SuzanneClair Guard: A Career Devoted to College Financial Aid Draws to an Close
In the world of financial aid, finding money from myriad sources, crunching numbers, and running reports is daily fare. But what makes a lasting impression on potential students is what computers and calculators can't do: giving individualized attention to each applicant.
A caring face from the financial aid office is often a student's first encounter with the College. For nearly 31 years, that face at Barnard has been SuzanneClair Guard, who is retiring June 30 from her position as director of the Office of Financial Aid.
"The students are the ones who have kept me here," Guard says. "I love going to graduation and seeing that smile when they walk across stage, knowing we made a difference. When I'm sitting there, I know the whole story-the sacrifices they made, the student whose parent has cancer, the one who lost both parents."
"Suzanne has shaped our financial aid policies with a rare combination of heart and crystal-clear thinking," says Dean of the College Dorothy Urman Denburg '70. "Her compassion has enabled countless young women to deal with difficult personal circumstances; her integrity and sense of fairness have guided all of her decisions and the formulation of policy. Always responsive to the truly compelling special case, Suzanne has been meticulous about setting precedents and mindful of her fiduciary responsibilities to the College. The rest of us in the administration have been able to sleep better at night knowing that Suzanne was taking care of our students as well as the very sizable chunk of the budget with which she was entrusted."
Guard has stood her ground on aid to Barnard students being need-based and has been committed to making a Barnard education possible for every woman admitted. Fifty-six percent of students receive financial aid of some kind; 39 percent receive a grant directly from Barnard. Over the past 28 years, Guard has awarded $219.6 million in grants from Barnard.
This past fall, Guard was instrumental in establishing a financial aid package that will include housing assistance for students who live within commuting distance of the College. The plan went into effect this year for seniors and will phase in another class each year.
"It's making a huge difference in my conversations with parents," says Guard, who speaks about Barnard and financial aid at high schools in the New York area, and gives financial aid presentations at schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and libraries in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
Guard began her tenure at Barnard in the college activities office. Two years later, Theodore Stock, Barnard's director of financial aid at the time, recruited Guard to be his associate. She did, and soon became the youngest director ever of financial aid at a women's college affiliated with an Ivy League school.
"When I came to Barnard I was the same age as the seniors," Guard notes. "During my first 10 years here, I formed cherished friendships with students who have remained my dearest and closest friends.
"It's going to be a significant void when she leaves," says one of those friends, Maida Chicón '73. "She has been the right person in the right place for the right students for over 30 years."
As an expression of the College's appreciation of her work, a scholarship has been established in Guard's name. For information on donating, contact Reva Feinstein at (212) 854-2943.
-Debbie Harmsen |
