Dear Families,

Days are getting longer, always a welcome phenomenon for campus life. It often marks an increase in velocity around campus, students completing senior projects, planning for next year—classes and housing—and getting ready for concerts, performances, presentations, baseball games, tennis matches, and more. Soon the daffodils will arrive and brighten things up. 

President Botstein and Deputy Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Yasmin Cader will discuss the topic of civil liberties on Monday, March 11 in a free and open to the public event from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in Olin Auditorium in the Olin Humanities Building at Bard College. Please join us if you are nearby and share with families and friends. 

On behalf of my colleagues in Residence Life, please note that to participate in any aspect of the 2024–25 room selection process, all students must agree to the Bard Housing Agreement. All students who need housing for the 2024–25 academic year must complete the agreement by noon on Friday, March 15. Bard Residence Life’s website has more information.

ABC News recently featured Bard and our new state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling project that will replace the fossil fuel–fired system currently in operation in the Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Library. Through its Office of Sustainability, the College has pledged to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2035 and has made significant and measurable progress in meeting that commitment. 

Senior parents, congratulations! We’re looking forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 at Bard College’s 164th Commencement Weekend on May 24th-26th. The full schedule and list of honorees are available online. Registration is open, start making those travel plans. 

Sincerely,

Sasha Boak-Kelly

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to make calls to accepted students’ families. This is a great opportunity to share your wisdom on all things Bard. Sign up here.

Bard Dance Professor Yebel Gallegos Awarded MADarts Residency

Bard Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Yebel Gallegos will spend the week of March 18– 22 in the MADarts Residency Program, which provides artists and their collaborators unlimited access to a dance studio and a quiet, comfortable living space at the Modern Accord Depot in Accord, New York. Gallegos will continue work on MACHO Sensibilities, a project that critically examines the imposition of machismo on male-identifying dancers of Mexican and Mexican-American descent.

Acclaimed Fiction Writer Brian Evenson to Give Reading at Bard College on March 25

Novelist and short story writer Brian Evenson will read from new work at Bard College on Monday, March 25 at 5 pm in Weis Cinema, located in the Bertelsmann Campus Center. Brian Evenson is the author of a dozen books of fiction, most recently the story collection The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell (2021) and the Weird West microcollection Black Bark (2023).

Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking Hosts Conference on “Climate Change in the Classroom: Embracing New Paradigms” on April 26

The rate and severity of extreme climate events can bring on a feeling of numbness and resignation rather than catalyzing responsive resilience in the classroom. How can we refocus the conversation from crisis to education and adaptation? The 2024 IWT April Conference “Climate Change in the Classroom: Embracing New Paradigms” features a plenary conversation with Bard colleagues Jenny Offill and Elias Dueker and welcomes educators of all disciplines to join on Friday, April 26 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Bard College Receives $69,300 Grant from New York State Department of Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program

Bard College has received a $69,300 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program. Bard’s grant is part of $1.8 million in total awards recently announced by Governor Hochul for 26 projects to help communities along the Hudson River Estuary improve water quality, enhance environmental education, and advance stewardship of natural resources. 

Bard College Receives $50,000 Grant from Teagle Foundation to Revise First-Year Seminar Curriculum around Civic Education

Bard College has received a $50,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation to reimagine its First-Year Seminar (FYSEM) curriculum with an eye toward civic education and engagement in light of the upcoming 2024 election. The generous Teagle Foundation grant supports curriculum development, faculty training and workshops, and guest speakers for Bard’s 2024–25 FYSEM program, which will focus on civic education and examine the challenges and possibilities of a democratic political order.