Barnard President Debora Spar held her first fireside chat this semester on Wednesday evening to discuss the concerns of international students and how to raise Barnard’s profile abroad.
Students raised questions and concerns at the Student Government Association-organized event about the ways in which Barnard could attract more international students, send more students abroad, and bring the international community together more. Spar stressed that internationalization of Barnard would remain one of her top priorities.
“We have a responsibility not only to educate women in the United States but women outside of the United States.” She added that the newly named Athena Center and revamping of Barnard’s Web site would contribute to such an endeavor.
Spar also stressed her commitment to expanding Barnard’s recognition overseas. So far, Barnard has already met with two Korean universities and three Chinese universities. Spar spoke about Barnard’s relationship with Ewha, a women’s college in Korea, that participates in a program with Harvard students where students from both schools attend the other school during spring break and participate in a variety of events.
A more contentious question raised by one of the students pertained to what defines an international student.
“There’s the perception and a sort of data question,” Spar said, attributing such questions to “financial aid formulas and bureaucratic things.” She continued, “We count you based on where you went to high school ... we statistically look less international than we are.”
That Barnard has only three international scholarships to distribute makes it even more difficult. Spar mentioned a student she met during her trip to China for the symposium on Woman Changing China in March, who, while qualified to attend Barnard, could not attend for financial reasons.
Students raised a variety of questions and ideas, such as a one-credit seminar or group of students that share their experiences studying abroad, or creating a fellow for international issues.
“I learned a lot about internationalizing Barnard. ... I don’t think that was something huge that I was exposed to,” Kimberly Wu, BC ’10, said. “I definitely agree with her point—internationalizing Barnard is a great way to bring diversity to Barnard.”
“This is the first one [chat] I’ve been to with Spar,” Mary Penticoff, BC ’09, said. “They’re really good opportunities to hear what the other students have to say and hear the president speak in real time.”
CORRECTION APPENDED: An earlier version of this article stated that this was Spar's first fireside chat of the year. In fact, it was the first of the semester. Spectator regrets the error.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy