, and writers.
tags: #barnard #college #logo #history
