Advising
Programs
OEI Community Club
The OEI Community Club is a dynamic and inclusive student-led club that serves as a bridge connecting OEI scholars, community members, and the broader Bard campus community. Through traditional events like our welcome BBQ, Friendsgiving, and engaging Black History showcase, we foster a sense of togetherness. Additionally, we constantly innovate with new initiatives like our Fall Fest and Mixing Mocktails, aiming to provide a diverse range of opportunities for connection and fun. Our club is dedicated to creating a safe, inviting space for all where meaningful connections and friendships can flourish.
The Community Project (TCP)
The Community Project is a social club that was created with the goal of rebuilding and supporting the POSSE Atlanta and Puerto Rico cohorts on campus. We are a new club this year, and our main goal is to engage students with programs that highlight their own identities and celebrate them culturally and socially. Atlanta and Puerto Rico are very different demographically than Bard and the Hudson Valley, making spaces and moments to connect with your own even more important. The POSSE community will continue to grow, so we hope to further strengthen the support and sense of community that is needed on campus.
Space Managers
Space Managers at Kappa House play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of our space. They are responsible for creating an inclusive, resourceful, and welcoming environment for all who enter Kappa House. In addition, they host interactive programs and keep up the operations of Kappa House! The team is composed of scholars who pride themselves on their love and commitment to OEI and maintaining our space. Their team goal is to authentically show up in support of the OEI community and its friends. They hope that in every stride and sacrifice, they are able to connect the student world to the staff world more seamlessly. Space managers function to create that change needed to foster a space where we all can grow together and have fun with our shared experiences and community!
Summer Programs
Equity and Inclusion Summer Program
The primary objective during this two-week program is to ensure that the Equity and Inclusion scholars reach and maintain the level of academic proficiency necessary for successful college work.
Language and Thinking Workshop
The L&T Program is an intensive introduction to the liberal arts and sciences with a particular focus on writing. All incoming first-year students attend the program during the last three weeks of August. The program also offers a substantive introduction to the campus, the College, and community activities.
Leadership Development
Bard provides Equity and Inclusion scholars with leadership lessons as early as summer orientation. From their first evening on campus, students are informed of the College's expectations and hopes for them. Current scholars participating in the Summer Program often play a major role in helping other students adjust during L&T, since they have been on campus already and “know the ropes.”
Incoming Equity and Inclusion scholars also inherit responsibilities—such as program management, student leadership positions, and community engagement activities—traditionally passed down from their older counterparts. Students are encouraged to participate in leadership development workshops, as well as endeavors that enable them to train other leaders, such as Equity and Inclusion peer mentor, peer counselor, tutor, TLS, and mentorship positions. The Equity and Inclusion Program’s commitment to developing leaders, academics, and change agents is directly aligned with the College’s pledge to service, leadership, and academic excellence.