Novel Support for Adjunct Professor Research

At Barnard’s May faculty meeting, there was an exciting announcement that was two years in the making: Irina Verona, adjunct assistant professor in Barnard’s Architecture Department, was chosen by the College’s Grants Committee as the first recipient of a grant from the newly established Class of 1960 Adjunct Faculty Research Fund, which was created to celebrate the class’s 60th milestone Reunion.

Professor Verona received the $10,000 award for her project “The Inclusive Education Classroom: A Spatial History.” The project traces the impact of the inclusive reform movement — which came out of special education in the 1980s — on classroom design standards. The research ties into an ongoing focus of Verona’s architectural practice, a study of spaces for inclusion, with a particular focus on designing for neurodiversity.  

“I am grateful to the Class of 1960 for this invaluable gift,” says Professor Verona. “It has allowed me to set aside time for research and to develop essential links between my teaching and my practice. It has also enabled me to participate in conversations with the wider Barnard community. I hope that there are similar future opportunities that can benefit my adjunct colleagues.”

The Fund, co-chaired by Linda Kaufman Kerber ’60 and Muriel Lederman Storrie ’60, assists adjunct faculty members in reaching their full potential by subsidizing scholarly and creative work in their individual fields. 

“The award recognizes the contribution of adjunct faculty to the intellectual life of the College,” Storrie says. “They shoulder extensive teaching loads and need support for the research that is necessary to advance their careers, enhance their teaching, and gain personal fulfillment.”

“They can use the funds for any urgent need,” says Kerber. “Equipment, space, child care, research assistants, whatever helps them focus and bring their project to life.” Both organizers of the Fund have themselves been adjuncts during their academic careers and understand the precariousness of that position.

“We have enough resources to make a second award in 2022,” Kerber continued. “Now we seek support — from members of any Barnard class and from friends of the College — so that the award can continue and, ultimately, to endow it in perpetuity. We hope that this investment in the scholarly work of these vital members of the faculty will set an example throughout, and beyond, the Barnard community.” 

To learn more about how to support the Class of 1960 Adjunct Faculty Research Fund, please contact development@barnard.edu.