Dear Members of the Barnard Community,
I joined you a little more than five years ago, filled with optimism about Barnard’s contributions to the world, and with a deep appreciation for all that you and those who preceded us here had already accomplished. Today — with a sharper conviction of Barnard’s import and an even deeper appreciation for all of you — I write to share the news that I will be stepping down in 2023 to take on the presidency of Dartmouth.
Every day you teach me indelible lessons, through the quality of your inquiry, your teaching, your research, and your scholarship. On a more profound level, you have shown me what a community can be and can achieve. Together we’ve faced great losses and uncertainty over the last five years; we’ve celebrated wonderful achievements. Through all of it, your care for one another has shone bright — it really is a secret source of Barnard’s power, as a College, and in each of you as you move through the world outside our gates.
I am grateful that we will have another year together to continue pushing into the future. We still have work to do in welcoming all voices and cultivating the individual and collective well-being that allows us to do our best work. We must continue to build on the momentum generated during the Year of Science — and in highlighting Barnard’s eminence across the arts, humanities and social sciences — in our engagement with the city around us, and in connecting a Barnard education to life beyond graduation. Together with our Trustees and the entire leadership team, I’m committed to a transition that supports all of that and welcomes the next president of Barnard to an institution that has never been stronger or more important in our world.
With that in mind, I hope you are all finding a chance this summer to recharge. I am already looking forward to welcoming the Class of 2026 in the fall. Please know that in our time together, and wherever our lives take us in the years beyond, I will always be a part of the Barnard family, a grateful and proud member of this extraordinary community.
Sincerely,
Sian Leah Beilock