Letters
Reunion 2013
The SeaSon’S Buzz After 40+ Years: Dorothy Denburg ’70 Retires TV Star Lauren Graham ’88 Publishes a novel How to Get Ahead: Pursuing Careers in Science
Barnard Magazine SuMMer 2013 1
A DANCER’S DILEMMA
Since receiving the news that Dorothy Denburg, whom I will always think of as “Dean Denburg,” is retiring, a piece of my brain has been continuously occupied with thoughts of her. Perhaps in sending this letter that piece might return to the more mundane everyday work it should have been doing. I believe I may have been one of the first New York City Ballet dancers to enroll at Barnard as a matriculating student. Having left home in Atlanta at 16 to attend the School of American Ballet and Professional Children’s School, I longed for the “normal” experience that my “normal” peers would have at college. Of course, I longed to join the New York City Ballet more, and so I deferred my Barnard acceptance for a year to see how I could fit education into my artistic plans. Professional ballet dancers do not generally have the option to attend college or university: our schedules, our tours, our lives and the lives of students are generally in opposition. What’s more, I did not want to be in a general studies program. I wanted to be a matriculating student; I wanted to have as much of a college experience as I could while living off campus and working six days a week, often from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It really did not appear to be a possibility. Fortunately, my college advisor from PCS, Vincent Napolitano, contacted Dean Denburg, and she decided she was going to help. From day one, my professional career threw every obstacle possible at my desires for higher education. As I watched the 2
swirling waters rise around me, blocking the way to Barnard’s iron gates, Dean Denburg extended her hand from above and pulled me up. How to choose classes based on my schedule? I am fairly sure I am Dean Denburg’s only student to have majored in Mondays. (I could only take class on Monday as that was our only day off.) What to do about math? I was a miserable math student. Dean Denburg sent me to what she called “the class that my student with the WORST SAT math score still got an A in.” I got a B. But it took care of my requirement. Perhaps my fondest memory was when I finally retired from NYCB and sat with Dean Denburg to discuss the final stretch. She looked over my transcript and said, “You took one course twice.” NO! Yes. NO! …. Yes. I had taken an 18th-century literature class twice, about three years apart. Never fear, with Dean Denburg’s help, we were able to prove that while the course title was the same, I had read all different texts and both courses were allowed to stand. In a mere eight and a half years, I was able to accomplish what I had once thought impossible: I graduated Barnard College magna cum laude. While I had thought I would find peers and camaraderie at Barnard, that really was not the case. I found inspiration in the strong women around me, and aspiration in the professors that I had the privilege to study with. I loved my Barnard experience and, despite my lack of student bonds from my days there, I forged a strong bond with the place and my many years within its walls. And I left with one indelible relationship: Dean Denburg. I think of her as my champion and my partner in crime. I would certainly not be the woman I am today without her encouragement, guidance, and determination to see me through. Dean Denburg, a big thank you for your years of service to me and to Barnard, and I wish you the happiest of retirements. —Rebecca Metzger Hirsch ’97 via e-mail
Editorial staff Annette Stramesi Kahn ’67 Editorial Manager Abigail Beshkin Art Director & Designer Anna Nozaki research editor Rebecca Geiger Staff writer Alyssa Vine Editor
ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION OF BARNARD COLLEGE PRESIDENT & ALUMNAE TRUSTEE Mary Ann LoFrumento ’77 alumnae affairs director of alumnae affairs
Erin Fredrick ’01
Communications Joanne Kwong ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT Patricia Keim Creative director David Hopson editorial director Annette Stramesi Kahn VICE PRESIDENT
development vice president for development
Bret Silver
Fall 2013, Vol. CII, No. 4 Barnard Magazine (USPS 875-280, ISSN 1071-6513) is published quarterly by the Alumnae Association of Barnard College. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send change of address form to: Alumnae Records, Barnard College, Box AS, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598
Editorial office Vagelos Alumnae Center, Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598 Phone: 212.854.0085 E-mail: magazine@barnard.edu Opinions expressed are those of contributors or the editor and do not represent official positions of Barnard College or the Alumnae Association of Barnard College. Letters to the editor (150 words maximum), submissions for Last Word (600 words maximum), and unsolicited articles and/or photographs will be published at the discretion of the editor and will be edited for length and clarity. The contact information listed in Class Notes is for the exclusive purpose of providing information for the magazine and may not be used for any other purpose. For alumnae related inquiries, call Alumnae Affairs at 212.854.2005 or e-mail alumnaeaffairs@barnard.edu. To change your address, write to Alumnae Records, Barnard College, Box AS, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598. Phone: 212.854.7792 E-mail: alumrecords@barnard.edu