Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Barnard College falls behind other Seven Sisters in finance statistic
By Anna Surbatovich
Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia U.)
12/06/2006

(U-WIRE) NEW YORK — While Barnard College is rapidly becoming the most popular of the historic Seven Sisters women's colleges, its endowment is significantly smaller than that of its peers.

With a current value of just over $171 million, Barnard's endowment lags significantly behind that of Columbia University and is the lowest of any of the Seven Sisters. Columbia's endowment weighs in at $6 billion, while Wellesley College and Bryn Mawr boast $1 billion and $560.3 million endowments, respectively.

Unlike some similarly sized institutions, Barnard was founded not by a wealthy benefactor but by an academic administrator who wanted women to receive educations on par with men.

"Barnard spent a lot of time as a commuter school," Gregory Brown, Barnard's vice president for finance and planning, said. "Less money was raised because people didn't feel a sense of community."

As a reason for lagging endowment, Brown cited the mistaken beliefs about Columbia's relationship with Barnard. "There is a misperception among some would-be donors that a gift to Columbia benefits Barnard," Brown said. Barnard College is financially independent from Columbia University.

Brown said that Barnard is still able to offer sizable financial aid packages to students, attract preeminent faculty, and maintain endowed professorships. "Alumnae really want to support students," he said. "Other priorities [of the endowment] are faculty excellence and retention."

The board of trustees establishes a spending rule each year which determines how much of the endowment will be used. Currently, about $9 million from the endowment is spent per year, of which more than half, $4.9 million, goes to financial aid. The actual amount the college spends on financial aid is far greater, at about $23 million. "The difference between what comes from the endowment and what is actually spent is made up from tuition and fundraising," Brown said.

Brown said that most endowment gifts come from alumnae and others who are associated with the college.

The small endowment means that "we may be a little more conservative [in investing]" Brown said. "We can't afford to take chances."

Brown said that Barnard prioritizes faculty and students, but that if the college had a larger endowment, administrators would be able to consider other campus enhancements such as maintenance, libraries, and faculty salaries.

Brown also speculated that a larger endowment could increase economic diversity in the student body. "People still think that they could never afford Barnard," he said. "A larger endowment would encourage students from all academic sectors to apply."

But Brown said administrators are confident in their utilization of resources. "We do a lot with a little at Barnard," he said.

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