MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, New York — Barnard College celebrated the opening of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Center (RDSC) on September 14 with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, six days after the building welcomed students for the start of the academic year.
The 14-story RDSC is New York City’s first net-zero carbon, all-electric academic science building and one of the most significant investments in Barnard’s campus and academic future.
The $250 million, multiyear project is the largest capital project in the College’s history, nearly doubling Barnard’s research laboratory space and, for the first time, bringing all five of its experimental science departments together under one roof.
The Class of 2030 will be the first Barnard class to benefit from the RDSC’s state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories and classrooms from their first semester through graduation..
The RDSC was made possible in large part by a historic $55 million gift from Diana T. Vagelos ’55, Vice Chair of the Barnard Board of Trustees, and her husband, Dr. P. Roy Vagelos. Longtime champions of Barnard and women’s education, the Vagelos family has supported generations of Barnard students through decades of philanthropy, including the Diana Center, the Vagelos Computational Science Center, and the Diana T. and P. Roy Vagelos Professorship of Chemistry.
The RDSC was designed in response to growing demand for science education at Barnard.
“With the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Center, Barnard now has the best undergraduate science labs in New York City and some of the very best in the nation. This is vitally important as half of Barnard students now major in STEM fields, compared with just 20 percent of female undergraduates nationwide,” said Laura Ann Rosenbury, President of Barnard College. “The sciences have always been an integral part of a liberal arts education and that is even more imperative today as scientific advances rapidly transform society.”
First stepping on campus nearly 75 years ago, Diana T. Vagelos has witnessed and supported Barnard’s evolution and growth over the decades alongside her husband, Dr. P Roy Vagelos.
“Investing in future world leaders — scientists and otherwise — is central to our ongoing support of Barnard College,” said the Vagelos family. “We are thrilled to see this grand vision come to fruition, but even more excited to imagine the doors it will open not only for today’s students, but those in the years and decades to come.”
At the ribbon-cutting, the Vagelos children announced a $1 million challenge gift in support of the RDSC. The commitment will match new gifts to the building dollar for dollar.
“Diana and Roy also have ensured that our students will receive the very best foundational training in the bench sciences, more than doubling the amount of space available on Barnard’s campus for scientific research and teaching,” continued President Rosenbury. “And thanks to Diana and Roy, and their entire family, Barnard will continue to lead for tomorrow.”
The RDSC is a major step toward Barnard’s goal of achieving net-zero operational carbon by 2040. Designed to meet LEED Gold standards, the RDSC features an all-electric heating and cooling system that eliminates the need for on-site fossil fuels.
“This state-of-the-art, net-zero science building represents the foundational value Barnard places on fostering new discovery and growth, especially in building the green future we need,” said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. “As New York City seeks to create a reliable, renewable energy grid and expand sectors like life sciences, it's crucial to have alignment with our storied academic institutions. These incredible new facilities are sure to attract even more of the world’s brightest minds to the Big Apple, and I look forward to all they will accomplish here.”
The RDSC expands Barnard’s programmable science space by 26,000 square feet and includes 64 new laboratories — 18 teaching labs and 46 research labs — as well as eight new classrooms. Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Neuroscience & Behavior, and Physics & Astronomy are now housed together in the building, creating new opportunities for collaboration among students and faculty.
In addition, the lower floors of the will be used for classes across the entire curriculum — from social sciences to foreign languages.
“Barnard College is one of Manhattan’s pre-eminent academic institutions, and now, they will have a best-in-class science building matching their prestige,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, whose office presented the College with an official proclamation at the ribbon-cutting. “I'm proud to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Center, the first net-zero academic science building in New York City history, giving our nation's future women science leaders the modern learning spaces they deserve, while proving that world-class science education and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. This is exactly the kind of investment Manhattan needs: in our students, in our institutions, and in our future. Congratulations to Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury and Roy and Diana Vagelos on this monumental achievement.”
As a cutting-edge science building at the world’s best — and New York City’s only — women’s college, the RDSC also features adjustable workstations, inclusive laboratory furniture, and baby-changing stations on every floor.
“This building represents Barnard’s commitment to inspiring young women to pursue careers in STEM and providing amazing resources and opportunities to do so,” said Angelique Mitchell, a senior Biochemistry major.
The RDSC builds on Barnard’s longstanding commitment to faculty-mentored undergraduate research. Since 2014, the College’s 10-week Summer Research Institute has supported more than 2,000 student research projects. This summer alone, participating students received a combined $1.75 million to pursue independent research alongside Barnard faculty.
It will also present current students with more opportunities to engage in research on campus instead of traveling across the city to do so. Junior Imani Kenner, a Neuroscience and Behavior major, has been doing research on early life experiences impact on neural development at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on 168th Street in New York City.
“With the opening of the RDSC, I won’t ever have to worry about delayed trains when going to the lab. Our lab moving to Barnard’s campus will make it much easier for me and other members of the lab to integrate fully into research projects, and it will make going to the lab much more accessible and efficient,” Kenner said.
“Here in the RDSC, we will have access to cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art tools that will truly transform the rest of my undergraduate research experience.”
Additional support for the RDSC came from Daphne Recanati Kaplan and Thomas S. Kaplan P’24; Trustee Lida Orzeck ’68; former Chair of the Board of Trustees Cheryl Glicker Milstein ’82 and Philip Milstein P’14; and Gail Alexander Binderman ’62, through the Norman E. Alexander Family G Foundation.
ABOUT BARNARD COLLEGE
Barnard provides a singular educational experience, as a world-renowned college with the academic resources of Columbia University and the City of New York as an extended classroom. Founded in 1889, Barnard was one of the few colleges in the nation where women could receive the same rigorous and challenging education available to men. Today, Barnard is one of the most selective academic institutions in the country and remains devoted to empowering extraordinary women to become even more exceptional.
Barnard College is an affiliated institution of Columbia University, a university community that is academic home to more than 45,000 students from around the world. Through Barnard’s unique and historic partnership with Columbia University, students can register for more than 1,500 courses, use a system of more than 20 libraries, get involved with more than 450 organizations and attend high-profile events. Barnard is the only women's college where students can participate in NCAA Division I athletics. Graduates’ degrees are conferred by Columbia University.