As I write this note, I reflect on the joy of welcoming the Class of 2016 into the Alumnae Association at Senior Dinner and watching them graduate at Radio City Music Hall. Some popular majors didn’t even exist when I was at Barnard, such as neuroscience, which has changed the way we think about the brain and cognition. Moreover, I could not have imagined some of the jobs that our newest alumnae would pursue. For instance, Emily Blady ’16 is moving to Detroit to work for Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers, where she will leverage her applied math training by using sabermetrics, the application of statistical analysis to baseball records, to enhance the team’s performance.
Depending on where our newest graduates are headed, they can participate in regional club activities or attend events in New York City. Recently, I joined over 50 young alumnae at a brunch downtown and came away feeling energized. Despite the age difference, I felt an immediate connection to these bold Barnard women. I met an immigration attorney, a manager of content creation for a cable company, an alumna visiting from Mozambique who works at the U.S. Embassy, and a sex therapist about to earn her PhD in human sexuality. Barnard women are never boring!
By the time you receive this issue, more than 1,350 alumnae and friends will have attended Reunion and over 100 of you will have participated in an engaging workshop at reunion titled “Reinvent, Relaunch, and Recharge: Ramping Up for a Meaningful Next Chapter” on next-stage careers. Over the summer, dozens of alumnae volunteers are helping to test the new alumnae website prior to its formal launch this fall. We are grateful to the Alumnae Website Advisory Committee (AWAC) for their tireless commitment of time and energy and to Anastasia Andrzejewski ’97, chair of AWAC, and Matt Hamilton, associate director of alumnae communications, for their leadership of this massive project. Although summer is upon us, we have started planning Leadership Assembly for volunteer leaders, which will be held Oct. 7 and 8, and an exciting roster of events for the fall. We look forward to your participation, in person or online, and to your engagement with alumnae and with the College.
The future is an exciting one for Barnard’s recent graduates and the entire Barnard community. The College has launched The Bold Standard: A Campaign for Barnard , the largest capital campaign in its history, to provide a stronger financial base for the College, and it is building a teaching and learning center to accommodate learning in the 21st century.
Wishing you an enjoyable summer and an even brighter future for Barnard, with your help!
— Terry S. Newman ’79
Award-winning music producer Ebonie Smith ’07, museum curators on objects of interest, a dance course brings students to the stage, and more!