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David Bloom ’13 MM ’15. Photo by Bruce Kung
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“To work with Joan Tower, George Tsontakis, and James Bagwell was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. I had long followed and admired their work, and then I found out that each of them taught here. It’s easy for musicians to focus only on music, whereas I wanted to have a broader education that would prepare me for a world that requires a more well-rounded base of knowledge and experience.”
—David Bloom ’13 MM ’15
—David Bloom ’13 MM ’15
Faculty News
Bard College Appoints Executive Vice President and Professor of Political Studies Jonathan Becker as Acting President
The Bard College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jonathan Becker as acting president, as the Board of Trustees launches a comprehensive search for a new permanent leader.
Bard College Appoints Executive Vice President and Professor of Political Studies Jonathan Becker as Acting President
Jonathan Becker will begin his new position as Bard College acting president on July 1. Photo by Rachel L. Crittenden
Becker has been appointed to oversee one of the world’s most innovative institutions of higher education, providing rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse population of over 6,500 students enrolled in AA, BA, Masters, and PhD programs around the world. Bard is distinguished by the College’s emphasis on the arts as a fundamental element of liberal arts education, on scientific literacy and research, and on highlighting the link between education and democracy in all the College’s programs. Bard’s expansive networks—including the Bard Prison Initiative, Bard Early College network, and dual-degree programs in Palestine and Kyrgyzstan—offer transformational opportunities to underserved communities and models of educational collaboration.
Jonathan Becker has held numerous leadership positions during his three decades at the College as a faculty member and as an administrator in student and academic affairs. His work has primarily focused on bridging life in the classroom to students’ lived experience. Becker is founding director of Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement through which he supports community-based learning, Bard’s groundbreaking advocacy for student voting rights nationwide, student-led civic engagement efforts, and Bard’s institutional mission as a private college in the public interest.
Becker has spearheaded Bard’s international work supporting students from areas embroiled in violence and political conflict. Building connections between Bard’s main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson and its subsidiary Bard College Berlin, with a global network of campuses, he has developed academic partnerships with institutions around the world, including the Al-Quds College of Arts and Sciences in the West Bank, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Parami University in exile from Myanmar. He led Bard’s Sanctuary program which, over the past five years, has hosted more than 180 students who are displaced or threatened by conflict, crisis, or political repression in their home countries, including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Russia, Somalia, Syria, and Ukraine. As interim president of AUCA (2019, 2021–2023), he led a joint Bard-AUCA initiative to evacuate nearly 200 students from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in 2021, many of whom matriculated at Bard’s main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He also serves as vice chancellor of Bard’s Global Higher Education Alliance for the 21st Century where he leads the alliance’s academic and programmatic development to create a new model of global higher education.
“Bard is fortunate to have a leader of Jonathan Becker’s caliber step in as acting president to lead the College through its most significant transition in 50 years,” said Brandon Weber ’97, chair of the Board of Trustees. “After carefully considering options to transition our college into its future permanent leader, the Board unanimously agrees that Jonathan is the right person for this moment. With an exceptional career at Bard leading many of the College’s academic and international student programming, we are confident that he will ensure a seamless process as we move into the next phase of our search for long-term leadership.”
“As I enter my 30th year at Bard, I am honored to take the position of acting president of the College,” said Jonathan Becker. “Bard is a wonderful and unique institution with immensely talented and dedicated faculty and staff, and, most importantly, thoughtful, creative and idealistic students both in Annandale-on-Hudson and across the globe. I look forward to helping bridge Bard from Leon Botstein's extraordinary 50-year tenure to a new generation of leadership, ensuring that every member of our community feels heard and that the College, with its vibrant local, national, and global networks, continues on its successful path. I’m grateful for the depth of expertise and unwavering commitment that defines the Bard community and its senior leadership, which I will draw upon to lead Bard with a focus on continuity and stability through this transition. My ultimate goal is to ensure that Bard remains a ‘place to think’ and that the institution continues to realize its singular mission to bring liberal arts and sciences education to communities where it has been underdeveloped, inaccessible, or absent.”
