News & Events

This fall, listen in real time to climate and clean energy specialists talk about the latest science, policy, law, and economics of climate change. These half-hour talks give students the opportunity to hear top scientists, analysts, and political leaders discuss climate and clean energy solutions.
http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/

Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman will give a reading of a new, not yet published short story Wednesday, September 5 in the Fisher Center, before the Amanda Palmer concert. Tickets to the reading are free, but seating is on a first come, first served basis.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2329

Performances Wednesday, September 5 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, September 6 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $35 general admission; $20 Bard students, faculty, and staff

Singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer will be in residence at Bard for three weeks in late August and early September. During that time she will shoot a music video and launch the tour of her first new studio album in four years, with two public concerts in conjunction with her new band, The Grand Theft Orchestra, featuring Michael McQuilken, Chad Raines, and Jherek Bischoff. The album, Theatre Is Evil, showcases Amanda’s powerful vocals and talented songwriting in ways that may surprise even her most ardent fans. From tauntingly playful tunes to ballads that tug at the heartstrings, the album offers a collection of sounds and rhythms heavily influenced by the music Palmer grew up listening to—most notably ’80s synth rock and Brit Pop.
http://fishercenter.bard.edu/calendar/event.php?eid=116518&year=2012&month=9

As Leela Khanna '15 gets ready for a new semester at Bard, she reflects on her summer internship in India: "As happy as I am with this summer, I also realize that civic engagement can’t be a responsibility taken in small bursts when I have the time. It’s a full-time commitment that needs to be a priority for every citizen."
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/2012/08/25/getting-to-the-real-purpose/

Devon Tomson has been named head men's soccer coach, succeeding Scott Swere. Swere has retired from his coaching role at Bard for family reasons, and will remain on staff as an administrator. Devon was the associate head men's soccer coach under Swere from 2005 to 2009, as well as an assistant coach for the women's soccer team during that period.
http://www.bardathletics.com/news/2012/8/20/MSOC_0820125337.aspx

The class of 2016 is on campus for our three-week Language and Thinking Program. L&T is their introduction to the liberal arts and sciences, but also a chance for them to get to know each other, the Bard campus, and the Hudson Valley. On Sunday, Bard first-years rode from campus to Migliorelli farm stand in Red Hook, getting their first look at our gorgeous neighborhood.

Highlights Include Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, American Ballet Theatre, Conservatory Sunday Series, American Symphony Orchestra Concerts, Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble, and John Cage: On & Off the Air!
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2322

The Bard College Department of Athletics and Recreation has hired Ed Kahovec as Assistant Athletic Director/Head Baseball Coach. Kahovec recently finished his third season on the baseball staff at his alma mater, the University of Rochester, where he was a top player for four years. "I'm extremely excited to have found this opportunity at Bard," Kahovec said. "To be able to recruit nationally for such a strong academic school, in a strong conference I have a lot of familiarity with . . . it's a challenge I look forward to."
http://www.bardathletics.com/news/2012/8/1/BB_0801122309.aspx?path=bb

Many Bard students are working in New York City this summer, including Mehdi Rahmati '13, a human rights major, who is interning at the Open Society Institute. Committed to humanitarian causes, Rahmati will continue his work addressing policy problems common to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the broader region. Originally from Afghanistan, Rahmati plans to return to continue his human rights work. Learn more about what Bardians are doing over the summer on the CCE blog:
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

Bard math professor Lauren Rose has received an award from the American Institute of Mathematics to attend a week-long program in Washington, D.C. entitled, "How to Run a Math Teachers' Circle Workshop." Professor Rose's team comprises middle school and college educators who will use the D.C. workshop to work to improve mathematics education in U.S. middle schools. They plan to host bimonthly Math Teachers' Circles in the Hudson Valley that bring together middle school math teachers and professional mathematicians.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2323

This summer we have 38 eighth-graders on campus at Bard participating in an intensive math program. These New York City students are spending three weeks doing seven hours of math per day! Bard math professor Japheth Wood says, "I'm amazed to see the students" educational trajectories after SPMPS. Some have gone on to some very selective NYC public high schools, and all of them are going to breathe life into their high school's math program."
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2320

The Bard Prison Initiative is one of 64 Regional Winners in the 2012 CLASSY Awards. Thanks to strong voting from the Bard community, BPI is moving on to the national finals for this prestigious, philanthropic award.
http://www.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/regional-winners

The Simons Foundation has awarded Greg D. Landweber, associate professor of mathematics at Bard, a Collaboration Grant for Mathematicians. This grant offers Professor Landwber $35,000 over a five-year period to be used in support of collaboration, travel and research expenses for his project, Supersymmetry and K-Theory. The grant also includes funds to enhance the research atmosphere of the Mathematics Program at Bard.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2328

