Spring Forward with Issues & Ideas

Oprah Winfrey & Gloria Steinem


Oprah Winfrey visited feminist, author, and activist Gloria Steinem on campus for an in-depth interview as a part of Oprah’s new series Oprah’s Next Chapter, which airs Sunday nights on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Oprah and Steinem along with 60 young women from Barnard had an open and frank discussion about everything from the current state of feminism to politics to women’s leadership. 




Clockwise from top left: Dean of the College Avis Hinkson ’84, Oprah Winfrey, Barnard President Debora Spar; Winfrey with students; President Spar and Steinem; Winfrey with Elizabeth Castelli, acting director of BCRW, and Steinem.

White house Economics Forum


The White House Business Council, the White House Council on Women and Girls, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies hosted an Urban Economic Forum on campus to discuss the Administration’s commitment to supporting policies that create private-sector jobs and support the next generation of entrepreneurs who will not only strengthen our economy but compete globally. Barnard hosted the first of what will be a multi-city series. Photos clockwise from the top left: Featured speakers Maria Bartiromo, CNBC anchor; Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the president and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls; Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief of The Huffington Post; and the panelists. 


To watch a video of the White House Economic Forum, please visit barnard.edu/magazine

Wallace shawn


Also at the Event Oval, actor, Obie award-winning playwright, and essayist Wallace Shawn read from an expanded version of “Why I Call Myself a Socialist,” taken from his 2009 collection Essays. Shawn urged his listeners to challenge given roles within a society, and stressed that communities should not believe in “fantasies” that “pigeonhole people into roles that can easily be considered [their] destiny.” The Barnard Forum on Emancipation and Politics and the Office of the President sponsored the event.

Diane Ravitch


Former assistant secretary of education, now research professor of education at NYU, Ravitch lectured to an enthusiastic crowd in The Diana Center’s Event Oval about contentious issues in contemporary education: privatizing low test-scoring public schools, and the need to keep public schools public. Lee Anne Bell, director of the education program (right in photo at left), introduced Ravitch and later joined her as she signed copies of The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Ravitch’s newest book. Sponsored by For the Public Good Project. Story on page 10.

Torchbearers


An annual event, the Torchbearers reception brings together Barnard’s student achievers with the generous alumnae who help support their studies. The event thanks our donors and congratulates and encourages the students in their pursuit of excellence. Clockwise from the top are: Marigrace Lalli, Helen Revellese Esposito ’38, Angelica Cusma ’14, and Phyllis Esposito; Krista Mar ’12 and Barnard trustee Judith Daynard Boies ’59; Janet Carlson Taylor ’67 and Gloria Noel ’14; and Mashkura Chowdhury ’12 and Jane von der Heide Lindley ’71.

Anita Hill


How viable is the American Dream of home ownership in the wake of the current economic crisis that has seen home foreclosures soar? Anita Hill, professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University and the 2012 Helen Rogers Reid Lecturer explored the notion of home as a site of social and economic security and shared ideas from her latest book, Reimagining Equality: Gender, Race, and the American Dream. Sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Story on page 5.

Kakenya Ntaiya 


Barnard welcomed Kenyan activist and educator Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya for the premier event in the Women in the World on Campus Speaker Series, a new initiative of Newsweek/Daily Beast and the Women in the World Foundation. Ntaiya, the president and founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, spoke about her personal experience obtaining an education and achieving independence against great odds.