Shapiro's legacy

On April 9, Judith Shapiro, current president of Barnard College, announced that she will resign at the end of the 2008 academic year. Her departure ends a 14-year tenure under which Barnard experienced a dramatic growth in application numbers and selectivity. Her presidency was also distinguished by the establishment of the Nine Ways of Knowing and other academic changes aimed at giving every student a well-rounded liberal arts education. Many students praise Shapiro for being an approachable, friendly figure on campus who has been eager to listen to concerns. The next president will need to build off of Shapiro's work and lead the college through the upcoming transitions it faces, as well as hear students' concerns and respond to them with pragmatic solutions. Barnard must seek a new president who will promote Shapiro's vision of an elite all-women's college with the resources of a large university empowering its students to go out into the world and succeed.

Under Shapiro's tenure, Barnard made strides toward defining its role within the Columbia community, transforming Barnard from Columbia's little sister school into a respected institution in its own right. Shapiro led the school through various construction and renovation projects, including the opening of Cathedral Gardens, a community, student, and faculty residential building, the renovation of Hewitt Dining Hall and Brooks Living Room, and the planning and beginning stages of the construction of the Nexus, Barnard's new student center. During her time at Barnard, the school's endowment and number of endowed professorships both doubled in size. On the community-building front, Shapiro has helped to organize and host school events such as the Midnight Breakfast, where the she could be seen flipping pancakes and serving tired, over-caffeinated students before final exams. In addition, Shapiro created fireside chats-later emulated by University President Lee Bollinger-for students to meet with her and voice their opinions and concerns about the issues facing the school.

In the weeks ahead, Anna Quindlen, BC '74, chair of the college's board of trustees, will be meeting with fellow trustees create a search committee for Shapiro's replacement. Quindlen and Shapiro have assured student leaders that they will have a role in the hiring process, though currently it is uncertain what that role will be. Barnard's trustees should make this role a relatively important so that student feedback is sought during every step of the process-nobody knows better than they what qualities a college president should have to foster student happiness.

The committee should seek a president who will be as visible and accessible as Shapiro has been and who will prioritize fostering a tightly knit community and building school pride. The next president will also need the vision to push Barnard to the next level in its development -bringing its endowment to the level of sister schools, improving financial aid offerings, and emphasizing its elite academic offerings. He or she must push to ensure that Barnard's reputation stands on its own as that of a top-flight institution. One of the few criticisms students have had about Shapiro during her tenure is that, while she has been sympathetic to student concerns, she has sometimes been less proactive about responding to complaints with administrative action. The next president should make an effort not merely to listen to students, but also to implement changes in response to their concerns.

In the coming year, Barnard will face a saddening loss of a president and difficult search for a new one who can take her place. Barnard's future president should work to promote unity and pride within Barnard while also utilizing the resources provided by the research institution next door. The search committee should seek a candidate who possesses the leadership skills, personality, and enthusiasm and pride for Barnard that Shapiro had, and who can work to build on Shapiro's legacy-growing the endowment, building community, and increasing the school's prestige and academic standing-in order to make Barnard's future even brighter.