Barnard
is unequivocally dedicated to the success of women. That's
immediately obvious in the way issues are considered in
almost every field of inquiry, from classical studies to
the history of science, or in the prominence of the nationally
acclaimed Barnard Center for Research on Women. More than
half of the faculty are women, well above the national average.
All of them - men as well as women - believe that the potential
contributions of women should be encouraged, recognized,
and realized.
Barnard
students soon discover that their classmates are among the
principal resources of their undergraduate years. Cosmopolitan
in nature, the student population includes residents of
nearly every state and some 40 foreign countries as well
as those who live within commuting distance. One of the
few generalizations that can be made safely about Barnard
students is that they are diverse; a mingling of economic,
regional, ethnic, and cultural groups is evident in campus
life. Nine out of ten students live in college housing and
participate in the educational programs, cultural events,
and social activities of their residence halls.
Additionally,
studies have found that, by attending women's colleges,
women:
-
Participate
more fully in and out of class.
-
Are
more successful in careers; that is, they tend to hold
higher positions, are happier, and earn more money.
-
Constitute
more than 20% of women in Congress, and 30% of a Business
Week list of rising women stars in Corporate America,
yet only represent 2% of all female college graduates.
-
Have
a higher percentage of majors in economics, math and life
science today than men at coeducational colleges.
-
Have
more opportunities to hold leadership positions and are
able to observe women functioning in top jobs (90% of
the presidents and 55% of the faculty are women).
-
Report
greater satisfaction than their coed counterparts with
their college experience in almost all measures - academically,
developmentally, and personally.
-
Continue
toward doctorates in math, science and engineering in
disproportionately large numbers.
-
Are
three times more likely to earn a baccalaureate degree
in economics and one and one-half times more likely to
earn baccalaureates degrees in life sciences, physical
sciences and mathematics than at a coeducational institution.
-
Score
higher on standardized achievement tests.
-
Tend
to choose traditionally male disciplines, like the sciences,
as their academic majors, in greater numbers.
-
Tend
to be more involved in philanthropic activities after
college.
Consider
these findings:
"My
research findings, based on the national data, suggest that
women's colleges are better than coeducational institutions
in promoting women's intellectual and social self-confidence,
academic ability and cultural awareness."
-- Assistant Professor Mikyong Minsun Kim, U. of Missouri-Columbia
"Intellectual
support seems to prevail in the classrooms of all-women's
colleges. As a result, women at these schools are more likely
to take risks, to put themselves forward verbally, to assume
leadership roles, both while in college and after graduation."
-- Reported by The Oregonian
"Single-sex
colleges show a pattern of effects...that is almost uniformly
positive...students become more academically involved, interact
with faculty frequently, show increases in intellectual
self-esteem, and are more satisfied with practically all
aspects of the college experience compared with their counterparts
in coeducational institutions... Women's colleges increase
the chances that women will obtain positions of leadership,
complete the baccalaureate degree, and aspire to higher
degrees."
-- Alexander Astin in his important analysis of college
environments, Four Critical Years
"Young
women are there [at women's colleges] to learn and to think
about who and what they can contribute in an environment
more free of gendered expectations. Older women who come
back to college return with lives already shaped by these
expectations...It's a situation of unusual freedom...to
explore and to examine again their own sense of self. It
can be, and often is an exhilarating experience."
-- Ellen Fitzpatrick, Professor, University of New Hampshire
"Studies
show that women in all-female environments participate more
in class, take on more leadership roles, and are more likely
to succeed in traditionally 'male' fields."
-- Reported by Cosmo Girl magazine
"Students
at all-girls schools far out-paced their coed counterparts
in science and reading and were at least equal in academic
achievement in other subjects. They also had stronger self-esteem,
took more math classes, and set higher educational goals
for themselves. In addition, they were less likely to hold
stereotyped views of specific careers as 'a man's job' or
'a woman's job.'"
-- Study by Lee and Bryk, University of Michigan
"While
they are still in their formative years, young women [at
women's colleges] spend those four or five years in an environment
that fuels them with sufficient self-confidence to last
for the rest of their lives. In whatever they do, they are
strong, self-sufficient, well-adjusted people."
-- James L. Fisher, former president of Towson State University
--Courtesy
of The Women's College
Coalition
