Dear Alumni/ae,

I was out of the country at the beginning of the month for Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Day) celebrations in Lewes, England, which included an epic, noisy, fiery procession of “Bonfire Societies” (think Mardi Gras meets Mad Max meets Chinese New Year) where each society has a special uniform and theme. The night culminates with 80-foot tall fires lit all around the perimeter of the city! (I have to say it was a welcome distraction!) 

If you didn't get a chance to watch the Bard voting documentary A Poll to Call Our Own: The Bard Voting Story, you can see it here. This inspiring film chronicles Bard's decades-long fight to create a polling site on campus. Since 2022, Bard has been the polling location for Red Hook ED 2. Over 500 students, faculty, staff and community members voted at the Bertelsmann Campus Center on November 5th. 

The biggest news this week comes from Simon's Rock. It is relocating from Great Barrington to Barrytown! Known as the Massena Campus, this will be their new home starting in the fall of 2025. Simon's Rock, started in 1966, Bard's coolest cousin, the OG early college, that spawned a national movement to bring college-level work to younger students, will be just down the road. We look forward to welcoming the Rockers to Annandale. 

The hugely popular ISO Cultural Show was held this past Sunday—probably the noisiest audience the Fisher Center sees each year. The show opened with Magdalena Dolorico-Francoeur '27, a sophomore from the Philippines who sang a beautiful traditional Kundiman-style song in Tagalog—the only time the audience was completely silent. From the K-Pop Dance Club to the Georgian Choir, the talents of Bard's international students (and their friends) filled the stage with music and dance, while a full house of students, faculty and staff clapped and screamed for almost two hours.
   
It's a short week on campus with students heading home for the holidays, but we are here preparing for Giving Tuesday and hoping to be on your list. Again this year, Giving Tuesday will include a generous match from an anonymous alumnus ’82 as well as from the family of Roger Phillips ’53 and Lorelle Marcus Phillips ’57, and all gifts will be doubled up to $30,000. Also a perfect opportunity to make a class gift for those of you who will be celebrating your reunion next May 23rd-25th. That’s you, 0s and 5s!

Giving Tuesday gifts support the Bard College Fund, and they make everything Bard does possible. Especially now, the world needs places like Bard, so I hope you will join me in making a gift today or on Tuesday, December 3rd. 

OK, quiz time. What is the name of the Bard alumnus who wrote the script for a 1972 TV show portraying a student at Bard who conjures up a demon because he doesn't want to graduate? (Pair of Bard socks for the first right answer.)

I'm asking because I was at a fab exhibit by the “Archives as Material” class last week and met a student who transferred to Bard after seeing this episode! (The exhibit is on the 3rd floor of the Stevenson Library and will be on view until Wednesday, December 11th.)

OK, that's it from me. Hoping you and yours have good holidays with friends and families.

Be seeing you,

Jane 

P.S.You should have all received the invitation for this year's Alumni/ae Holiday Party in NYC on Thursday, December 5th. This event is the biggest off-campus alumni/ae event of the year —bountiful food, fabulous friends, lovely libations and the best way to kick off the holidays. Everyone is welcome. And alumni/ae from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s will have access to a private room, providing an opportunity to spend time with friends in a more quiet space. 

Please gather your friends and sign up here. I will be seeing you there! 

Beekeeper Titus Ogilvie-Laing ’13 Featured in the New York Times

Bard alumnus Titus Ogilvie-Laing ’13, a beekeeper who maintains hives on New York City rooftops, was featured in the New York Times. “At the Empire State Building, on a roof of Madison Square Garden and on a terrace adjacent to the Chrysler Building, thousands of veritable worker bees have been turning nectar into honey,” writes Patrick McGeehan for the Times. On a recent warm day as he tended to hives belonging to the Danish Consulate, Ogilvie-Laing “blew smoke from silver canisters to calm the bees before opening the hives.”

Alum Daniel Terna ’09 ICP ’15 Named in Artsy Artist’s “On Our Radar” and Reviewed in the New York Times

Daniel Terna ’09 ICP ’15 was profiled in Artsy Artist’s “Artists On Our Radar,” an editorial series featuring five artists who made an impact in the past month through exhibitions, gallery openings, and other events.The Terrain was also reviewed by the New York Times, which writes that Terna's photography contains “narrative restraint... [it] keeps admitting how hard it is to really know another human being.”

Elizabeth Royte ’81 Covers Rattlesnakes for National Geographic

In an article for National Geographic, science writer and Bard alumna Elizabeth Royte ’81 explores the life cycles and habitats of rattlesnakes, and the various conservation efforts to protect them. More than 50 species of rattlesnakes occur exclusively throughout the Americas, and Royte notes that though there may be pockets where they thrive, the fate of most of the venomous snakes is grim.

Photographer An-My Lê Interviewed on Louisiana Channel

An-My Lê, Charles Franklin Kellogg and Grace E. Ramsey Kellogg Professor in the Arts, was interviewed for a feature on Louisiana Channel, the YouTube channel of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark with weekly videos on art and design. Lê spoke about her project Silent General and also about her experiences photographing military technology and the aftermath of war. “A good picture is one that is surprising,” she said.

Bard College Celebrates Student Excellence at Annual Scholarship Reception

Bard College faculty, staff, and students gathered at Blithewood Manor for this year's Annual Scholarship Reception on Monday, November 11. This annual event honors students who have excelled in their studies and contributed to academic and campus life. The evening’s awardees, who were nominated by faculty from across the four divisions of the College, represent excellence in the arts; social studies; languages and literature; and science, mathematics, and computing.