Board of Trustees Chair Cheryl Glicker Milstein ’82, P’14, Remarks As Delivered

Good afternoon, Class of 2025.

Today, we graduate together.

You in your caps and gowns, and me, as I prepare to step down from the Board after 26 years of serving as a trustee, a parent, a Toddler Center grandparent, and most recently, as Board Chair.

I may not be crossing the stage, but I’m stepping into a new chapter, just like you.

Barnard has been part of my life for decades. But for 15 years after I graduated, I didn’t come back. Not because I didn’t care, but because life does what it does. And if I have one regret, it’s that I waited that long. Because when I finally returned, it wasn’t just that I had something to offer. It was that Barnard still had more to give.

That’s what I didn’t understand at 21. Barnard doesn’t stand still. It grows with you.
And when you come back — because you will — Barnard will meet you wherever you are and say: “Let’s keep going.”

So, if there’s one thing I want to leave you with, it’s this: Don’t wait as long as I did. You don’t need a plan. You just need to say yes.

Say yes to joining the AABC.

Say yes to taking a class that you didn’t have time for the first time around, through Barnard | NEXT.

Say yes to the dinner party where the smartest, funniest woman in the room turns out to be a Barnard graduate — because of course she is.

And say yes when she says, “Here’s my card. Let’s stay in touch.”

That’s the community you are now a part of.You follow in the footsteps of remarkable alumnae — scientists, playwrights, composers, and more — whose careers span the gamut. And yes, some of them were taught by the very same faculty that taught you.

Welcome to the family.

Barnard shaped me as a student. But it changed me even more when I returned to serve in other ways. 
Watching students like you, like my daughter, and I hope my granddaughter one day, has made this work some of the most meaningful in my life.

Hearing from the dedicated faculty and senior staff who push, support, and believe in our students every single day has been a privilege.

Working alongside President Rosenbury, whose steadiness, leadership, and vision have helped move this college forward, has been an honor.

So, don’t worry about having it all figured out. And don’t worry about leaving. Just know that Barnard will be here when you’re ready.

Because, Class of 2025:

This isn’t “goodbye.”

It’s “I’ll see you later.”

And we can’t wait to see where you take us next.

On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees: Congratulations. And let’s graduate!