I gather Prezbae was adored. Curious what the feeling is Re: Laura Rosenbury.
That would be “Prezbo”.
I’m sure he is adored by his children and family.
And I suspect he might be respected by Trustees and others as having been an effective president.
Among students, at least some have mixed views, based on the gentrification of the neighborhood, displacement of local businesses to build the new campus - and the administration’s stance against their graduate and undergraduate student workers, who eventually unionized.
His verbose, dense, written communications, which manage to ultimate say absolutely nothing in lots of words, are usually poked fun at - just as his Audi 8L pulling up college walk (when just walking across campus would have gotten him there faster).
Here the “unit of time” email. A typical sample, from the beginning of the Pandemic, meant to reassure anxious students about the in-person return:
(Needless to say, there were no more details “by July 1” 
)
Sorry….wha? I’m talking about the transition from Bielock to the incoming Barnard president.
My misunderstanding – but I’d never heard of Sian Beilock being referred to as “Prezbae”!?
Yes, Sian Beilock was a quite visible presence on campus; it was not unusual to run into her during the day. She also tried to relate to the other Barnard woman through casual social media posts. From conversations I understand that some might feel somewhat jilted, that her stint was too short, having used Barnard as a mere springboard. But, objectively, advancing one’s career is normal for any professional.
As far as Laura Rosenbury, I think one will have to see what her leadership style will be, and how she’ll interact with the community.
we did call her PrezBae! so far, I don’t think people are too keen on Rosenbury but we will see if the campus warms up to her.
Hopefully they do warm up. SLB has certainly been an instant mega-hit at Dartmouth.
Whatever the answer would have been last December, it would be very different now…
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I’d say in the current climate the answer could mostly depend which group of students you ask that day. Trying to balance opposing expectations, no one would possibly ever be 100% “happy”, no matter who college president is.
That is remarkably diplomatic of you @DigitalDad 
My impression is that she has not connected with students, and the chaos on both campuses started so early into her tenure that she never gained her footing. There are many articles in the student run papers that give a better sense of how various faculty and students feel.
The Barnard AAUP chapter last week made a unanimous vote of no confidence, I don’t think there’s any way to sugar coat that.
Like all colleges Barnard is way more a reflection of its students and faculty rather than its administration, though, thankfully!
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Like the AAUP, I don’t really consider most student/activism groups (no matter how I might value their presence) necessarily representative of the mainstream student body!
This is far more significant than the AAUP vote.
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They had a full faculty vote now and 77% voted no confidence. She really has no base of support from any major group — faculty, students or parents. Perhaps the trustees but we’ll see.
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Barnard seems to have uncovered some fundamental governance issues through these events. It’s a special school that is beloved by so many of its community members; I’m certain that this will lead to a period of transformation. Whether rosenbury will be at the helm for any of that remains to be seen. It is looking less and less likely to me. Just my personal opinion.
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Of the original 104 students arrested in the encampment, 50% were Barnard students, despite Barnard representing less than 7% of the student body of Columbia as a whole.
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Rosenbury has very little understanding of her own student body, particularly the women in this cohort who mainly applied to Barnard in the wake of George Floyd. Barnard is very intentional in how they shape their classes - they emphasize this widely in the admission process. Many of arrested students over the last two weeks are the very students they selected and applauded for their boldness. Rosenbury wouldn’t recognize a Barnard woman if she passed one on the street (if she did, she’d probably turn and run away).
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Sounds like Prezbae is starting to take some heat at Dartmouth 
Yup I don’t think anyone will remain above the fray by the end.
No probably not.
I still think Rosenbury may actually come out as one of the worst, if not the actual worst, college President to preside over these events. Shafik will come in at a hot #2.
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I think it also speaks to the particular, specific mess one inherits. Like, transitions in leadership during times of crisis are usually not a good thing.
But then, Sian walked into a Dartmouth community that was especially suited to respond well, mostly due to the presence and actions of a very small number of specific profs who came together immediately to dialog. She rode that coat tail, and she’s also, by and large, incredibly empathetic and has an obviously human touch.
Rosenbury enjoyed no such leadership/help from within the faculty, and, well, not so much on the other stuff either from what I’ve read and heard.
Yes very true. And Shafik walked into a school that was quite steady under Bollinger’s hand.
But my $.02 is that Barnard’s hiring of Rosenbury was a colossal mistake even before 10/7. She is literally the antithesis of the type of feminism that the student body represents. I won’t say why 
But she was the wrong person to lead the very specific student body of a Barnard. She just doesn’t understand them, and they probably scare her with their septum rings and dyed hair and whatnot.
She is widely acknowledged to have been brought on by specific board members for her fundraising potential. I think we can all say pretty unequivocally that any fundraising potential she once had has now vanished. Without that power I don’t see what she brings to the table other than to serve as a nexus for the students’ anger and frustration. Best thing that could happen to Barnard right now would be a swift exit by Rosenbury and an invitation for students, faculty, and alumni to come together to rebuild the school brick by brick. The school needed it anyway, but there is no more time to wait.
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