At a town hall on Monday night, a handful of Barnard students brainstormed ways to increase the College’s endowment.
Lara Avasar, BC ’11 and president of the Student Governing Association, told Barnard’s Chief Operating Officer Greg Brown that the College should emphasize the value of small contributions to young alumnae and current seniors.
“The power of a dollar, really just donating one dollar—whatever you have, is what is important,” she said after the town hall.
Mica Spicka, BC ’13, said she became curious about Barnard’s endowment—the total value of the College’s investments from donations—after attending a fireside chat with President Debora Spar.
“I wanted to learn more about that and why what alumnae give back is much smaller in comparison to other schools,” she said.
Brown presented a breakdown of the College’s endowment at the town hall in comparison to other schools'. He noted that the average endowment per student at Barnard is $78,624, whereas Harvard’s is $1,912,993.
“Tuition only covers 75% of the true cost of a Barnard education,” Sarah Slobodien, BC ’03 and the associate director of the Barnard Fund, said, adding that the other 25 percent comes from gifts from donors and alumnae.
Spicka said that she learned a lot from Brown’s presentation.
“I think there was a really informative conversation, students had a chance to ask burning questions and see where money goes,” she said.
Erin Fredrick, BC ’01 and director of alumnae affairs, described the barriers her office faces when they try to reach out to alumnae who do not share her love of Barnard.
“For those alumnae who we reach out to who say they have had a negative experience at Barnard, we try and ask them what Barnard taught them—how to be a self starter, how to be resilient, maybe how to be a great writer, as a means to convince them to donate,” Fredrick said.
Amie Blocker, BC ’13, said she can understand why the alumni office might have trouble with fundraising.
“Barnard itself has a lot of community, but I feel like outside the campus there isn’t a lot of community,” Blocker said.
Dean of Studies Karen Blank said that Barnard doesn’t always get enough credit for its contributions to Columbia.
“While my son was at Columbia he was very involved with the Barnard radio station WBAR. He got a sense of community from his Barnard involvement as well,” said Dean Blank.
Alexandra Voss, BC ’11 and SGA student representative to Columbia College Student Council, said that different groups of alumnae have very distinct relationships with the school.
“Alumnae in the ‘70s and ‘80s seem less enthusiastic in comparison to alumnae of the ‘50s and ‘60s who really love Barnard,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misquoted Sarah Slobodien. Spectator regrets the error.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy