Main Image for Commencement 2019

Commencement 2019

Photo by Pete Mauney '93 MFA '00
Commencement and Reunion Weekend
May 24–26, 2019
Bard College held its one hundred fifty-ninth commencement on Saturday, May 25, 2019. At the commencement ceremony, Bard President Leon Botstein conferred 385 undergraduate degrees on the Class of 2019 and 182 graduate degrees, including master of fine arts; doctor and master of philosophy and master of arts in decorative arts, design history, and material culture; master of science and master of arts in economic theory and policy; master of business administration in sustainability; master of arts in teaching; master of arts in curatorial studies; master of science in environmental policy and in climate science and policy; master of music in vocal arts and in conducting; and master of music in curatorial, critical, and performance studies. The program took place at 2:30 p.m. in the commencement tent on the Seth Goldfine Memorial Rugby Field and included the presentation of honorary doctoral degrees.

The commencement address was given by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Honorary degrees were also awarded to music scholar V. Kofi Agawu, historian Philip J. Deloria, Bishop Herbert A. Donovan Jr.,computer scientist Margaret Heafield Hamilton, architect Steven Holl, and artist Carolee Schneemann ’59 (posthumous).

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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell Gives the 2019 Commencement Address

Mayor Catrell urged Bard College graduates to "be impatient with injustice." She focused on the College's history of nontraditional leadership as well as her own, and how Bard students and alumni/ae have worked with her to rebuild the City of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck.

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About the Commencement Speaker

About the Commencement Speaker

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s life has been steeped in community service. As a young girl, her grandmother would bring her to neighborhood meetings, and by the age of 13, she was serving as secretary for her local chamber of commerce.
 

President Leon Botstein Gives the Charge to the Class of 2019

"Honor truth, but with modesty and humility." President Botstein urged graduates to insist on evidence and facts, and also to admit and even embrace their mistakes.

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James Chambers '81 Welcomes Attendees to Bard College Commencement 2019

“Bard gives us the opportunity to learn that learning never stops.” —James Chambers '81, chair of the Bard College board of trustees, welcomes attendees to Bard's 159th Commencement exercises on May 25, 2019.

Unconventional Leadership
Photo by Karl Rabe

Unconventional Leadership

"We have a changing world, and we need dynamic, unconventional leadership every step of the way. You’ve been equipped with all the tools that you need in your toolbox. Now, it’s simply time to use each and every one of them." —Mayor LaToya Cantrell to the Class of 2019