Barnard College

By James A. Barham, PhD

Barnard College was founded in 1889 as a women’s college associated with Columbia University. It remains an all-women’s institution to this day. Barnard graduates receive diplomas signed by the presidents of both Barnard College and Columbia University.

The most popular among Barnard’s many programs are those in the social sciences, in the biological and biomedical sciences, and in English language and literature.

Barnard is associated with three Nobel laureates:

• Literature—Gabriela Mistral
• Peace—Leymah Gbowee and Elie Wiesel

Other distinguished Barnard connected people include the following:

• Philosophers—Alan Gabbey, Taylor Carman, Frederick Neuhouser, and Patricia Greenspan
• Novelists—Patricia Highsmith, Mary Gordon, Erica Jong, Edwidge Danticat, Lionel Shriver, and Sigrid Nunez
• Novelist and short-story writer, Jhumpa Lahiri
• Novelist and philosopher, Rebecca Goldstein
• Novelist and folklorist, Zora Neale Hurston
• Novelist and non-fiction author, Lynne Sharon Schwartz
• Novelist and screenwriter, Maria Semple
• Short-story writer, John Cheever
• Playwrights—Ntozake Shange, Thulani Davis, and Linda Yellen
• Literary critics, Elizabeth Hardwick and Daphne Merkin
• Biographer and literary scholar, Francine du Plessix Gray
• Translator and short-story writer, Lydia Davis
• Sanskritist, Barbara Stoler Miller
• Intellectual historian and religious studies scholar, Elaine Pagels
• Actors—Jane Wyman, Jill Eikenberry, Cynthia Nixon, and Kelly McCreary
• Comedian, actor, and producer, Joan Rivers
• Painter, Maud Morgan
• Sculptors, Michelle Lopez and Jane Teller
• Photographer and conceptual artist, Sarah Charlesworth
• Musician and composer, Laurie Anderson
• Singer-songwriter, Suzanne Vega
• Choreographer, Twyla Tarp
• Physicist, Harriet Brooks
• Chemist, Jacqueline K. Barton
• Cell biologist, Ora Mendelsohn Rosen
• Economist, Anna J. Schwartz
• Political scientist, Abigail Thernstrom
• Anthropologists, Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict
• Radical activist and author, Grace Lee Boggs
• Publisher and entrepreneur, Martha Stewart
• Science journalist, Natalie Angier
• Investigative journalist, Katherine “Kate” Boo
• Financial columnist, Rana Foroohar
• Radio journalist and news anchor, Maria Hinojosa
• Actor and former US Representative, Helen Gahagan

Barnard is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).