“Congratulations to the Board of Trustees on their choice of an acting president, and warmest wishes to Jonathan Becker, whose three decades at Bard have been devoted to academic innovation and rigor and the College’s vital public mission. Jonathan has provided leadership in Bard’s efforts to educate students displaced by war, repression, and political upheaval, and he continues a commitment to the arts, humanities, general education and to critical thinking. He will enjoy everyone’s full support in this period of transition,” said Leon Botstein, Bard College’s retiring president of 51 years who is returning to the faculty and continuing his role as a musician and president emeritus.
“Jonathan Becker has been instrumental in shaping and advancing Bard’s commitment to the core principle that higher education can and should operate in the public interest,” said Harry A. Johnson, Jr. '17, chair of the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) Board of Advisors. “As leader of the CCE, he has brought that commitment to life, deepening Bard’s engagement with the world’s most pressing challenges and expanding access to education where it is under threat or out of reach. His dedication to civic action and educational access is at the heart of what makes Bard exceptional, and I can think of no one better qualified to lead Bard forward with courage, purpose, and integrity.”
“Jonathan Becker is an accomplished scholar, seasoned administrator and pioneering educator who has the right mix of experience and vision to lead Bard through this period of transition,” said Michelle Murray, associate professor of politics, and chair of the faculty senate. “He understands and will defend the values and priorities that define our mission and make Bard the remarkable institution it is—from our commitment to the fine and performing arts, to our belief in the transformative power of the liberal arts for individuals and societies, to our unique international network of partnerships. As we move into this next phase, I look forward to working with him on behalf of the faculty to strengthen our governance structures, address faculty priorities, and build a secure future for the College.”
Becker assumes the role at a pivotal moment of growth and expansion at Bard. A groundbreaking 25,000-square-foot Maya Lin–designed performing arts studio building for the Fisher Center at Bard completed construction this year. Recently launched initiatives including the Chang Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life, which brings together programs and institutions committed to a shared vision of liberal learning, and the newly established Ralph Ellison Center, which will serve as a central hub to writers, artists, and scholars, build upon Bard’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning and the connection between education and democracy. At a challenging time for higher education, Bard has raised $1 billion in the past five years to secure a transformational endowment and has experienced significant increase in undergraduate admissions for the fall of 2026.
Becker will serve as acting president while the Board of Trustees conducts a deliberate and inclusive search for permanent leadership. That process will begin with the appointment of an interim president to helm the institution while the formal search for Bard’s next permanent president is underway. The Board of Trustees has hired the top executive search and leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates to support the presidential transition and search process. As part of this transitional process, the acting president will convene a Leadership Council, which includes Deirdre d’Albertis, vice president, dean of the college, and chief academic officer of the undergraduate college; Coleen Murphy Alexander ’00, vice president for administration; Christian Ayne Crouch, dean of graduate studies, director of the Center for Indigenous Studies; Malia Du Mont ’95, vice president for strategy and policy, chief of staff; Max Kenner ’01, vice president, Tow Chair for Democracy and Education, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative; Debra R. Pemstein, vice president for development and alumni/ae affairs; Dumaine Williams ’03, vice president and dean of early colleges, vice president for student affairs; and Taun Toay ’05, senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Jonathan Becker’s Full Biography
Jonathan Becker is entering his 30th year at Bard College, having arrived in August 1997. Becker currently serves as Bard’s executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs as well as a professor of politics and director of Bard Center for Civic Engagement, which he founded in 2011. He also serves as the vice chancellor of the Global Higher Education Network for the 21st Century.
He works primarily with Bard’s international and national networks of liberal arts institutions, including: Bard’s partnerships with the American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), Al-Quds University (Palestine), Bard College Berlin, as well as Bard’s programs with institutions in exile, including the American University of Afghanistan, Parami University (Myanmar), and Smolny Beyond Borders (Russia); the Bard High School Early Colleges; the Bard Prison Initiative; and the Clemente Course in the Humanities.
