We Raised the Bar and Set a New Bold Standard for Barnard

In 2016, Barnard publicly launched the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history. The Bold Standard: A Campaign for Barnard saw the opening of the state-of-the-art Cheryl and Philip Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning and increased support for our endowment. We witnessed firsthand our extended community’s outstanding generosity and enthusiastic support for Barnard and its mission. 

Sian Leah Beilock became the eighth president of Barnard in 2017. Empowered and inspired by the new momentum from the start of President Beilock’s tenure, Barnard launched The Bold Standard: Raising the Bar, an extension of the The Bold Standard campaign.

The Bold Standard: Raising the Bar shifted the campaign’s focus to four essential areas aligning with President Beilock’s vision for Barnard’s future: 

• Advancing opportunities for social mobility through financial aid; 
• Expanding health and wellness resources; 
• Improving the College’s career preparation and guidance through the establishment of Beyond Barnard; 
• Bolstering science education and resources. 

Thanks to the unprecedented support demonstrated by the College’s community, we are thrilled to report that The Bold Standard: Raising the Bar has exceeded its $500 million fundraising goal.

“The achievements of our students and the enthusiasm of our community largely inspired The Bold Standard: Raising the Bar,” says Lisa Yeh P’19, Vice President of Development and Alumnae Relations. “The response from our alumnae, parents, and friends has been extraordinary, and their generosity has certainly set a new standard for fundraising at the College.”

Today, we officially close out our enormously successful The Bold Standard: Raising the Bar campaign, but we recognize that our work is far from finished. The campaign’s focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) helped identify both an area of strength and opportunities for growth. 

Barnard Year of Science: Support STEM

Now more than ever before in the College’s history, we know that students interested in the sciences are choosing Barnard. Opportunities like the Summer Research Institute, STEM internships through Beyond Barnard, and support resources offered through Access Barnard have expanded the possibilities available to our student scientists — particularly those who identify as underrepresented minorities, as first-generation, or from low-income backgrounds. Our faculty of renowned scientists and alumnae successes continue to exemplify the value of a science education at Barnard. The COVID-19 pandemic has further confirmed that Barnard is a leader in recognizing and developing top women in STEM. The pandemic has also highlighted a serious need for scientists and scientific thinkers across all fields, showing clearly that science wins — and science wins most when diverse voices come to the table to solve problems. 

The 2021-22 Barnard Year of Science is furthering this work by highlighting the outstanding successes of our students, faculty, and alumnae. This yearlong celebration is also designed to inspire support for critical renovations to the campus’s principal science facility, Altschul Hall that will double available science teaching and research space on campus; expand STEM programs; and support the Barnard Science Fund, a category of the Barnard Annual Fund. With enhanced programming and state-of-the-art teaching and laboratory spaces, we can secure Barnard’s reputation as a leader in the sciences and meet the needs of student and faculty scientists for generations to come.

We are excited to announce that we are expanding our fundraising efforts in STEM and will strive to meet a new goal of $250 million to support the renovation and expansion of Altschul Hall and science programming. Over 85% of this new goal has been secured through financing and donor commitments. As we celebrate the Barnard Year of Science, we look to raise the additional $30 million and to further engage the Barnard community in our fundraising initiatives.

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