Inaugurated in 2018 — in a year of extreme climate action as well as “The Year of the Woman” for the political ground that women were breaking — President Beilock spoke of enhancing STEM access for young women and girls:
“While women remain underrepresented in many of the sciences, Barnard is on a rising trend to change that. About one-third of our students are graduating in science fields. And not only does Barnard give them a foundation in the liberal arts that make them better equipped to succeed, but we have something else that makes us very special. Our size and research prowess mean that we can be nimble and multifaceted in our approach to building a strong presence in the fast-moving sciences.”
Barnard's campus experienced exponential growth in 2018
The Department of Environmental Science offered students the option to major in Environment and Sustainability. Students have a choice of this major as well as those in Environmental Science and Environmental Biology. The new Environmental Humanities minor, offered by the Consortium for Critical Interdisciplinary Studies, was inaugurated for the 2020-21 year.
Rebecca N. Wright joined Barnard as the Druckenmiller Professor of Computer Science and the Diana T. and P. Roy Vagelos Computational Science Center Director, and a new computer science program was established.
Beyond Barnard was launched to provide lifelong support to students and graduates as they define, pursue, and achieve success in their careers and communities.
“Beyond Barnard is based on two key principles: First, that your major does not dictate your career path. We teach our exceptional young women to think across disciplines. The second idea is that it’s really a false dichotomy that you need one set of skills to go into industry and you need to go get a Ph.D. to go into [academia]. It’s the same skill set.” — President Beilock
The Cheryl and Philip Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning opened, fully incorporating technology into classrooms, along with research experiences in computational science, empirical reasoning, digital humanities, design, movement, and media.
“It is a hub of teaching and learning, a place where we will look at pedagogy with fresh eyes and innovative tools and an opportunity to change the way we think about libraries and study spaces and how we interact in the classroom. And it will help bolster so many disciplines at Barnard that interact with technology — from the humanities to economics to our new program in computer science. It will engender opportunities for study and research that are backed by the amazing and innovative Centers.” — President Beilock
President Beilock By The Numbers
President Beilock By The Numbers
During President Beilock’s tenure, programs, resources, and the community as a whole have grown.
“Very early in her presidency, Sian established four priorities: They were STEM, wellness, lifelong learning, and access,” said Linda A. Bell, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Claire Tow Professor of Economics. “We’ve made great strides in all four areas, and it wouldn’t have happened without Sian’s leadership. She understands the importance of research to the reputation of an institution, and she has been a big supporter of initiatives to fund faculty research.”
“As a FLI (first-generation and/or low-income) student coming in, Access Barnard didn’t exist yet; it was the Student Success Program. I love that department, but they were very limited in their ability [to] support us,” said Tiffany Vo ’23, president of the Student Government Association (SGA). “It’s been great to see how over the years it’s grown into this physical, very open and welcoming space at Milbank. I really credit that to President Beilock, who heard the concerns from the students … that there needed to be a centralized space where FLI students could go to get the help and resources that they need.”