Dear Families,

We were thrilled to welcome so many Bard community members to campus for Family and Alumni/ae Weekend to enjoy an action packed event schedule and some of the best fall weather the Hudson Valley has to offer. Special thanks to Bard parents, Jane and Richard Leider, for hosting the Family Leadership Council meeting over the weekend. The recordings of the weekend’s live streamed events can be found here.

Tuesday was Election Day and a timely documentary premiered at Bard on Monday evening showcasing the challenges Bard students have faced in protecting their right to vote. A Poll to Call Our Own: The Bard Voting Story chronicles the quarter-century fight at Bard over student voting rights, a period during which Bard students and administrators, with the support of groups like the Andrew Goodman Foundation and the New York Civil Liberties Union, won four lawsuits—three state and one federal—to protect students’ right to vote locally and to secure a polling place on the Bard campus. Bard’s experience helped inspire New York State to pass a law in 2022 mandating polling places at or near college campuses that have 300 or more registered on-campus voters. A post election panel titled “The 2024 Election: A Community Discussion about What Happened and What’s Next” is being held this evening in the MPR at 6:30PM.

The Career Development Team hosted its first BardWorks Boost Camp of the academic year in October, providing students the opportunity to explore their unique skills and interests as they relate to their career paths. Participants practiced translating their talents into effective resumes and cover letters while developing strategies to network with peers and Bard alumni/ae. 

The Bard community is currently celebrating its second annual First-Generation College Celebration Week from November 4 to November 8. All students, faculty and staff are invited to participate. Please encourage your student to attend if they can. 

One of my favorite things about the fall semester at Bard is the International Student Cultural (ISO) Show. The ISO is one of the largest student clubs on campus and brings the Bard community together each November to celebrate the diverse cultures and traditions represented on the Bard College campus through dance, song and music. The performance will take place on November 24 at 7pm at Sosnoff Theater in the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.

Bardian and proud,

Mackie Siebens ‘12
Assistant Director of Development for Family Programs
[email protected] | 845-758-7316

P.S. Please contact me for more information about getting engaged with the Bard Family Network or the Family Leadership Council!
 

Election Day on Bard’s Campus Featured in Inside Higher Ed

Bard College, now in its fifth year of having a consistent polling site on its Annandale campus, was featured in Inside Higher Ed in a report about how campuses and faculty across the country are handling classes on Election Day. Today, a group of professors at Bard are opening their classrooms for discussions about the importance of democracy, and are joining attendees for a walk to the campus polling site to support those who are voting.

A Poll to Call Our Own: The Bard Voting Story, New Short Film Premieres on November 4 at Bard College

The public premiere of the Open Society University Network’s documentary film, A Poll to Call Our Own: The Bard Voting Story, was followed by a discussion with key actors, including Sarah deVeer ’17, Jonian Rafti ’15, Seamus Heady ’22 (producer/director), lawyer Yael Bromberg, Bard Vice President for Civic Engagement Erin Cannan, and Bard Vice President for Academic Affairs Jonathan Becker.

WXBC Director Liam Dwyer ’26 Interviewed About Tape Decks in the New York Times

The New York Times interviewed Bard student and WXBC director Liam Dwyer ’26 for an article about the revival of tape decks. Modern artists have increasingly been releasing their music on cassette, capitalizing on listeners with old cars as well as younger music fans who are discovering cassettes for the first time. One of them is Dwyer, who originally got interested in cassettes because of how musical artists use tapes in experimental music.

Film by Steve Bonds-Liptay MS ’10 Valve Turners Wins Climate Action Award

Valve Turners, a documentary feature film directed and produced by Steve Bonds-Liptay MS ’10, premiered and won the Climate Action Award in this year’s Climate Film Fest. Valve Turners follows a small group of activists from the Pacific Northwest as they turn the valves and halt the flow of five oil pipelines entering the United States from Canada to spotlight the climate emergency.

Brooke Jude and Robert Todd Receive Grant to Support an Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbial Mapping

Bard Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude and Bard Assistant Professor of Biology Robert Todd have received a $34,000 grant in support of the PLUMM Project, Project-based Learning for Undergraduates in Microbial Mapping, which will provide undergraduate students from both SUNY Dutchess and Bard College with an immersive, collaborative research opportunity in January.

Carnegie Corporation Awards Bard Early College $1.5 Million Grant to Expand Access to Early College in NYC

Bard Early College is pleased to announce it has received a $1.5 million grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to support two new early college campuses in New York City. The philanthropic grant will support Bard Early College’s ambitious expansion of access to early college education as it ramps up enrollment at these two new campuses.