Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Research Program
Since Fall 2021, Barnard College has been incredibly proud to partner with the Laidlaw Foundation to provide first-year students and sophomores with opportunities to develop as leaders and scholars. The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Research Program is designed to develop a new generation of leaders committed to evidence-based truths and ethical leadership. Scholars advance and drive change around the world through creative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary practice, alongside rigorous academic research. The initiative is supported by Beyond Barnard and the Athena Center.
Read more about the program below! Questions can be directed to laidlaw@dinghykit.com.
A Distinctive Community of Leaders and Scholars
The Laidlaw Leadership & Research Program at Barnard College presents students with distinctive opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with faculty at Barnard and Columbia, and to bring their research into the world through a Leadership in Action project.
Students may apply in their First Year or Sophomore Year at Barnard (learn more about eligibility and policies here). They identify a faculty mentor and conduct six weeks of supervised research on a topic of their choosing during their first summer in the program. Research mentors must be full-time faculty members with one of the following titles: assistant professor, associate professor, or professor. They must be employed at Barnard during the Summer 2024. Adjunct faculty, unfortunately, are ineligible. Your recommender, however, may be anyone (faculty, managers, etc.) who can speak to your strengths as a Laidlaw candidate.
During that summer, they live together on campus and have access to dedicated leadership development programming. Scholars present the outcomes of their research at the Barnard Laidlaw Scholars Symposium in September.
In their second summer, Laidlaw Scholars complete a Leadership in Action project that challenges them to bring their research and leadership skills into the world. In these funded six-week experiences, students take ownership of a project which demonstrably makes the world a better place. Learning through service, Scholars test their leadership skills, expand their understanding of what it means to be a global citizen, and challenge themselves to grow.
Throughout the program, Scholars have access to Leadership programming developed by the Athena Center and Beyond Barnard. And they have access to the extraordinary global network of Laidlaw Scholars. Questions about the program or interested in applying? Email laidlaw@dinghykit.com!
We are Grateful for Laidlaw Faculty Mentors! (* denotes multiple students mentored)
Aaron Passell*
Alex Cooley
Alex Pittman
Alexandra Watson*
Ami Zota
Angelo Caglioti*
Anja Benshaul-Tolonen
Anne Higonnet
Anupama Rao
Cam Silver
Chandler Miranda
Christia Mercer*
Debbie Becher
Eduardo Moncada
Elizabeth Bernstein
Emily Mace
Erika Kitzmiller*
Jack Lewis Snyder
Jonathan Rieder
Jose Moya
Katherine Franke
Kim Hall
Kristen Sánchez Carter*
Lesley Sharp
Lola Ben-Alon
Mara Green
Matt Sandler
Michael Miller
Nara Milanich
Natalia Ortiz
Neslihan Senocak
Orlando Betancour
Quincy Jones
Rachel McDermott
Rajiv Sethi
Randall Reback
Rebecca Jordan-Young
Tanya Domi
Teresa Sharpe
Wendy Schor-Haim