He focuses on educational and cocurricular activities that link students, faculty, and staff of Bard’s global and national partners with Bard’s main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson. Previously, he served as vice president of international affairs and civic engagement (2012-2015), dean of international studies (2001-2011), associate dean of college (2003-2011), dean of studies (1998-2001), and dean of students (1997-1999). In 2019 and then again in 2021-23, he served as interim president of the American University of Central Asia, where is a Board member. Prior to his leadership at Bard, Becker served as assistant vice president of the Central European University (1995-1997), European director of the Civic Education Project (1994-5) and Ukraine director of the Civic Education Project (1992-3).
Becker has written extensively on liberal education, civic engagement, voting rights, and media and politics. He is author of Soviet and Russian Press Coverage of the United States: Press, Politics and Identity in Transition, revised and expanded paperback edition (London/New York: Palgrave), March, 2003; co-editor (with Yael Bromberg) and author of three chapters of the book Youth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses (DeGruyter 2026); editor of Civic Engagement and Social Action: Locally, Nationally, and Globally (Amsterdam: CEU Press) forthcoming fall 2026. He has recently published several articles on popular publications on youth voting rights, including The Nation, Inside Higher Ed, Forbes, The EDU Ledger, and The Times Higher; on the impact of civic engagement and displaced students and refugees in The Times Higher; and challenges of institutional neutrality in Liberal Education. He serves as a commentator on WAMC’s The Roundtable.
Post Date: 06-12-2026
Bard College Joins the Future Universities Alliance
Bard will focus on leveraging the Global Higher Education Alliance for the 21st Century (GHEA21) and the Bard Global Degree program to expand opportunities for displaced students.
Bard College Joins the Future Universities Alliance
Bard will work with global peers to explore how high-impact innovations can be extended through adaptation and partnerships. Photo by Joseph Nartey ’26
“Our participation in the Future Universities Alliance reflects Bard’s commitment to integrate international education more fully into undergraduate studies and to make rigorous liberal arts education accessible to communities where it was previously underdeveloped, inaccessible, or absent,” said Jonathan Becker, Bard executive vice president and GHEA21 vice chancellor. “We look forward to exchanging ideas with our global peers on ways to broaden our impact.”
GHEA21 has reenvisioned international education as a full curriculum of regular undergraduate courses taught by faculty around the world to students across five continents. More than 2,700 students across 21 partner institutions enroll in 150+ courses annually. About half of the enrollments consist of displaced students. GHEA21 enables Bard students, regardless of their circumstance, to pursue international education throughout their four years of undergraduate study. To learn more, please visit ghea21.org.
“Bard is eager to see the GHEA21 model replicated or adapted to provide opportunities for many more displaced students than GHEA21 alone can serve,” said Daniel Calingaert, GHEA21 managing director and Bard dean for Global Programs. “The Future Universities Alliance will give us a structured space to test our ideas with fellow innovators around the world and share what we have learned through developing GHEA21.”
The Bard Global Degree is a synchronous, online degree program for students displaced or threatened by conflict, crisis, or political repression who have little or no access to a rigorous liberal arts education. Students enroll in the same Associates and Bachelors of Arts degree programs as on Bard’s main campus, earn academic certificates, and graduate with accredited Bard associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. To learn more, visit globaldegree.bard.edu.
More information about the Future Universities Alliance is available at futureuniversities.org.
Post Date: 06-10-2026
More News
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Sean McMeekin Featured in History Channel Documentary Series About WWII
Sean McMeekin Featured in History Channel Documentary Series About WWII
Sean McMeekin, Francis Flournoy Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College, has been featured in a new documentary series by the History Channel. The series, World War II with Tom Hanks, reexamines the war through the lens of a new century, guided by Hanks to reveal a sweeping portrait of how the modern world was forged in the fires of global war. The episodes focus on examining dimensions of the conflict like the decisions that shaped the battlefield, the unseen networks that sustained the war effort, and the aftershocks that still shape our world today.Sean McMeekin, Francis Flournoy Professor of European History and Culture.
