Just after the first female dean of Columbia College abruptly resigned, Kyra Tirana Barry, CC ’87, stepped in as the first female president of the college’s alumni association
“It was really an interesting time to come in as president,” Barry said.
Barry, a member of the first fully coeducational class of Columbia College, studied urban studies and worked for 10 years in public transportation policy at the federal, state, and local levels before stepping into her new role two months ago at an organization that was all-male until the year she graduated.
Barry’s inaugural semester as president of the Columbia College Alumni Association Board coincides with the 25th anniversary of Columbia College’s first coed graduating class. This anniversary, however, has not been the CCAA’s focus in recent months. When Michele Moody-Adams resigned as dean in August, the CCAA worked to address questions from alumni about the circumstances surrounding her departure, which was allegedly sparked by as-yet-unknown structural changes to Columbia College.
Justin Ifill, CC ’06 and president of the Columbia College Young Alumni, commended Barry for her efforts to communicate with concerned alumni and fellow board members following turmoil in the college.
Immediately following Moody-Adams’ resignation announcement, Barry convened the CCAA board for a 9:30 p.m. conference call to discuss the matter.
“It was kind of a DEFCON 2 moment,” Ifill said, referring to the United States Armed Forces planned response to emergency situations.
Alumni contacted the board by “email, Gmail chats, Facebook messages, and texts,” and Ifill said that Barry was very hands-on from the get-go.
“She made a point to reach out to me when Michele Moody-Adams decided to quit,” Ifill said. “She wanted to know what was going on with young alumni.”
Until a permanent dean is found, Barry said that CCAA will focus on protecting the Core.
“The Core Curriculum is one of the areas that link all the alumni and students,” said Barry, who has served on the Dean’s Alumnae Task Force and planned a women’s varsity soccer reunion in recent years.
She said that she hopes to improve the experience of international students and strengthen the rapport between younger and older alumni during her two-year term.
“We see our role as safeguarding the college and what makes it special and unique,” Barry said of the CCAA. “The quality of experience for students here today is incredibly important to us, and that motivates us to do what we do.”
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