Bard alumnus Vincent Valdmanis '03 works for the United Nations in the newly independent nation of South Sudan, helping the country achieve stability. Vincent strives to "ensure that UN agencies provide shelter, food, and water," while addressing poverty through better access to health care and education. In the Bardian:
http://issuu.com/ktrabucco/docs/2012_spring_bardian?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Alexia Mills '13 finds that urban farming offers more than fresh produce.
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/2012/07/24/community-is-our-greatest-crop/

Kendall Lambert hits the road as part of her summer internship with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), a California non-profit. Her job is to visit area vineyards and research ways for them to reduce their water usage.
http://www.bard.edu/cep/blog/?p=2520

The Bard College men's volleyball team was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with a Team Academic Award—one of only seven men's teams in the country to qualify.
http://www.bardathletics.com/news/2012/7/20/MVB_0720125254.aspx

Summer project spotlight: Jessica Lambert '14, an environmental and urban studies major, and Violeta Mezeklieva '14, a political studies major, are serving as community development interns for the City of Kingston, near Bard. The program allows interns to connect with the community through citizens groups in order to better understand the workings of government administration. "As an active community member at Bard, these groups represent a sense of public concern and activism, [which] I would like to inspire Bard students to hold on to after college life," says Lambert. Mezeklieva will work with Kingston's Local Development Corporation, conducting research on local service organizations and agencies to develop service strategies in order to address community needs. (Photo: Violeta Mezeklieva '14) Learn more about summer internships on the CCE blog:
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

Check out the trailer for the new feature film Hasta Nunca by Bard alum Mark Street '86. This film and some of his other work will be screened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rpyeBvmwUdQ

Looking for a summer project? Today the Hannah Arendt Center announced the 2012 Thinking Challenge: "Does the President Matter?" Create a blog post, video, or multimedia piece and enter to win cash prizes and a place at their fall conference.
http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/?page_id=6491

Listen in real time to climate and clean energy specialists talk about the latest science, policy, law, and economics of climate change. This year's participants include top scientists, analysts, and political leaders.
http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/

In March 1962, Luis Garcia-Renart came to Bard to play a cello recital. He stayed for 50 years. In the Bardian:
http://issuu.com/ktrabucco/docs/2012_spring_bardian?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

The Bard Prison Initiative has been selected as a top five regional finalist in human rights for the CLASSY Awards. We are incredibly proud of this program, and our amazing students, alums, staff, and faculty.
http://www.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/vote

Bard author and Achebe Center director Binyavanga Wainaina's memoir One Day I Will Write About This Place has been shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.
http://www.hurstonwright.org/ProgramsAwards/legacyWinners.html

Congratulations to Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. on 45 of excellence in early college education. This video offers a glimpse into the college's legacy.
http://www.simons-rock.edu/newsroom/headlines/20120701-45th-anniversary-multimedia-slideshow

Sarah Stern '13, an anthropology major with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies, is working on outreach with the Encounter Program's Middle East Office. Her internship is geared toward developing awareness and understanding among American Jews around the complex issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Learn more about what Bardians are doing over the summer on the CCE blog:
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

The Bard Prison Initiative has been educating New York State inmates for 10 years, transforming lives and creating a model for similar programs around the country. In this video, alums and current students share their inspiring BPI stories.
https://vimeo.com/47115041

This summer Arthur Holland Michel '13, a history major, is editing for the Paris Review. At the same time, he is pursuing academic research related to his Senior Project on Peruvian immigration into New York City and New Jersey from the 1960s through the middle 1980s. Learn more about what Bardians are doing over the summer on the Civic Engagement blog.
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

Public high school in the morning and Bard undergraduate classes in the afternoon? Young people in New Orleans are rising to the challenges of early college. "Students here aren't afraid to ask difficult questions, to immerse themselves fully in the rigor of a liberal arts classroom," says Kaycee Filson '11, Bard alum and guidance counselor in the Bard Early College Centers. Read the full article in the Bardian:
http://issuu.com/ktrabucco/docs/2012_spring_bardian?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

SummerScape 2012 opens on July 6 at 8 pm with the American premiere of Let My Joy Remain, a dance concert by France's Compagnie Fetes galantes. Keyed to the theme of the Bard Music Festival, which celebrates "Saint-Saens and His World," Compagnie Fetes galantes combines Gallic refinement with a sincere engagement with the Baroque.
http://fishercenter.bard.edu/summerscape/2012/

The Hannah Arendt Center's fifth annual conference, "Does the President Matter? A Conference on the American Age of Political Disrepair," will feature Ralph Nader, Bernard Kouchner, and John Zogby, among others. The conference will take place in Annandale on September 21 and 22, just a few weeks before the presidential election. The topic could hardly be more timely.
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/613956/9f88103bdb/ARCHIVE

What are Bardians doing over the summer? Lauren Blaxter '13, a human rights major, is working with the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, where she will use her language skills to work on research projects, conferences, and events. Blaxter says, "Dialogue and discourse aid the peace process by facilitating understanding in a conflict where political rhetoric commonly stops dialogue rather than creating it." Learn more about our Community Action Award winners on the Civic Engagement blog:
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

