As students struggle to manage their workloads and extracurricular activities, Barnard Dean Dorothy Denburg also faces a balancing act.
Temporarily, she has two jobs—juggling her work as Barnard dean and working as the vice president of college relations.
Denburg announced over the summer that she would—at the request of Barnard President Debora Spar—assume the position of vice president of college relations and step down as dean once the college finds a replacement.
In her new position, she will oversee alumnae affairs and career development and the school’s global initiatives, including Spar’s international travels. She will also work with the pre-college programs—which she hopes to expand abroad—as well as a first-year seminar.
But nearly a month into the school year, Barnard has still not found a replacement, effectively leaving Denburg with two jobs.
Though she has already assumed the new position, “I’m still very much the dean,” Denburg said in a recent interview. “I’m continuing my meetings with all of my senior staff and seeing students and serving on the committees that the dean of the college serves on.”
She has delegated some tasks to other deans. First-Year Dean Lisa Hollibaugh is now in charge of planning for family weekend and Dean of Studies Karen Blank is representing Barnard at the regular monthly meetings of deans at the University, Denburg said.
“I’ve tried hard to identify some things that I do that I could delegate to some of my colleagues,” she said. “The reality is that there are some things that I have to be doing until there is a new dean.”
But her time is also being consumed by her new position.
What’s a typical day like? “Incredibly busy. From early in the morning well into the evening,” she said.
“I had to make a difficult choice between an invitation to a dinner with students and a dinner meeting of the board of the alumnae association,” she said as an example. “I’m really trying my best to be present and accessible to students as long as I’m dean and at the same time, I’m trying to think creatively about things that I’d like to see up and running by, certainly, next year.”
Her new position is meant to better connect alumnae and students. “One of the reasons for this restructuring is the hope that by putting alumnae affairs and career development in the same unit, we might be able to better leverage our extensive alumnae network to the advantage of students,” Denburg said.
Denburg will work closely with Alumnae Affairs at the Vagelos Alumnae Center. According to Denburg, Erin Fredrick, BC ’01 and director of alumnae affairs—who was previously reporting to Bobbi Mark, vice president of development and alumnae affairs—will report directly to her. Mark said that she will continue to work closely with Denburg to ensure that they are in constant communication about fundraising.
“Dean Denburg has already assumed the position of vice president for college relations, but even before she took on her new role, she and I have worked together closely since I arrived at Barnard two years ago,” Mark wrote in an email. “The members of the Development and Alumnae Affairs departments have always worked well together and continue to do so, as fundraising and friend-raising need to be closely aligned in order to be effective.”
Mark, who is in charge of fundraising, said that recent efforts have focused on maximizing both unrestricted and restricted giving to Barnard from alumnae and parents of current students and recent graduates. She said that fundraising has improved despite the recession.
“Although the economic situation continued to put a damper on all fundraising (worldwide), we are confident that with the help of our alumnae and parent volunteers we will continue to do well,” she said, adding that in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, they raised more than in the previous year.
As the dean search moves along, Denburg said that despite nostalgia for parts of her old job, she is looking forward to new challenges.
“I will certainly miss working with my colleagues in the student services area because they’re extraordinarily committed and caring professionals,” she said. “While I think I’m going to miss the ability to have a direct impact on student life, I feel like I have accomplished a lot and am ready for some new challenges.”
In her new position, she hopes to reconnect with alumnae she has known in the past and attract alumnae who have been disconnected from Barnard.
“I love the idea that I will be able to reconnect with alumnae whom I’ve known since their student years over the span of almost 39 years,” she said. “I have incredible faith in this college and in its future and I want to share that with alumnae.”
Her new job, she said, does not mean she won’t be in touch with current students. “I’m going to continue to teach and advise because ... I need direct connection to students to speak credibly about the college,” she said.
Apart from perhaps traveling more than she is accustomed to, the only concern she has is resolving current issues she faces as dean.
“There are a few open-ended issues,” she said. “I don’t know that they’ll be resolved before a new dean arrives and I think that at this point, it would be inappropriate for me to make major changes. I want to give the new dean as much freedom and flexibility as possible.”
She wouldn’t specify further.
According to Lara Avsar, BC ’11, Barnard Student Government Association president and one of two students on the dean of the college search committee, the process of finding a replacement is moving along well.
“I was very pleased to hear the level of interaction that the candidates plan to have with the students,” Avsar added.
She said that she is looking forward to working with Denburg in her new role.
“I’m also, as always, extremely excited to continue working with Denburg in all her various roles at the college,” she added.
Denburg said she anticipates an easy changeover to the future dean.
“I’m very glad that the process [dean search] is moving along well and I’m looking forward to a smooth transition and turning over my areas to someone else in good shape,” she said.
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