Bard’s extraordinary faculty are dedicated to the philosophy of teaching. Today and throughout Bard’s history, members of the faculty have effected change in medicine, the arts and letters, international affairs, journalism, scientific research, and education, among other endeavors. These distinguished scholars are advisers as well as instructors: Bard has no graduate teaching assistants. And the average class size of 16 in the Lower College and 12 in the Upper College allows for intimate discussions and one-on-one interaction.
David Bloom ’13 MM ’15. Photo by Bruce Kung
“What brought me to Bard, in a word, was the faculty.”
“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’s Community Sciences Lab and Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities Featured in Chronogram
“What’s in the air is in the water, and what’s in the water is also in the air,” Eli Dueker told Chronogram.
Bard’s Community Sciences Lab and Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities Featured in Chronogram
Students participate in the Bard Water Lab, via the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. Photo by Sarah Wallock
“[The Hudson Valley’s] mix of forest types, climate conditions and land-use patterns allows researchers to observe how ecological systems respond to both natural variation and human influence,” writes Mahoney. “This combination of local focus and global relevance is a defining feature of the region’s scientific landscape. Many researchers in the Hudson Valley are engaged in projects that connect site-specific observations to planetary-scale processes, from climate change to biodiversity loss.”
Dueker and the Community Sciences Lab were acknowledged for their work on water and air quality, including through the Hudson Valley Community Air Network, which uses air quality sensors distributed across the region to fill gaps in monitoring data, and provide residents with up-to-date information about local air quality. These efforts include studying the movement of pollutants across environmental boundaries, underscoring the interconnectedness of all ecological systems. “What’s in the air is in the water, and what’s in the water is also in the air,” Dueker told Chronogram.
The piece also highlighted the relationship between the global and community-level science. Ayala’s work through the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities provides the example, which as the author notes, combines geographic information systems (GIS), demographic data and participatory mapping. “By combining technical data with local knowledge, Ayala aims to better understand how environmental systems intersect with social and economic factors.” “When he looks at a map of the Hudson Valley, Ayala says, he sees not a single unified region but a patchwork of distinct conditions and experiences. ‘I see a bit of the housing crisis,” he says. “I see opportunities and challenges with respect to accessibility, connectivity and these microcosms that exist throughout the Hudson Valley.’”
The Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities puts Bard’s dedication to the environment, science, and social change into practice to support the fair management of our shared natural resources. The center conducts quantitative research in the natural and social sciences, crafts communication, participates in policy making, and bridges academic inquiry with community needs. The data and insights collected through CESH related projects are applied directly back to communities, with the end goal of addressing and solving environmental problems in real time.
Post Date: 09-29-2026
Professor Ziad Abu-Rish Discusses the Entwined Histories of Electricity and Social Struggle in Lebanon on the Afikra Podcast
Abu-Rish outlines a decades-long history of struggle that he says helped to form the current sense of Lebanese national identity.
Professor Ziad Abu-Rish Discusses the Entwined Histories of Electricity and Social Struggle in Lebanon on the Afikra Podcast
Associate Professor of Human Rights and Middle Eastern Studies Ziad Abu-Rish
This sort of crisis is nothing new to the region, as Abu-Rish explains. He outlines the decades-long history of struggle for the provision of utilities, showing how it also traces a history of struggle that he says helped to form the current sense of Lebanese national identity, a history that begins with early regional monopolies and runs up to the creation of today’s Électricité du Liban (Electricity of Lebanon). They also consider what defines a state, and how socially disruptive and even disastrous events can refine collective identity through struggle.
Middle Eastern Studies at Bard promotes the intellectual exploration and analytic study of the historical and contemporary Middle East, from North Africa to Central Asia. The program provides a broad intellectual framework with course offerings cross-listed with history, literature, Arabic, Hebrew, religion, human rights, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, politics, art history and visual culture, and environmental studies.
Post Date: 09-29-2026
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Professor Joan Tower Profiled in WHMT and the Daily Catch
Professor Joan Tower Profiled in WHMT and the Daily Catch
Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music Joan Tower, who has been a member of Bard’s faculty for 54 years, was profiled in the Daily Catch and featured on Classical music station WHMT. Tower was interviewed by WHMT along with Alexandra Balog, director of the Atalena Artists Collective, who are presenting a concert celebrating Tower’s work on October 3. “Seeing [Joan] composing every day, after all she’s accomplished … her discipline and love for music has influenced my way of thinking about music and life in general,” Balog said.Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music Joan Tower.
