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@dominatedgirls.net.

A Distinctive Community of Leaders and Scholars

Note that applications to the 2025 Laidlaw Scholars cohort will open in January 2025. Current Barnard students who are interested in the program should fill out the Summer Programs Interest Form here.

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@dominatedgirls.net!

Applications for the 2025 Laidlaw Scholars cohort will open in late December 2024.

Meet the 2024 Laidlaw Scholars

Alice Bai '26

Alice (she/her) is a rising junior from Hong Kong, majoring in History with a minor in Education Studies. In her Laidlaw research, she hopes to explore the formation of Chinese Cuban diasporic communities in Havana. Her academic interests include migration and diaspora, gender and sexuality, colonial legacies, and pedagogy.

 

Meet the 2023 Laidlaw Scholars

Shehar Bano '26

Hi everyone, I am Shehar Bano , an international student from Pakistan. I intend to major in Political Science and Economics, with Laidlaw I intend to explore the reasons of the lack of women doctors in medical fields in Pakistan.

We are Grateful for Laidlaw Faculty Mentors! (* denotes multiple students mentored)

Aaron Passell*

Alex Cooley

Alex Pittman*

Alexandra Watson*

Alison Vacca

Alyssa Battistoni

Ami Zota

Andrew Anastasi*

Angelo Caglioti*

Anja Benshaul-Tolonen*

Anne Higonnet

Anupama Rao

Cam Silver

Chandler Miranda

Christia Mercer*

Colin Leach

Debbie Becher*

Duygu Ula

Eduardo Moncada

Elizabeth Bernstein

Emily Mace

Emily Paine

Emily Sun

Erika Kitzmiller*

Fawziah Qadir

Jack Lewis Snyder

Jonathan Rieder

Jose Moya

Katherine Franke

Kim Hall

Kristen Sánchez Carter*

Lesley Sharp

Lola Ben-Alon

Mara Green

Maricarmen Hernandez

Martina Jasova

Matt Sandler*

Meredith Benjamin*

Michael Miller

Mignon Moore

Nara Milanich

Natalia Ortiz

Neslihan Senocak

Orlando Betancour

Paris Adkins-Jackson

Quincy Jones*

Rachel McDermott

Rajiv Sethi*

Randa Serhan

Randall Reback

Rebecca Jordan-Young

Tanya Domi

Teresa Sharpe

Timothy Vasko

Wendy Schor-Haim