Deans’ Office for Advising & Support Records

Collection

Identifier: BC05-15

Staff View

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection includes materials created by the Dean for Academic Planning and Advising and other Barnard administrative staff in the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support while developing structures and policies for providing academic advising to Barnard undergraduates. Materials generated through the Deans’ Office’s regular operations and collaborations with Barnard faculty and other administrative offices include correspondence, memos, and meeting agendas that illustrate discussions about policy changes, best practices, and other issues related to academic advising and student life. A significant portion of the correspondence was created by Dr. Barbara Schmitter during her tenures as Dean of Studies from 1966-82 and as Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs from 1982-93. The Deans’ Office also conducted surveys, collected data, and produced reports on students’ course enrollment and academic interests, which are also present in the collection. The collection also includes guides and brochures that were distributed to Barnard students to inform them about how to participate in academic advising and counseling services provided or supported by the Deans’ Office. The collection also includes a number of interviews with Black, Latine, Muslim, and Asian Barnard students and alumni that were conducted by Barnard administration for a video project that was intended to train administrators, staff, and faculty to better understand and serve students of color.

Dates

Creation: 1959 - 2014

Creator

Deans’ Office for Advising & Support (Organization)

Access

This collection contains student materials that are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and are restricted for 75 years from the date of creation. Restricted materials have been separated and labeled.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard College Archives. The Barnard College Archives approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Historical Background

The Deans’ Office for Advising and Support (DOAS), formerly known as the Office of the Dean of Studies, provides academic advising to Barnard students. The office is overseen by the Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising, formerly known as the Dean of Studies. DOAS also includes four Class Deans who advise students on how to register for courses, manage their plan of study, meet academic deadlines, and fulfill major and minor requirements during each year of their undergraduate career. Other major responsibilities of the DOAS include awarding academic honors such as placement on the Dean’s List; overseeing the Honor Board, which enforces the Barnard Honor Code; managing academic coaching and peer tutoring programs; and offering support for transfer students and students who take a leave of absence.

A system of providing specialized academic advising to each undergraduate class began taking shape in the early 1920s (Barnard Bulletin, May 4, 1923). At this time, the Committee on Instruction formed a subcommittee called the Committee on Student Programs to develop administrative structures for advising undergraduates, particularly first- and second-year students, on how to build their plan of academic study.

In April 1955, Helen P. Bailey, a professor of French at Barnard, was appointed as the first Dean of Studies (Barnard Bulletin, April 25, 1955). During this time, advising efforts targeted first-year students. The Dean of Studies remained in close contact with faculty committees, especially the Committee on Instruction and Curriculum Review Committee.

In 1966-67, Bailey was succeeded by Dr. Barbara Schmitter, a professor of psychology at Barnard. While the Dean of Studies position was primarily concerned with academic advising, Dean Schmitter often served on committees and weighed in on issues related to financial aid (Barnard Bulletin, March 5, 1969), substance use on campus (Barnard Bulletin, November 18, 1970), coeducation, student housing, and other matters related to student life (Barnard Bulletin, April 4, 1977). Perhaps because of Schmitter’s involvement in broader campus issues, in 1977 Schmitter was appointed as Vice President of Student Affairs, in addition to her role as Dean of Studies. At this time, Schmitter oversaw financial aid, central records, the registrar, the career and placement offices, and health services in addition to the Dean of Studies office (Barnard Bulletin, September 1, 1977). Thus, the lines distinguishing the responsibilities and oversight of the Dean of Studies from other administrative positions were often blurred and changed depending on the needs and demands of students and faculty.

The current structure of the DOAS began to solidify in 1993 when Dorothy Denburg was appointed Barnard’s first Dean of the College, which replaced the Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs position formerly held by Dr. Schmitter. At this time, the Office of the Dean of Studies was restructured around the Dean of Studies and four permanent Class Dean positions for each year of a four-year undergraduate program of study.

