Judith Shapiro Citation
Barnard College Commencement
May 20, 2008
Judith R. Shapiro. Academic leader. Cultural anthropologist. Teacher and Scholar. Champion of the liberal arts and the education of women. First in the hearts and minds of all who gather here today.
You have traveled the road from Queens, New York to Queen of Academia with uncanny wisdom, ever-present humor, and enviable grace and charm. A graduate of P.S. 26, Jamaica High School, and Brandeis University, you immersed yourself in the jungles of Brazil to study the Tapirapé and Yanomama cultures, always heeding the words of your mentor Margaret Mead — "Now Judith, you must type up your field notes every night, so that if you die suddenly someone else can use them." This research culminated in the Ph.D. you received from Columbia University in 1972.
You went on to become the first woman appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, and eventually, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College. In 1986, you were named Provost of Bryn Mawr, a position you held for next eight years. Then, in what would prove to be the auspicious year of 1994, you walked through the gates at 117th and Broadway to become Barnard's tenth leader.
And Barnard has been serenaded by your presence — and your alto singing voice — for fourteen incredible years. Through the strength of your leadership, we adopted the Nine Ways of Knowing, reshaped the sciences, greatly enriched our partnership with Columbia, dedicated a greenhouse, an alumnae center, a counseling center, a media center, and Cathedral Gardens for both faculty and student housing. You served senior dinners and midnight breakfasts, launched the Barnard Leadership Initiative, developed signature programs and innovative pedagogies, completed a strategic plan and embarked on a master plan. And, because of you and the strength of your vision, the Nexus will transform our campus and the life of the College for generations to come.
Thanks in some considerable measure to your surehanded leadership, Barnard is the most sought after women's college in the country. With you as our president, we have added twelve new faculty chairs, and our endowment has tripled. Our applicant pool has grown in both size and ability to inspire awe, our always outstanding faculty has become even more exceptional, and our visibility has broadened and crystallized.
And, in a way that is that is too rare among academic leaders, you have artfully served the interests of every Barnard constituency — not one at the expense of another. Because of this, you are respected and loved by students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumnae, all.
Beyond Barnard's gates, you have taken time, throughout your distinguished career, to contribute to a variety of learned societies and to serve on numerous boards. In turn, you have been duly honored — as an inductee in the American Philosophical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Anthropology Society, and the Council on Foreign Relations. And, with an eye to the future, you were recently named as Board Chair of Common Cents, Penny Harvest — a role that was minted for you and where you will, no doubt, shine.
Today, it is our distinct joy and honor to celebrate the lasting impact you have made on higher education and to relish, more personally, the imprint you have made on the College we hold dear. Barnard adores you. Barnard women, past and present, are proud to share in your sisterhood. And, each and every one of us here today is more than a little verklempt to see you go.
Judith, you have made us better at what we do by being the best at all you do. You have led with great intellect, integrity and fortitude. You have enriched us and inspired us. You have never once bored us. You have made us smile. For all this and for so much more, Barnard salutes you and proclaims you, now and forever, our very own. We do not honor you by presenting you with this medal. Because of all you have done to elevate the reputation of the college we love so well, you honor us by accepting it.
Michael Bloomberg Citation
Barnard College Commencement
May 20, 2008
Michael R. Bloomberg. Civic leader. Innovative financier. 108th Mayor of this, the great City of New York. In the realms of both business and public service, you have, again and again, met with extraordinary success.
Your childhood spent in Massachusetts, you went on to attend college at Johns Hopkins University, paying your way with loans and earnings made as a parking lot attendant — a long way from City Hall. A Harvard Business School MBA was followed by your first job on Wall Street, for Salomon Brothers in 1966. It wasn't long before you ventured forth with your own vision: Bloomberg LP. You founded this now multi-media giant in 1981. Today, the company boasts over a quarter of a million subscribers to its financial news and information service. In tandem with the growth of the company, you turned your attention to philanthropy, giving generously of your time and resources on the boards of numerous health, arts, and educational institutions.
But it was your entrance on the public stage in 2001 that has ever changed this city's landscape. You were elected Mayor of New York just two weeks after the tragic events of 9/11. Yet, under your determined and spirited leadership, New York emerged from uncertain times even stronger than before. You never hesitated to face the toughest issues, from education to housing to budget deficits. Your first term saw a twenty percent cut in crime, an increase in jobs, an expansion of green spaces, a growth of affordable housing, a turnaround in the school system, a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, and an overall improvement in efficiency.
And because of these successes, your 2005 re-election was celebrated by all who truly care about the City. You continue to demonstrate, at every turn, that it is possible for an elected official to talk straight and talk smart. You bring candor and civility and good citizenship to your management of the City. You have, with Barnard as a very enthusiastic participant, focused much-needed attention on sustainability with your 2030 emissions challenge. And, you have, again with Barnard as a collaborator, studied the overall quality of life for the women of New York through your Commission on Women's Issues.
