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COMEDIAN CHEVY CHASE TO HOST BARNARD SPRING GALA
Event Benefits Financial Aid and
Honors
President Judith Shapiro and Diana Vagelos '55
updated
06.11.08
New York,
NY—On June 16, alumnae and friends of Barnard College will gather at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers, to honor outgoing president Judith Shapiro and longtime trustee Diana Vagelos '55 at its annual Scholarship Gala and Auction, this year entitled A Night on the Town. Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and television and film actor Chevy Chase will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. All proceeds will benefit the College's financial aid program.
More than 550 guests are expected to attend, including Newsweek columnist and bestselling author Anna Quindlen '74, magazine editor and media entrepreneur Atoosa Rubenstein '93, fashion designers Phillipe and David Blond, editor-in-chief of CosmoGIRL! Susan Schulz, Cheryl and Philip Milstein, Jolyne and Shawn FitzGerald, and Patricia and Peter Nadosy.
Atoosa Rubenstein, who previously served as founding editor of CosmoGIRL! and editor-in-chief of Seventeen magazine before launching her own multi-media company, Big Momma Productions, is proud to give back to her alma mater. "I was able to attend Barnard because of the generosity of the same kinds of people that currently attend and bid on auction items at the Scholarship Gala," said Rubenstein. "Without their kindness, I don't know what my life would be like today." Last year, approximately 54 percent of Barnard students received some form of financial aid.
Throughout the evening, guests will bid on fabulous and unique items, and will have the opportunity to continue bidding on online items until June 26. Auction items include lunch for ten with renowned magazine editor Tina Brown at Phyllis Grann's Fifth Avenue apartment; a complete makeover with celebrity stylist David Evangelista; the opportunity to have one's screenplay read and commented on by Naomi Foner, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and mother to actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal; a backstage tour of the CBS Early Show set with anchor and weatherman Dave Price; and a visit with celebrity designer Heidi Weisel, who will help the winner choose an item from her Fall 2008 collection. Scores of other travel-, beauty-, entertainment-, and sports-related items are available via the Gala's live, silent and online auctions. And for the third year in a row, bidders will compete for a chance to name a character in a forthcoming Anna Quindlen novel — an opportunity Jim Cramer, of CNBC and TheStreet.com, recently named one of the hottest items on the charity auction circuit this year.
Quindlen, chair of the Board of Trustees, said, "The Gala supports the financial aid program that enables us to accept qualified young women without regard to their family income. Barnard is the most sought-after women's college in the country, but more than half of our students couldn't attend without some form of aid. Proceeds of the event allow us to educate strong, capable, confident women who make a real difference in the world."
Honoree Diana Vagelos '55 will receive the Frederick A.P. Barnard Award, one of the College's highest honors. A longtime trustee, Vagelos will be honored for her tireless work on behalf of the College and her visionary philanthropy. Earlier this year, she and her husband, former CEO of Merck & Co. Roy P. Vagelos, donated $15 million to Barnard's new award-winning multi-use campus center, currently under construction and known as the Nexus. The Vageloses have also donated generously in the past, funding a scholarship named after Diana's parents, and creating the Vagelos Alumnae Center, a former deanery that is now a welcoming hub for graduates, students and others on campus.
President Shapiro, who will be stepping down later this month after 14 successful years leading Barnard, will receive the Margaret Mead Award, named after the famed cultural anthropologist and Class of 1923 graduate, who coincidentally was Shapiro's own mentor when Shapiro attended graduate school at Columbia. Leaving behind a legacy of academic innovation and financial growth, Shapiro is renowned for her leadership, humor, and countless contributions to Barnard.
Festivities will begin at 6:00 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction; dinner and the live auction will start at 7:00 p.m.
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