The Historical Studies Program at Bard College encourages students to examine history through the prism of other relevant disciplines such as anthropology, economics, and philosophy and different forms of expression. The program also introduces students to a variety of methodological perspectives used in historical research and to philosophical assumptions about men, women, and society that underlie these perspectives.
Post Date: 06-10-2026
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Parami University Celebrated Its First Cohort of BA Graduates in Commencement Ceremony on June 9
Parami University Celebrated Its First Cohort of BA Graduates in Commencement Ceremony on June 9
On June 9, 2026, Parami University is holding its Commencement Ceremony at the Chiangmai Grandview Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand, honoring the graduation of its first ever cohort of Bachelor of Arts students, as well as Associate degree graduates from the Classes of 2026 and 2028. Bringing together graduates, faculty, trustees, families, and international partners, the ceremony underscores Parami University’s continued commitment to expanding access to higher education and fostering academic excellence across diverse student communities.The ceremony celebrates graduates receiving Bachelor’s and Associate degrees through Parami University’s partnership with Bard College.
Welcome remarks will be delivered by Parami University President Kyaw Moe Tun, followed by remarks from Zali Win, chairman of the board of trustees, Jonathan Becker, executive vice president of Bard College, and Phil Enns, dean of academic affairs at Parami University. An Honorary Degree will be conferred on Kevin Quigley, who will also deliver the 2026 Parami Commencement Address, in recognition of his contributions to Parami University, international education, civic leadership, and global engagement.
The ceremony celebrates graduates receiving Bachelor’s and Associate degrees through Parami University’s partnership with Bard College. Both in-person and virtual graduates will be recognized for their academic achievements, perseverance, and commitment throughout their studies. “This is a significant milestone for Parami University as we celebrate the achievements of our first Bachelor’s degree graduates, along with the largest group of Associate degree graduates in our institutional history,” said Moe Tun. “I am extremely proud of our graduates and look forward to seeing the impact they will make in their communities, professions, and beyond. Congratulations to the Classes of 2026 and 2028 on this remarkable achievement.”
Post Date: 06-09-2026
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Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks with Marketplace About Inflation
Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks with Marketplace About Inflation
Pavlina Tcherneva, president of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, spoke with Marketplace about the current state of inflation in the US economy. The article notes that when the prices of groceries, gas, and rent rise faster than wages, consumers lose purchasing power, which is reflected in the current inflation numbers. “I expect that these price shocks will ripple through the economy in coming months,” said Tcherneva, who added that she does not expect wages to improve much. “Workers are going to be squeezed on both sides, stagnating wages and increasing cost of living."Pavlina Tcherneva, president of the Levy Economics Institute.
The Levy Economics Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy were created to offer students an alternative to mainstream programs in economics and finance. These programs combine a rigorous course of study with the exceptional opportunity to participate in advanced economics research alongside Institute scholars. The Levy Institute’s programs also give Bard College undergraduates the opportunity to meet prominent figures who give seminars, attend conferences, and serve on the research staff.
Post Date: 06-09-2026
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Computer Scientist Valerie Barr Quoted in the Atlantic
Computer Scientist Valerie Barr Quoted in the Atlantic
Valerie Barr, Margaret Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Bard College, was quoted in an Atlantic article about the importance of studying computer science in the age of AI. The article examines how AI may be changing the landscape of coding, but does not negate the need for computer scientists—in fact, the proliferation of AI code may require more professionals who have a deep understanding of computer systems. “I’m back to how I taught in the 1980s, when we didn’t have laptops and there was one computer lab for the whole campus,” said Barr. She told the Atlantic that she now assigns coursework largely on paper in her introductory class, and believes that students who learn coding fundamentals the old fashioned way will come out ahead. “You cannot make effective use of AI tools if you don’t know something about what you’re asking the tools to do.”Valerie Barr, Margaret Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science.