Today, it is our distinct honor to celebrate your significant accomplishments. To note, with great admiration, the intellect and energy and integrity that have so defined your service. With non-partisan, unequivocal, and sincere pleasure, we proclaim you New York's finest and offer our deepest thanks… along with a five-borough cheer!
Billie Jean King Citation
Barnard College Commencement
May 20, 2008
Billie Jean King. Tennis champion. Feminist icon. Activist for social change. You have broken boundaries as you have broken records, both in your sport and in the game of life.
You were an eleven-year old in Long Beach, California, when you first took to the court. You purchased the eight dollar racquet with your own money and reported to your mother, "I’m going to be No. 1 in the world." You went on to win your first Wimbledon title — the first of a record twenty — in 1961, in a doubles match with Karen Hantze. Thirty-nine Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed doubles championships followed over your illustrious career. On September 20, 1973, the tennis world and women athletes everywhere held their collective breath when you faced and defeated Bobby Riggs. That " Battle of the Sexes" is still remembered as one of the gutsiest duels in sports history, and surely one of the most significant moments for the advancement of women’s tennis.
You are no stranger to setting the bar for women. You were the first-ever woman commissioner in professional sports. The first woman to coach a professional co-ed team. The first female athlete to earn more than one hundred thousand dollars in a single season. The first woman to have a major sports venue named in her honor — the United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Just weeks ago, the National Sports Museum opened right here in New York City. The first hall of fame devoted to women’s sports is contained within and, of course, it bears your name.
In 1990, you were proclaimed one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" by Life magazine. And, you have been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the USTA’s Court of Champions.
Today, we stand on the sidelines to applaud your many wins — on the tennis court, in your fight for gay rights, your charitable work for children with disabilities and HIV/AIDS research, and your legendary contribution to the women’s movement. You are a superstar and we hail you.
David Remnick Citation
Barnard College Commencement
May 20, 2008
David Remnick. Writer. Award-winning journalist. New Yorker editor-in-chief. Your words have illuminated the widest range of subjects, with detail, depth, rigor, and wit.
Your own story began in Hillsdale, New Jersey with, as you describe, "a lot of books around." And books have remained at the core of your being. At Princeton University, you studied comparative literature with John McPhee, among others, and upon graduation in 1981, you stepped right into work as a staff writer for The Washington Post. In 1988, you began a four-year tour with the paper's Moscow bureau, a move driven, in part, by personal interest in your Russian heritage. During this period you chronicled the upheaval, and eventual fall, of the Soviet Union, as did your wife, Barnard alumna, Esther Fein, for The New York Times. Your book, "Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire," was based on your Post reporting and for it you won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. The same year, you were awarded the George Polk Award for excellence in journalism. Three years later, you further explored the Yeltsin years in "Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia."
Narrative journalism has been your calling card, and when you joined The New Yorker as a writer in 1992, your talent in this realm emerged in the more than one hundred articles that bore your byline. In "The Devil Problem and Other True Stories" — your collection of essays previously published in the magazine — you portrayed the likes of Ralph Ellison, Mario Cuomo, Michael Jordan, and Alger Hiss with unpretentious flair and a watchful eye. And your 1999 depiction of legendary fighter Mohammed Ali in "King of the World," has been hailed as one of the best sports biographies in recent history. When you were named the fifth editor of The New Yorker in 1998, senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg exclaimed, "There's joy in Mudville."
Today we praise your skill and your flair with the written word, your prolific and versatile journalism, your eclecticism and your humor. You have enriched — and will continue to enrich — the literary world, and for that we proclaim our unedited gratitude.
Thelma C. Davidson Adair Citation
Barnard College Commencement
May 20, 2008
Doctor Thelma Cornelia Davidson Adair. Educator. Community advocate. Presbyterian elder. For seven decades, your contribution to the Harlem community you hold dear has exemplified only the highest ideals.
North Carolina born and raised, you attended Barber-Scotia Junior College and Bennett College. You went on to earn masters and doctorate degrees from Teacher's College, Columbia University. For nearly three decades, you taught at Queens College, where you remain professor emerita of early childhood education — the field on which your impact is indelible. Your many publications on the subject have long been considered authoritative guides for early educators throughout the country. And your work has been honored with the Teacher's College First Distinguished Alumni Award and the United Negro College Fund Distinguished Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment to Higher Education.
In 1944, you helped establish Mount Morris New Life, a children's day care center. Twenty years later, in 1965, you organized the first Head Start programs in Harlem. It is a testament to the strength of your vision that both programs continue to flourish today. You have never veered from your commitment to make family care accessible and you have achieved that for hundreds of children and their families in the Harlem community. And with the opening of the Thelma C. Davidson Adair Medical and Dental Center, a primary-care facility in central Harlem, you further realized your dream.
You are, as well, an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church — the first woman of color to be elected to the church's highest office. In this role you have tirelessly advocated for the full participation of women in the ecumenical movement, and have traveled the world as a proponent of global peace and justice.
Today, we gather to pay tribute to your remarkable passion and dedication on behalf of the underserved. We marvel at the vital contributions you have made to the field of education. We join with our neighbors in the Harlem community in praise of your extraordinary life's work.
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