Barnard's New Women's Center and the Thinking Behind It, 1971, page 2

          her new book, "Man's World, Woman's.Place"; Professor of Education
Patricia Graham spoke on women in academe; a report was given on the
vocational achievements and concerns of the Class of 1965; Congressman
Jonathan Bingham described legislative changes of concern to women; a_
panel of alumnae discussed the psychological stresses on women in our
society; and career workshops with alumnae were offered in the arts,
business and science. Next fall our Alumnae Council too will focus on
how the new feminism is changing education at Barnard.

But our in—depth effort this year has been a study of how the
college could most adequately respond to the new challenges. A Task
Force on Barnard and the Educated Woman, with trustees, faculty, alumnae,
students and administrators represented, has been exploring such basic
questions as the extent of our responsibilities to women beyond our own
students and alumnae, and what we can or ought to do to show our students
what it means to be an educated woman in contemporary America.

My report will attempt to summarize the conclusions of the Task Force
and the directions which they recomend as most promising. Their Report
did not address itself to purely undergraduate areas, such as new courses

-on women, where much activity is already in progress.

The Task Force concluded that Barnard could serve women who were not
a part of its student body in ways compatible with its character as a
college; that it could best serve its alumnae and women interested in
academic pursuits, but that its programs should be flexible enough to
be of interest to many other women; and_that it must do more to equip
its students to deal with problems which they might encounter after
graduation. As one of our Biology professors pointed out, "Too many
people think an educated woman less useful and competent than any educated
man, a theory which puts the educators of women in an odd position.”

Behind these conclusions lay certain basic assumptions on which the
Task Force was agreed: '

_That because of its history, its staff, and its_location, Barnard is

particularly suited for becoming a national center for the study of women

and their interests;

That much of the study of the history, the psychology, and the talents of
women has been either false or superficial;

That women, because of the demands of marriage and motherhood, often have
irregular job patterns;

That Barnard has a rich resource, now largely untapped, in the talents and

energies of its alumnae and other women living in New York;