“[Tower] was larger than life for me [as a child],” Bard Artist in Residence and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan, who will perform at the celebratory concert, told the Daily Catch. “[Her music can be] stormy, serene, humorous, nostalgic, tender, or violent.” Tower said her goal as a professor is to help writers develop their own perspective. “We don’t try to burden our students with our style,” she said. “They develop their own voice, which is something I’m very proud of.”
The October 3 concert marks Tower’s 54 years at Bard with an evening of her music performed by Bard faculty, students, the Cassatt Quartet, and musicians of The Orchestra Now (TŌN). This celebratory concert is free and open to the public.
Post Date: 09-29-2026
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Fisher Center Performance of The Egyptian Helen reviewed in Opera Magazine
Fisher Center Performance of The Egyptian Helen reviewed in Opera Magazine
Opera Magazine’s Eric Myers wrote an admiring review of The Egyptian Helen, performed at the Sosnoff Theater as part of the 2026 Bard Summerscape Festival. The review noted “memorable” costume design and “impressive” production, and broadly praised the various vocal performances. “Hailey Clark displayed a strong, sinewy, developed instrument; her sound and her sense of emotional commitment made her seem nearly ready to take on Elektra,” Myers wrote.Hailey Clark (Helena) and the company of The Egyptian Helen. Photo by Maria Baranova
The Strauss opera, described as difficult for performers and audiences alike, was staged by Christian Räth, conducted by Leon Bostein, and featured the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Festival Choir. The review concludes by noting Botstein’s long association with this specific work, having written about and recorded it extensively, making for an “exciting” interpretation that, according to Myers, “overcame many of the work’s difficulties."
Post Date: 09-24-2026
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The Orchestra Now at Bard College Revives Works of Composer Friedrich Gernsheim that Survived Destruction by Nazi Germany
The Orchestra Now at Bard College Revives Works of Composer Friedrich Gernsheim that Survived Destruction by Nazi Germany
Over the weekend, audiences at the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater heard music that had not been performed in New York since 1913. The music was that of Friedrich Gernsheim, a masterful composer whose work was spirited away from Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and rarely heard since except in recordings. The program included the Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 54, Song of Miriam (1887), which tells the Biblical story of Moses’s older sister, who rescued him as a baby.Leon Botstein conducting The Orchestra Now. Photo by David DeNee
“The Gernsheim Festival: Rediscovering a Master” ran from September 18-20, featuring orchestral and chamber concerts as well as a panel discussion exploring Gersheim’s life and legacy. The concerts represented the public debut of the Gernsheim Rediscovery Initiative, a multi-year project led by The Orchestra Now (TŌN) the graduate orchestra at Bard College, conducted by Leon Botstein, dedicated to recovering and presenting the composer’s work to new audiences, starting at Bard.
Friedrich Gernsheim was a German-Jewish composer, conductor, and pianist. His work was systematically destroyed by the Nazis. A prodigious pianist, he settled in Berlin where he taught composition at the Prussian Academy of Fine Arts, while gaining recognition for his own compositions. Gernsheim died in 1916; 20 years later, in their effort to erase the contributions of Jewish artists and intellectuals, the Nazis destroyed Gernsheim’s printing plates, sheet music, and the remaining copies of a 1928 biography of the composer. In recent years, Gernsheim’s work has been the subject of renewed interest.
“Since about 30 years ago, there have been studio recordings of Gernsheim’s work, but what has been lacking in his rediscovery are live performances,” musicologist and Bard Visiting Associate Professor in the Music Program at Bard Peter Laki told the Daily Catch. “That’s why this festival is very important: It’s a wonderful concentration of Gernsheim that’s rarely seen anywhere in the world.”
The Music Program, one of the largest programs on Bard’s campus, provides a wide range of musical concentrations, from classical composition and performance to jazz, electronic music, musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a graduate program of Bard College that is training the next generation of music professionals to become creative ambassadors of classical music, offering a master’s degree or an advanced certificate.
