ALUMNI PROFILE
BIOLOGY PIONEER Written by SHARI ROAN
A
s a bright, science-loving high school student, Barbara Simmons was eyeing Caltech and MIT for college. But it only took one visit to Harvey Mudd
College to persuade her to enroll in the small school just a few hours north of her home in San Diego. It was the fi rst of three important decisions
Simmons —now Barbara Hardwick ’92—made during her college years, each of them turning out to be fortuitous choices. Her second decision was to major in biology, allowing her to become the fi rst graduate, in 1992, of the newly formed biology department. Her third savvy choice has to do with her last name,
Barbara (Simmons) Hardwick ’92 was the fi rst graduate of HMC’s Department of Biology.
Hardwick. During her fi rst year, she met fellow “North Dormer” James Hardwick. The two married in 1993. “He was a year older than me and also a biology major,” Hardwick
says. “But he graduated before there was a biology program, so he got his bio major as an independent-study student,” taking his required biology classes at neighboring schools. Hardwick takes pride in being HMC’s fi rst biology graduate educated
within the school’s halls. But she’s more impressed by the totality of her experience in college. “The thing I refl ect back on is that college was one of the most intellectually challenging and interesting times in my life,” Hardwick says.
“I think what strikes me now as unique and special is the cooperative atmosphere. There was no competitiveness among the students. The challenge was external. The challenge was the material.” Hardwick entered Harvey Mudd intending to major in chemistry. But
the time spent taking Core classes during her fi rst two years of college was illuminating. She found herself intrigued with biology. “Bill Purves —his class and the conversations I had with him—got
me excited about biology,” she recalls. “Nancy Hamlett taught a class in molecular biology, and I got interested in that.” Hardwick recalls a burgeoning biology program that immediately
drew packed classes with instructors eager to advance their students’ educations and careers. Because the program was new, faculty members probed the students for feedback on how to strengthen and build the program, she says. Hardwick remains close friends with many of her former classmates. When she returned to the campus last year for her 20-year class reunion,
that tight-knit feeling of community was still apparent. The biggest change, Hardwick says with a laugh, is how many more female students are on campus. Back in her day, far fewer women were pursuing degrees in math and science, but Hardwick says she never felt like a minority. “I actually felt like it is one of the more equitable environments I’ve been in.” There were plenty of opportunities after graduation, too. Hardwick
earned a master’s degree in biology at University of California, San Diego, intending to pursue scientifi c research. She realized she wasn’t cut out for the slow pace of progress and solitude of the work. Having enjoyed her roles as social chair and dorm president at HMC —Hardwick wanted a career that was more interactive and a bit faster paced. That led her to the MIT Sloan School of Management where she earned an MBA studying marketing and new product development. She was hired by Pfi zer in 1999 and has worked there since. Today,
Hardwick is senior director in global commercial development in the company’s neuroscience group and lives in Princeton Junction, N.J. She and James have two children, Alison, 10, and Adam, 7. Her job at Pfi zer involves collaborating with the research and
development department to help develop new compounds. Although she doesn’t don a lab coat or spend her day hunched over a microscope, that biology degree sure comes in handy, Hardwick says. “I really enjoy this role,” she says, “because I’m close to the science, but I’m not actually doing the scientifi c research.”
SPRING 2013
Har vey Mudd College
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