WWII took an enormous toll on Bard, with
most of its students enlisting or being
drafted into service (in 1943, only five students
graduated). Admitting women helped
the College remain open, but required that it
sever its ties with Columbia University, the
charter of which would not allow women
to be admitted. In the fall of 1944, Bard
admitted its first class including women.
1. Elaine Hollander ’48 and children, 1948. Hollander stands in front of Warden’s Hall
with four young children, all part of a
“recreation group” she organized and ran as
an experimental child study for her senior
project. Hollander identifies the smallest girl
as the daughter of Professor Artine Artinian.
Photograph by Elie Shneour ’47.
2. Saul Yalkert, professor of indusatrial
design, with three unidentified students, ca.
1948.
3. Dance performance, June 1948. The
Bard Dance Workshop performed individually
choreographed pieces to the music of
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This
image is a scene from “Bydlo,” choreographed
by Janice Rabinowitz Rosenbaum
’51.
4. Painting class, 1948. Former College
historian Annys Baxter Wilson ’48 identified
three students on the back of the photograph:
Ellen Adler ’48, Ruth Schultz ’48, and
Beverly Pruzan ’48.
5. Painting class, ca. 1949. Fred Segal ’49
paints an impression of Louise Fitzhugh
’51. Fitzhugh eventually graduated from
Barnard and became a writer, best known
for her book Harriet the Spy. |
6. Two female fencers pose in the Memorial
Gymnasium, late 1940s. The woman on
the left is identified as Irene Zimmerman ’48.
7. Two women identified as Dorothy Lasker
’48 and Margery (Jerry) Rosenblum ’48
practice archery on campus, late 1940s.
8. Six unidentified women play basketball
in the Memorial Gymnasium, ca. 1950.
9. Campus work scene, 1948. Gloria Milgrim
’48 stands beside a work truck parked
next to Stone Row.
10. Campus work scene, 1955. Karl
Wedemeyer ’55 and Pamela Lerner ’56 work
on a Ford truck as part of their Community
Service Project. As the name suggests, Community
Service Projects at Bard brought
students into direct contact with work
designed to benefit the larger community.
Students were asked to commit two hours
per week to these activities.
11. Language instructor Anita Walker and
Jacqueline Clark ’50, 1950. The two are
seated on the circular bench surrounding
the Lyre Tree, formerly on the lawn in front
of Aspinwall. Photograph by Hans Knopf. | 12. Cynthia Marris Gross ’54 reads to Emerald
McKenzie ’52, 1952. McKenzie, seen
here with her seeing-eye dog, Karen, lost
her vision as a young girl. Gross acted as
McKenzie’s “reader” throughout their shared
time at Bard. Photograph by David Brook.
13. Students working, ca. 1958. In the
sculpture studio in Orient Hall, Ruth Neal
’52 works on a bust, while May Elwinger ’53
sweeps the studio as part of her Community
Service Project commitment. |