Post Date: 09-24-2026
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Charles Flint Kellogg Professor of Politics at Bard College, Omar Encarnación, Published in Foreign Policy
Charles Flint Kellogg Professor of Politics at Bard College, Omar Encarnación, Published in Foreign Policy
Omar G. Encarnación, the Charles Flint Kellogg professor of politics at Bard College, published an article in Foreign Policy titled "A Tale of Two Socialists: Why Spain’s Sánchez has succeeded while Britain’s Starmer floundered." The article examines and compares the respective prime ministerships of Andy Burnham (and predecessor Keir Starmer) in the UK, and Pedro Sánchez of Spain. Specifically, Encarnación examines how these leaders relate to the political left with which they are associated, in countries that differ significantly in their recent political history. For example, Spain, which is still recovering from decades of mid-20th century fascism, has had only seven national leaders since the fall of Franco in 1978; by contrast, the UK has had six prime ministers since the Brexit vote of 2016.Professor Omar G. Encarnación wrote an article in Foreign Policy.
Encarnación argues, in part, that the effort of UK leaders to find a compromise position on issues such as immigration have left them in an increasingly difficult position of alienation from both the left and right wing within their population and political parties amidst social and economic tumult, particularly at a time when immigration is an acute political issue, whereas Sánchez has bolstered support during a similarly challenging time. Encarnación suggests that the UK leadership may find a useful example and lessons in the example of the UK.
“Luckily for Burnham, his predecessor gave him the gift of an early departure,” writes Encarnación. “Britain’s next elections are not expected until August 2029, which gives him plenty of time to try and right the ship. As he attempts this feat, the so-called ‘King of the North’ would do well to look south for survival strategies.”
Encarnación is the author of Spanish Politics: Democracy after Dictatorship, Democracy Without Justice in Spain: The Politics of Forgetting, and Framing Equality: The Politics of Gay Marriage Wars, among other books. He teaches through Bard's Politics Program, which gives students a well-rounded understanding of political theory, American politics, comparative politics, and international relations, studying the choices we can make as individuals and the fates of communities, nations, and states.
Post Date: 09-23-2026
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Distinguished Writer in Residence Francine Prose Interviewed by the How I Write Podcast
Distinguished Writer in Residence Francine Prose Interviewed by the How I Write Podcast
Francine Prose, distinguished writer in residence at Bard, was interviewed by David Perell of the How I Write podcast. Their hour-long conversation spanned a range of writing-related topics, from technical questions of how to write effective dialogue or end a story, to bigger picture concepts of clarity, what visual arts can teach writers, and Anne Frank’s strength as an editor in addition to her powerful writing.Prose, who has taught at Bard since 2005, is also the author of more than 20 novels and the recipient of numerous awards.
“The one thing I tell my students is: read it aloud,” said Prose. “If you wouldn’t say it, and if you can’t get it out of your mouth, there’s a good chance it shouldn’t be on the page.”
Prose, who has taught at Bard since 2005, is also the author of more than 20 novels and the recipient of numerous awards. Throughout the interview, she provides insights that aspiring and experienced writers alike may find useful or inspiring. Prose is part of the Literature Program at Bard, which emphasizes cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity, challenging national, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries.
Post Date: 09-23-2026
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Multiple Bard Alumni/ae Named to 2026 TIME100 Art List
Multiple Bard Alumni/ae Named to 2026 TIME100 Art List
Three Bard alumni/ae and an Artist in Residence have been named to the TIME100 Art list for 2026, which identifies the 100 most influential curators and artists working today. Those alumni include Christine Sun Kim MFA '13, a visual artist who pairs drawings with sound, and Artist in Residence Jeffrey Gibson, a sculptor whose work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The list also includes Cecilia Alemani MA-CCS '05, director and chief curator of New York City's High Line, and Diya Vij '08, commissioner of cultural affairs for the City of New York.Cecilia Alemani MA-CCS '05, director and chief curator of New York City's High Line, is among the three Bard alums included in the TIME100 Art list.
“Artists don’t work in a vacuum,” TIME writes. “They are supported by a massive ecosystem, from philanthropists and nonprofits who fund work, to gallerists and advisers who shape careers, to curators, museum leaders, [who] make art possible.” Asked by TIME about her work with New York’s Cultural Stability Fund, Vij said, “I was really interested in making gathering spaces where people could surface the ideas of what it looks like [to] live together differently, to govern differently, to build a different world.”
Bard’s programs include the undergraduate Studio Arts Program, which provides a breadth of expanded offerings while retaining a strong core of courses that provide a firm grounding in artistic techniques and principles. They also include Bard’s MFA Program, a two-year multidisciplinary program focused on individual process and work in progress, as each student confronts the conceptual and practical questions at the core of all artistic production.
Post Date: 09-23-2026
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