Alumnae Relations has recently introduced Our Barnard, a redesigned, restructured, and mobile-friendly website, aiming to bring alumnae communications up-to-date with growing trends, provide intellectual and peer-to-peer engagement, and strengthen the reporting of Barnard’s various alumnae programs. The site takes the place of the long-running “Alumnae Network,” which was launched in 2009 as an answer to alumnae print directories and emerging social media platforms.
Since the launch of the “Alumnae Network,” Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others broadened their usership and enhanced their services, content marketing became an essential tool, and Internet users increasingly surfed the web on mobile devices. With these circumstances in mind, it was essential to update how alumnae relate to Barnard online.
Enter Our Barnard.
Last fall, Alumnae Relations, along with the ad hoc Alumnae Website Advisory Committee (AWAC) chaired by Anastasia Andrzejewski ’97, started this important process.
The mission of Our Barnard is a simple yet important one:
By mobilizing alumnae and friends to convene, learn, and get involved, both in person and online, Our Barnard will empower graduates of every generation to connect to and advance Barnard College.
The design of the site is vivid and lively, reflective of the boldness of the Barnard community, and content is concise, informative, and action-oriented. Likewise, the website navigation is organized to urge action:
Connect
Engage with class, regional, and shared interest groups, and find and network with alumnae across the globe.
Learn
Expand your knowledge, further your career, and stay connected to what is being discussed on campus.
Attend
Explore listings, career counseling, and recorded events and learn how to host your own gathering.
Give
Support The Bold Standard: A Campaign for Barnard , the most ambitious fundraising initiative the College has ever undertaken.
Volunteer
Meet volunteers, examine resources, and get involved with the AABC and other opportunities around campus.
Inquire
Look into alumnae benefits, contact the College, update your information, and more.
Our Barnard will provide more open channels between the College and alumnae, emphasizing intellectual content, social media, and alumnae stories. As such, graduates will see themselves more and more in the happenings on campus and beyond. Similarly, tools such as the Alumnae Directory and Class and Regional Club Pages are still available, but have been updated accordingly.
“In many ways, this is just the beginning of a new era for Barnard alumnae communications,” Terry Newman ’79, president of the AABC, wrote in a letter to the alumnae community. She adds, “This tool provides the opportunity to share fresh content on the site, as well as on Barnard alumnae’s various social media channels.”
How we associate with each other online, engage with our alma mater, and are drawn to a story is always changing. In launching Our Barnard, alumnae will grow along with the College as new and exciting connections for alumnae are continuously fostered.
