bornonthecusp

I recently read somewhere that professors at Barnard must be approved not only by Barnard College but also by Columbia University. I'm wondering if anyone knows the implications of this. Does it mean that while Barnard is a small liberal arts college, professors will still be focused predominantly on their research across the street? Is teaching undergrads not as important to them?

Also, Barnard's endowment of $159 million seems rather small compared to that of some of its peer institutions (Wellesley's, for example, is 1.7 billion.) Does anyone know why this is or what it would mean for students at Barnard?

churchmusicmom

Barnard's profs, in order to be tenured, do indeed need to meet those requirements of Columbia University. This does NOT mean they are in any way focused on research "across the street". On the contrary, I have only heard that the opposite is true: Barnard's profs are almost universally more accessible and focused on students as individuals.

You are correct in that the endowment is rather small compared to "peer" institutions. Barnard also has resources available to them because of their relationship to Columbia that those "peers" do not have. What the relative endowment size means is, of couse, the chance that financial aid offered might not be as generous as that offered from an institution like Harvard, for example, with their unrivaled endowment.

I do know that Barnard's new president will focus on increasing the fund, and that has indeed been the recent focus as well. Even we parents of a current Barnard student have contributed a bit (and heaven knows we don't have a lot of extra cash lying around right now!), and we will encourage our d to contribute once she becomes an alumna.

I hope that helps some and that others more knowledgable than I will chime in as well...

panda2

by "approved", do you mean tenured? barnard profs are tenured by columbia, however, the process of tenure (the judging, peer review, etc) is a universal endeavor (meaning, a professor up for tenure is reviewed by colleagues and scholars outside of the BC/CU community). Once it is officially time for tenure review, professors from both sides of the street, within the same department, "vote" for that professor (in other words, for a barnard professor, columbia professors in their dept. vote for them, and vice versa).

A professor at any college, whether it be a large university, or a small liberal arts institution like barnard, must produce research to "earn their keep." Research is a big part of the professor's job (many, if not all professors have student research assistants, and many, if not all, produce some form of scholarship while simultaneously teaching). the review of a professor's CV is a huge part of the hiring process as well. also, once you're in college and you're life revolves around academia, you will see that professors with extensive, impressive research are more highly favored. You would rather have a tenured "associate" than a junior "lecturer" (in most cases).

you shouldn't think of it as "research across the street". Their research is their personal endeavor (i can't attest for every field...i'm thinking primarily in the anthropology dept. which is my major). and if professors are really into their research, it shouldn't be seen as negative; a lot of professors like to get their students involved in their research (summer trips, projects, etc).

Teaching will always be more important to them; Barnard does not fund their research, it pays their salary.

Azdad56

Barnard's endowment is a lot smaller than Wellesley's, Smith's, Amherst's, Williams's, and plenty of others in its peer group. Not sure why that is, but I agree that President Spar should try to increase it, if only so Barnard can stop getting dinged in the US News lists. I suppose Barnard is shielded somewhat because of the affiliation with Columbia (for which it pays), but the endowment is still too small. That said, I'm not sure what my first-year daughter is missing: the Barnard environment, and the broader New York environment, is breathtaking for its richness and fullness.

churchmusicmom

Thing is, Barnard students have the advantages of the Columbia facilities/connections (libraries, ECs, broader internship possiblities, etc) and, as I understand it, the USNWR rankings do not consider this.

I agree, though, that it's a shame their endowment is not larger. We have made a small contribution every year our daughter has been enrolled because of this, even though we are pretty much tuition-poor at this point. I hope our daughter will be in a position to support her alma mater in future years as well.