sources
Memoriam
by Kate Rood
Photograph courtesy of Barnard Archives
A Special Space There will be much to celebrate at Barnard in 2010, which will mark the grand opening of the Nexus. Members of the Barnard community and visitors to the Morningside Heights campus will have a spacious and functional place to gather. One of the most anticipated elements of the impressive new building is the expanded Java City café space—Liz’s Place—which will be the new heartbeat of the campus and a welcome haven for those seeking refreshment and relaxation.
Named in memory of Elizabeth Yeh Singh ’88, a treasured Barnard alumna and trustee who passed away in early 2008, Liz’s Place will be established with a gift to the Nexus from her husband, Ravi Singh. Built on an existing pledge to the Nexus made by the couple before her death, the generous gift by Ravi Singh honors his wife’s close connection to the College and her commitment to the success of Barnard’s ambitious capital project. “As an alumna, Elizabeth was always focused on the students and giving them the opportunity to express themselves,” says Singh. “The café will be a place where Barnard women can meet friends or make new ones, or just hang out; the talk can be intellectual or social. And, Elizabeth loved good food; naming the café in her honor seemed the best way to capture her vibrant spirit and strong feelings about Barnard,” he concludes. Centrally located on the main floor of the Nexus, Liz’s Place will be a double-height space that opens to an outdoor patio. The open plan and proximity to new student gathering spaces will fulfill the café’s mission: to create opportunities for engagement between students and mentors, visiting scholars and staff, and prospective students and alumnae. An active trustee at the time of her death, Singh enlivened the Barnard community with her uniquely personal leadership. Appointed to the board in 2006, she was passionate about addressing student needs, and soon became chair of the student-life committee. “This gift is a wonderful tribute to Liz’s passion and tireless work for the College on behalf of our students. We are thrilled that she will be remembered forever with this special space named in her memory,” says Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald ’81, vice-chair of the board of trustees. In addition to serving as a trustee, Singh was treasurer of the Alumnae Association of Barnard College from 2005 to 2008, and served for three years on the President’s Advisory Council. With ambition and a strong sense of self, she followed her passions through a career that brought her from her success in journalism, as a news anchor for CNBC Asia and later as a producer for CNN Financial News, to her emergence as a cook and coauthor of The Great Big Burger Book, released by Harvard Common Press in 2003.
This career path prompted the Class of 2003 to invite the news anchor-author to give the keynote address on the subject of “finding your way after college” at their senior dinner. Class president Rachel Greer Narvaez ’03 found her to be an ideal alumna speaker. Narvaez, now a consultant in the food industry and president of RGN Productions in Miami Beach, Florida, remembers that Singh was “real and honest about life, and had everyone laughing and engaged” at the dinner. Narvaez hopes Liz’s Place will capture Elizabeth Singh’s spirit—that of a “foodie” who loved “getting people together, talking about food, having laughs, and creating memories around food.” In 2003, Singh led an on-campus burger-cooking demonstration for first-year students. She also established the Elizabeth Singh ’88 Scholarship Fund, an endowed studentsupport fund that provides critical financial aid for the College. In 2007, when she learned that Yue Chen ’10, an economics and math major from China, had no place to spend Thanksgiving, Singh welcomed the student into her family’s home. The design of Liz’s Place will no doubt allow quiet reflection and thoughtful interaction amid the spaces for academic departments, student organizations, and performance areas. Singh believed conversations and social connections often motivate young scholars to excellence. Liz’s Place will be a catalyst for these productive conversations, and in this way the Nexus, and all the activity it going on within its walls, will help Barnard realize Singh’s vision for an engaged and vibrant campus community. Barnard Magazine Fall 2008 69