Catalogue

Student-Led Engagement

The Trustee Leader Scholar (TLS) program is an incubator for students who are committed to civic action. In keeping with Bard’s ethos as a private institution committed to the public good, TLS students design and implement civic engagement projects based on their own compelling interests. At any given time, the program has between 30 and 50 TLS scholars leading projects, with hundreds of students participating as volunteer team members. Most projects run for multiple years, and several have run for more than two decades. TLS projects respond to the needs expressed by communities, and a wide variety of community partners welcome TLS students. Current projects involve leading English language learning programs for migrant laborers and their families in the Hudson Valley; offering play and educational support for youth who are differently abled; connecting Afghan students with local host families; and providing music instruction to children who cannot otherwise afford private lessons. A number of TLS projects have become permanent, College-sponsored programs, including the Bard Prison Initiative; La Voz, a Spanish-language newspaper widely circulated in the Hudson Valley; Bard Early College in New Orleans; and Brothers@Bard, a mentoring program for young men of color by young men of color. Several projects have been awarded Davis Projects for Peace grants: Cuerdas para Cali (Strings for Cali), a group of Bard Conservatory students who coach a classical youth orchestra in the Siloé barrio of Cali, Colombia; Nicaragua Educational Initiative, students who offer science, art, and sports to children in a small village; and Bard Palestinian Youth Initiative, groups of students who run summer camps and writing experiences in a West Bank village.

Every Bard student is eligible to become a Trustee Leader Scholar. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and acceptance is based on the student’s willingness and capacity to direct a large-scale project. Student leaders receive stipends in exchange for their participation in the program. TLS students meet one-on-one with program staff; take part in skill-building workshops; and prepare formal project proposals, budgets, and evaluations. They have hands-on opportunities to acquire skills in grant writing, lesson planning, and group facilitation. TLS workshops also address public speaking, effective interpersonal communication, and awareness building around issues of power, authority, and difference. All TLS projects draw on the participation and support of volunteers from the student body and greater Bard community.

Student fellowships are available through CCE for students interested in creating projects that focus on elections, women’s leadership, global civic engagement, science outreach, and activism. Students hone leadership and media skills while developing projects that engage the Bard student body and community in Annandale and beyond.