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APRIL 2003

Barnard Pre-College Summer Program
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.

If ever Mayor Bloomberg needed proof that New York City in the wake of 9/11 has lost none of its ability to attract out-of-town youngsters—with the obvious blessing of their parents—Barnard College’s Pre-college Program For Young Men And Women would be more than ample proof. In the words of its even-toned director, Allison B. Kimmich, who grows enthusiastic as she reports the fact, the post 9/11 reaction to Barnard’s summer in the city offering of courses, visits to major cultural institutions, life-after-college seminars, and mini career fairs, has been “just the opposite” of what she had expected. And so New York City got a different look in the brochure—going from a traditional skyline shot for summer 2002 to a spectacular photo of the city at dusk for summer 2003. Rather than get defensive about being in a highly targeted urban area, “we embraced the city,” says Allison Kimmich, promoting it as an extension of the classroom. The result has been “fantastic.”

Over the past two summers, applications have been way up (with a 34% gain from 2001 to 2002), and the program now caps at a little over 200. Considering that the program began 18 summers ago with a score of participants, the growth has been phenomenal, much of it reflective, no doubt, of the significant growth of the College itself. The program thus could be said to enhance the College’s recruitment efforts, but in fact, Barnard hardly needs the boost. Besides, the mission of the program stands on its own: to explore the complex relationship between gender and leadership and to foster those academic and social skills that will make young women truly competitive in the professional world. Though only 15-20% of the 16-17 year olds who attend the Barnard pre-college program actually apply to the undergraduate college, the program measures success by its ability to diversify and develop its own offerings while continuing to be selective. Most applicants come from out of town (26 states were represented last summer), but native New Yorkers participate, with the greatest number of applicants coming from the NY /NJ region (25% and 16% respectively), followed by applicants from California (14%), not to mention six foreign countries. The demographic resembles Barnard’s freshman class. Of those who will be graduating in 2006, for example, 26 attended the pre-college program.

Other institutions, of course offer similar summer institutes, but Barnard’s is unique in several ways, says Dr. Kimmich. For one, the program has her—a Ph.D. in Women’s Studies from Emory University. She also has extensive administrative experience working in programs such as the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (for ages 12-16). Though the heart of Barnard’s pre-college program is its five-week offerings in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the program also offers special one-week mini courses, a newly instituted Young Women’s Leadership Institute (to begin July 6), expanded opportunities to meet with Barnard alums, and an increasing number of evening and weekend activities, including outdoor film festivals, theatre outings, romps at Jones Beach, and nibblings at various restaurants.

The most popular courses reflect the program’s responsiveness to contemporary interests. There’s the ever-popular “From Page to Screen,” where students wind up making a three-minute short film, a silent with music, using Barnard’s state-of-the-art equipment. And then there’s “Reform and Revolution in the Sixties” and courses in art history with their attendant Wednesday visits to MOMA and the Met. Some of the workshops, discussions, and seminars are student-run. The one-week Institute, for example, concludes with showcase sessions at which students discuss action plans to take back home. Other curricular tracks have students creating action-oriented projects, which they demonstrate to the full group at the end. Students can also elect to participate in a joint initiative sponsored by the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, where they live and study at the nearby Jewish Theological Seminary. Other collaborative ideas are in the works.

Hard to believe that so much can go on in one intensive week, but it does, some of it subtly. Central to the Barnard program is the residential experience. Many summer campuses “bemoan” this aspect, Dr. Kimmich notes, but at Barnard, where approximately 75% of the pre-college fellows live in residence halls, learning how to get along with peers is an essential part of the “developmentally appropriate” experience. Students have freedom, Dr.Kimmich adds, but they also understand, or come to understand, what it means to have “freedom with limitations.” Not at all incompatible with having fun in summer in the city.#

 

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