Aung San Suu Kyi accepted her Nobel Peace Prize this weekend, 21 years after it was awarded. For over two decades since her landslide victory in what was then Burma and is now Myanmar, Suu Kyi has stood fast in her opposition to the military junta ruling her country. The junta has sought to make her disappear, suppress any mention of her, and violently repress all protest and dissent.
http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/?p=6268

Bard student John Hu teams up for 10,000-mile trek to raise money for Children's Hospital of Orange County.
http://www.konnectmagazine.com/2012/06/the-mongol-ralley-charity-our-10000-mile-journey-from-london-england-to-mongolia/#.T9tfwb_gLJw

This is an exciting week at the Hannah Arendt Center, which is in the middle of its first annual Arendt Center Working Group Conference. The gathering was conceived to bring together humanities scholars from around the world to read, discuss, and think about one particular book in detail. This year's volume is the recently published Denktagebuch (or "book of thoughts") by Hannah Arendt.
http://www.hannaharendtcenter.org/?p=6211

Professor Jain will receive $35,000 supporting his research on new ways to fight bacterial infections. Bard students Coral Liu, Sheneil Black, and Weiqing Wang work with Jain on this project.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2309

This week we shine our summer project spotlight on Katherine Kenney '13. This Asian studies major is returning home to Connecticut to work with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH). She will conduct research and develop advocacy materials on homelessness for both the state government and the public. Read more about our summer Community Action Award Winners on the Civic Engagement blog.
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

"With greater knowledge, an individual will have greater opportunities to live and lead a better life. I now know I have responsibilities in my community," says one BPI grad. "I must stay focused and persevere because I'm needed out there to help steer our young away from a life of crime, drug use, gang banging, and waking up in jail." Read the full article in the Bardian:
http://issuu.com/ktrabucco/docs/2012_spring_bardian?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Bard CEP student Sonia Slavinski works with farmers in Ghana to establish village savings and loans groups.
http://www.bard.edu/cep/blog/?p=2250

The New Yorker staff writer and author of the award-winning book Denialism will be teaching the course "Global Politics of Food" in the fall.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2308

This summer, Martha Orlet '15 and Cassandra Settman '13 are both interning with Independent Thought and Social Action in India (ITSA), an organization started by a BHSEC-Manhattan alumna. ITSA participants run writing workshops for teens. Orlet says "I believe I will gain very unique and precious insight into teaching . . . while gaining knowledge of Indian culture and experience . . . new ways of living, socializing, and learning."
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/2012/05/14/community-action-award-winners/

The Bard Prison Initiative celebrated its ninth commencement on June 3 at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, where President Botstein conferred AA degrees to 18 graduating students. Congratulations, everyone! For more news visit the BPI website.
http://bpi.bard.edu/

What if filmmakers all over the planet documented the same day? Follow the link below to view a trailer for the film One Day on Earth, coproduced by Daniel Lichtblau '03, opening today in New York City.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/onedayonearth/

Bard CEP student John Rohrback CEP/MI '13 blogs on bringing electricity to Ñaupe, Perú as a Peace Corps volunteer.
http://www.bard.edu/cep/blog/?p=2295

What are Bard students up to this summer? Our Community Action Award winners are making a difference with internships and research projects. Leela Khanna '15, a political studies and human rights major, is interning at the Center for Social Research (CSR), a women's rights NGO in New Delhi. "Just knowing that my work has a potential to impact many lives and help [people] make important decisions will be a really rewarding experience," she says.
http://blogs.bard.edu/civicengagement/

What would it take to make faster computers and more efficient solar panels? Jesse Kohl '07 is looking for answers at the crossroads of nanotechnology and clean energy.
http://posterhall.org/igert2012/posters/286

These Bard alumni created a film that "stands on its own as a meditation on the uncomfortable truths, and unexpected joys, of creative collaboration." The comedy troupe Olde English—comprised of Caleb Bark '12, Raphael Bob-Waksburg '06, Joel Clark '05, Adam Conover '04, Ben Popik '05, and Dave Segal '05—premiered their collaborative film The Exquisite Corpse at the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood.
http://turnstylenews.com/2012/05/30/comedians-olde-english-take-surreal-challenge-in-the-exquisite-corpse-project/

The college has been awarded $800,000 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for science education, building on the success of the Citizen Science Program.
http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2305

Bard won the food composting division of the national Recyclemania contest, beating Middlebury and Princeton. The college has also signed a contract to eliminate most delivered water bottles on campus and replace them with inline filtration.

"Throughout history, humankind has made things—for survival and daily life, for celebration and ritual. Things of beauty, and things of power. These objects speak to us of creativity and ingenuity, needs and concerns, values and tastes. At the Bard Graduate Center, this evidence of human effort to give shape and meaning to the world provides a lens through which we can view larger cultural and historical questions, to better understand and appreciate our shared heritage."
http://vimeo.com/42559186