The biggest celebration of Barnard College’s academic year is Commencement, and the campus community, parents, and friends were thrilled to honor the Class of 2024 at the 132nd Commencement on May 15.
As is tradition, Radio City Music Hall hosted cheering revelers from near and far who applauded the more than 800 graduates throughout the ceremony and as they crossed the famous stage to mark the end of their undergraduate journey and the start of something new. Download the digital program.
Dr. Ruth J. Simmons — distinguished scholar, author, and president emerita of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University — delivered the keynote address.
Check out the photos and video from Commencement Day, a celebration that began on campus and concluded at Radio City:
Keynote Address by Dr. Ruth J. Simmons
This year’s Commencement speaker, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, has dedicated her career as an academic leader and visionary to creating groundbreaking contributions to higher education — especially for young women.
“After your selection as president of Smith College, you established the first engineering program at an American women’s college in history — a landmark moment for women in STEM,” said Avalon Zborovsky-Fenster ’24 in her introductory remarks for Dr. Simmons. “You completed at the time the largest initiative in Brown’s history, a $1.4 billion campaign that enhanced the school’s eminence in the sciences and expanded access to a Brown education to talented students across the world, especially women and women of color.”
President Laura Ann Rosenbury then presented Dr. Simmons with the Barnard Medal of Distinction, the College’s highest honor. Read the citation for Dr. Simmons.
Once at the lectern, Dr. Simmons told the graduates, “I find myself unduly emotional, not really so much because of this honor [but] because of the privilege of being with you today and listening to the wonderful remarks that I’ve heard. I will never forget. I’ll never forget having been here today.” She then surprised the audience by announcing that she would match the senior gift of $8,100.
“My life has taken me far from where I began — proof that where one is born and one’s tribal limitations do not have to control, forever, one’s view of the world, nor dictate one’s role in life,” Dr. Simmons said. In stressing the importance of having “an attitude of broad inclusion,” she said that now is the time to roll up sleeves and find mutual understanding.
Once described by Time Magazine as “the moral compass of the school she governs,” Dr. Simmons has had an extraordinary career that included many firsts: She was the first African American president of Smith College, the first African American president of an Ivy League school (Brown University), and the first woman president of the Houston area’s historically Black institution Prairie View A&M University.
In sharing her own growth as an academic and scholar, Dr. Simmons teased out specific journey points that helped to shape her into the person she is today, such as observing the openness and generosity of others.
“Don’t just celebrate that you are leaving Barnard — celebrate that the Barnard experience will be with you and guide you for the rest of your days,” she continued. “Reach into the reservoir of learning that you have had here for the fuel and inspiration that will take you to unimagined heights. Embrace the diversity of your friendships as a guide to how you must live your life — one that is robustly nourished by individuals who think differently, worship differently, and represent a range of cultures and races.” Read the transcript of Dr. Simmons’s keynote address.
Awards and Recognitions
Board of Trustee member emerita Frances Sadler ’72 presented Mariame Sissoko ’24 with the Frank Gilbert Bryson Prize, an award voted on by classmates to the senior who contributed the most to Barnard over four years.
Sofia Chu DeChristofaro ’24 and Anisha Prakash ’24 received the Alicia L. Lawrence Memorial Award, named after the late deputy dean and honoring “a student who has made significant contributions to the College and who exemplifies Alicia’s values and honors her memory by leading with light and strength.”
Remarks From Barnard Community Members
The Class of 2024 also heard from professor of chemistry Christian Rojas, speaking on behalf of Barnard’s faculty. Deepa Irakam ’24 and Roopa Irakam ’24 shared the senior experience; Mariame Sissoko ’24 presented academic reflections; and Magan Chin ’24 gave the “Charge to the Class of 2024” speech.
The Senior Fund Committee announced a senior class gift of more than $8,100, with over 55% participation. The gift was designated to two important initiatives that will directly impact students: Access Barnard, which supports students who identify as international, first-generation, or low-income as they navigate higher education; and mental health initiatives for the new Francine LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being.
Baccalaureate Service
On Sunday, May 12, at the Baccalaureate Service at St. Paul’s Chapel, Juliet Monireh Bogan ’24 and Hannah Sara Vorchheimer ’24 delivered reflections on behalf of Barnard.