Around 2020-21, amidst other changes in Barnard’s administrative structure initiated by Dean of the College Leslie Grinage, the Office of the Dean of Studies was renamed to the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support, and the Dean of Studies position was renamed the Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising.

Chronology:
1922-1932: Dr. Louise Gregory serves as chairman of the Committee on Student Programs
1932-1949: Dr. Louise Gregory serves as Associate Dean
1949-1955: Dr. Lorna McGuire serves as Associate Dean
1950: Associate Dean title changed to Dean of Student Administration
1955: Dean of Student Administration title changed to Dean of Studies. Professor Helen P. Bailey appointed as first Dean of Studies
1962: Student counselors begin advising transfer students.
1966-1967: Dr. Barbara Schmitter succeeds Dean Bailey as acting Dean of Studies, eventually permanently filling the position.
1977: Dr. Schmitter appointed as Vice President of Student Affairs in addition to her role as Dean of Studies
1982: Dr. Schmitter’s title changed to Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs. Vilma Bornemann appointed as Dean of Studies
1983: Honor Board established
1993: Dr. Barbara Schmitter retires and her position of Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs is superseded by a new position: Dean of the College. Dorothy Denburg is appointed as the first Dean of the College, which oversees numerous offices including the Office of the Dean of Studies
1993-2012: Karen Blank serves as Dean of Studies
2013-2018: Natalie Friedman serves as Dean of Studies
2019-2021: Christina Kuan Tsu serves as Interim Dean of Studies
2021-present: Holly Tedder serves as Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising

Sources: Barnard Bulletin collection, Barnard Digital Collections, https://digitalcollections.barnard.edu/bulletin.

Extent

8 Linear Feet

Language

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of materials from the Barnard College Deans' Office for Advising and Support, formerly known as the Office of the Dean of Studies. Collection materials include correspondence, memorandums, surveys, reports, meeting minutes, publications, and audio and video materials produced by the Dean for Academic Planning and Class Advising, formerly known as the Dean of Studies, and other administrators involved in academic advising.

Collection Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series. Series 1, Internal communications, contains correspondence and documentation exchanged between the Deans' Office of Advising and Support and Barnard administrators, faculty, and committees. A large amount of these materials were produced by Barbara Schmitter during her tenure as Dean of Studies; materials produced by Schmitter are arranged chronologically in Subseries 1.1, Barbara Schmitter correspondence. All other materials in Series 1 that were not created by Schmitter are arranged by type: memos and correspondence; surveys and reports; and guides to academic advising.

Series 2, Publications, contains brochures, guides, and pamphlets that are arranged chronologically.

Series 3, Interviews with students and alumni of color, contains audiovisual materials that are arranged according to the order in which the processing archivist received and intventoried them.

Physical Location

This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.

Acquisition Information

This collection was initially created from an acquisition of materials that were transferred from the Office of the Dean of the College to the Barnard Archives in 2013. Additional materials were transferred from the Office of the Provost to the archives in 2014. Additional materials were transferred from Alumnae Relations (formerly known as Alumnae Affairs) to the archives in 2015. Additional materials were transferred from the President’s Office to the archives in 2017.

A large accrual of materials were transferred by archives staff from a shared storage area used by many Barnard College administrative offices in June 2024. This large accrual prompted archivists to re-process the entire collection.

Processing History

A minimal level of processing was conducted on the collection sometime prior to 2024. A large accrual of audiovisual materials in June 2024 prompted archivists to re-process the entire collection to improve researcher access. Katelyn Landry, an Archives Graduate Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year, re-processed the collection and wrote the finding aid.

Katelyn Landry renamed the collection from "Dean of Studies" to the "Deans' Office for Advising and Support Records" to reflect the office's current name. She rearranged materials into series and subseries, deaccessioned materials that were not created or utilized by the Deans' Office for Advising and Support, as well as excessive duplicate copies of materials. She also conducted an item-level survey of Subseries 1.1, Barbara Schmitter correspondence, to identify and restrict student educational materials that are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.