Vagelos Family Named Nexus Donor

Fireworks and sparklers exploded over Lehman Lawn Tuesday afternoon, releasing clouds of smoke into the otherwise blue sky and illuminating the name of the most recent donors to Barnard’s new student center—the Vagelos family—set to open in fall 2009.

Trustee Diana Vagelos, BC ’55, and her husband, P. Roy Vagelos, etched their names in Barnard history for the second time by donating $15 million to the construction of the Nexus, the college announced at an event Tuesday afternoon. The donation is the largest gift in the history of the college, according to Barnard president Judith Shapiro. The couple’s name is also on the college’s Vagelos Alumni Center.

Shapiro thanked the couple for their “visionary philanthropy” and called the donation “a reflection of their belief in and their love for Barnard.”

The donor naming event also marked the end of a major stage of construction, the completion of the building’s steel framework. Earlier in April, Barnard students gathered in front of Lehman Hall to sign their names on the last beam, which has since been put in place.

In addition to alumni and members of the Board of Trustees—many of whom were present at the ceremony—Shapiro thanked current students “who have endured noise, dust, and inconvenience” since construction began last fall.

Shapiro noted that current juniors bear the brunt of the Nexus construction, enduring two years of construction to graduate just before the building is completed.

“Your sacrifice for the good of the college has been noted,” Shapiro said to laughter from the audience, “and the Nexus will be here for all your years as alumnae.”

Speakers praised the work Shapiro has put into the development of the Nexus building—or the “Vag” center, as many students quickly took to calling it following today’s announcement.

Christina Chang, BC ’08 and vice president of student activities for Barnard’s Student Government Association, held up a blue T-shirt reading “Athena is my homegirl,” which was printed as part of a fundraising initiative of the SGA first-year class council. “Like Athena, Judith Shapiro is and will always be our homegirl,” she said, before handing the microphone over to the outgoing president.

“How Barnard is that T-shirt?” Shapiro asked. “I mean, it is Barnard in a nutshell—the classics and the savvy.”

While neither Chang nor Shapiro—who is retiring in May—will be at Barnard to enjoy the center when it opens, Chang said it “will one day serve as the heart of our campus” and will “transform academic, cultural, and social life” at the college.

“We can now see the dream taking form and becoming reality,” Shapiro said.

As Shapiro announced the name of the donors—and presumably the future name of the building itself—Nexus constuction workers removed a black plastic covering, revealing large wooden letters spelling out “Vagelos.” Dozens of small light bulbs came on at once, giving the impression the wood was on fire.

The pyrotechnics continued for several minutes as sparks and smoke, which was visible from Columbia’s South Lawn, flew into the sky and soot floated down upon onlookers.

In a brief address at the end of the ceremony, Diana Vagelos noted that “from the conception of the Nexus to the fireworks, Barnard knows how to take risks ... and it always works out in their favor.”

maggie.astor@columbiaspectator.com