The Computer Science Program at Bard focuses on the fundamental ideas of computer science and introduces students to multiple programming languages and paradigms, covering theoretical, applied, and systems-oriented topics. Most courses include hands-on projects so that students can learn by building, and by participating in research projects in laboratories devoted to cognition, computational biology, robotics, and symbolic computation.
Post Date: 06-09-2026
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Bard College Professor Jenny Xie Selected for 2026 Howard Foundation Fellowship
Bard College Professor Jenny Xie Selected for 2026 Howard Foundation Fellowship
Jenny Xie, assistant professor of written arts at Bard College, has been announced as a recipient of a Howard Foundation Fellowship for 2026-27. Xie’s fellowship in the category of Poetry, conferred by the George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation, is one of 14 fellowships awarded by the foundation this year, which support independent creative and scholarly work on major projects by early mid-career individuals who have demonstrated potential to be future leaders in their fields.Jenny Xie, assistant professor of written arts.
During her fellowship, Xie will receive $40,000 in unrestricted funds to devote her time to researching, developing, and writing her third poetry collection, Dead Time, which delves into forms of directionless time, or time untroubled by plot and by imperatives of action. Xie is the author of two other collections of poetry. Eye Level (2018) was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the recipient of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets and the Holmes National Poetry Prize from Princeton University. The Rupture Tense (2022) was a finalist for the National Book Award and the CLMP Firecracker Award, and a recipient of the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award. Xie has also been supported by fellowships and grants from Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Kundiman, New York Foundation for the Arts, the Vilcek Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation.
The Howard Foundation is an independent agency administered at Brown University. Established in 1954, it awards annual, unrestricted fellowships to promising individuals in selected artistic and academic fields. Past fellows have authored bestsellers, directed Oscar nominated feature-length films, and earned some of the world’s most prestigious honors including Pulitzer Prizes, the Rome Prize, and the Whiting Award. For more information, visit howard-foundation.brown.edu.
Post Date: 06-04-2026
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President Botstein Awarded Honorary Degree and Bard Medal
President Botstein Awarded Honorary Degree and Bard Medal
At Bard College’s 166th Commencement, President Leon Botstein, who became the College’s 14th president in 1975, was awarded an honorary degree and Bard Medal. Botstein received an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law in recognition of his 51 years of transformative leadership. Botstein was also presented with the Bard Medal, which honors individuals whose efforts on behalf of Bard and whose achievements have significantly advanced the welfare of the College.President Leon Botstein at Bard College’s 166th Commencement. Photo by Samuel Stuart Hollenshead
The numerous Bard College initiatives designed and founded under his leadership encompass a wide range of educational work ranging from local community programs to international efforts with global impact. Bard High School Early Colleges have enlarged the opportunities available to talented high school students in under-resourced communities across the country. The Bard Prison Initiative has made a liberal arts education available to incarcerated learners hungry for meaning and hope in their lives. Bard’s renowned music programs, its internationally recognized Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, and its Center for Curatorial Studies and Art in Contemporary Culture offer unparalleled interdisciplinary education in the arts. Bard College Berlin, Al-Quds Bard College, and Bard’s other international programs offer an education across the world to students from places where access to a liberal arts education is otherwise unavailable or suppressed.
“Starting decades ago, with limited resources, President Botstein led Bard toward all these achievements,” states the citation for Botstein’s Doctor of Civil Law honorary degree. “Recently, aided by a generous match from the Open Society Foundations, he completed a boldly ambitious endowment campaign that goes a long way toward securing Bard’s future.” The citation for Botstein’s Bard College Award stated: “Over fifty-one years as president, Botstein has transformed Bard College into the extraordinary institution that it is today, and his work and leadership have defined Bard’s distinct and important mission.”
Post Date: 06-02-2026
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