Barnard Reports High Interest in Presidential Vacancy

While the position of Barnard College president remains unfilled with scant information available about the progress of the search, officials say they have had a large response to the position, and that the process is continuing as expected.

Following longtime President Judith Shapiro’s announcement last April that she would step down from her position at the end of this academic year, the Presidential Search Committee, composed of college trustees, faculty, staff, alumnae, and students, launched a search for Shapiro’s successor.

Although members of the committee would not disclose the names of any candidates or say when the successor would be announced, Elizabeth Gildersleeve, associate vice president for communications, said the committee would meet their previously stated deadline of “early spring.”

“The committee has not clarified when exactly the announcement will come,” Gildersleeve said, “But they have assured me that the process continues and is on track.”

Mary Gordon, a member of the Presidential Search Committee, said the search is “going fine.”

In addition to the committee, Barnard enlisted the help of four consultants from Spencer Stuart, an executive search consulting firm. Consultants located in New York, Boston, Stamford, Conn., and Orange County, declined to comment on the search.

Further help was sought from Barnard students, who over the past term were given the opportunity to nominate candidates and attend student forums with Spencer Stuart consultants. “The search committee has done a great job being sensitive to the entire Barnard community,” Gildersleeve said.

While no committee members would comment on who was being considered or whether the committee was looking at internal or external hiring, Gildersleeve said she had heard the “response to the job was overwhelming.” She provided no further details.

The lack of transparency in the process and the unclear announcement date frustrated some students. “It seems weird that the school won’t let its students know anything,” Ellie Zeitlin, BC ’11, said.

Other students, like Hallie Herz, BC ’11, seemed indifferent to the results. “I really don’t care about the outcome of the presidential search,” Herz said.

Karen Kwan, BC ’10 and SGA sophomore vice president, said that SGA would “know more on the committee’s progress in the coming weeks.”

lydia.wileden@columbiaspectator.com