Debora Spar

On July 1, Spar, an expert on the ethics of reproductive medicine and former Harvard Business School professor, formally began her tenure on the west side of Broadway. After emptying a few boxes and installing new shelves in her office, Spar sat down with Spectator to discuss the construction of the Nexus building, the Nine Ways of Knowing, and what makes a teacher great.

Debora Spar has been Barnard College's president for exactly one month. Read on for the second part of Spectator's interview to learn about Spar's thoughts on women's education, college rankings, and Barnard's international goals. Spar explains why she thinks Barnard's endowment lags behind its peers, and how it prevents the College from being as "ambitious in some respects as we’d like to be."

On July 1, Debora Spar, previously a Harvard Business School professor and an expert on the ethics of the reproductive medicine, formally began her tenure as Barnard’s president. After emptying a few boxes, moving into her SoHa apartment, and installing new shelves in her office, Spar took some time to sit down with Spectator to discuss the beginning of a new chapter in her life. Tune in next week for the second part of the interview, which concerns Spar’s expectations and ideas for her tenure at Barnard.

As I stood in a line full of wide-eyed students and chatty alums waiting to shake the hand of Debora Spar, Barnard’s next president, I couldn’t help but notice the expression on her face. I knew it so well, and after ogling her for an embarrassingly long time, it came to me. She looked just like a first-year student on her first day of orientation.

While knitting a brown scarf with long-time friend and Barnard College Dean Dorothy Denburg, President Judith Shapiro reminisced about her time at Barnard, revealed her future plans, and talked about the college’s new leader at the final fireside chat of her 14-year tenure Thursday evening.

Barnard College announced the selection of Debora Spar, a senior associate dean at Harvard University Business School and widely-published political scientist, as its eleventh president on Tuesday. Spar will take the post on July 1 when current president Judith Shapiro steps down.

As President Judith Shapiro’s 14-year tenure comes to an end, Barnard College’s new president has a unique opportunity to shape the course of the college’s history. In the coming months, Debora Spar will have to find her identity at Barnard and, in so doing, help Barnard better define its own.