Skip to main content.
Bard
  • Bard
  • Academics sub-menuAcademics
    Bard College Commencement
    • Academics
      • Programs and Divisions
      • Structure of the Curriculum
      • Courses
      • Requirements
      • Discover Bard
      • Bard Abroad
      • Academic Calendar
      • Faculty
      • Libraries
      • College Catalogue
      • Dual-Degree Programs
      • Bard Conservatory of Music
      • Other Study Opportunities
      • Graduate Programs
      • Early Colleges
  • Admission sub-menuAdmission
    • Applying
      • Apply Now
      • Financial Aid
      • Tuition + Payment
    • Discover Bard
      • Campus Tours
      • Meet Our Students + Alumni/ae
      • For Families / Familias
    • Stay in Touch
      • Join Our Mailing List
      • Contact Us
  • Campus Life sub-menuCampus Life
    Bard Campus Life

    Make a home in Annandale.

    • Living on Campus
      • Housing + Dining
      • Campus Resources
      • Get Involved on Campus
      • Visiting + Transportation
      • Athletics + Recreation
      • New Students
  • Civic Engagement sub-menuCivic Engagement
    • Bard CCE The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at Bard College embodies the fundamental belief that education and civil society are inextricably linked.

      Take action.
      Make an impact.

      Get Involved
      • Campus + Community
      • In the Classroom
      • U.S. Network
      • International Network
      • About CCE
      • Resources
      • Support
  • Newsroom sub-menuNews + Events
    Upstreaming
    • News + Events
      • Newsroom
      • Events Calendar
      • Video Gallery
      • Press Releases
      • Office of Communications
      • COVID-19 Updates
    • Special Events
      • Commencement Weekend
      • Alumni/ae Reunion
      • Family + Alumni/ae Weekend
      • Fisher Center
      • Bard SummerScape
      • Bard Athletics
  • About Bard sub-menuAbout Bard

    A private college for the public good.

    Support Bard

    Legacy Challenge
    • About Bard College
      • Mission Statement
      • Bard History
      • Love of Learning
      • Visiting Bard
      • Employment
      • OSUN
      • Bard Abroad
      • The Bard Network
      • Montgomery Place Campus
      • Campus Tours
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Sustainability
      • Title IX and Nondiscrimination
      • HEOA Disclosures
      • Institutional Support
      • Safety and Security
      • Inside Bard
      • Alumni/ae Network
      • Family Network
      • Support Bard
      • Legacy Challenge
  • COVID-19 Information
  • Give
  • Search
Main Image for About DEI

About DEI

Professor Myra Young Armstead speaks at an event commemorating historical markers
on campus that encourage critical reflection on the past, a project of her Inclusion at Bard course.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Menu
  • About sub-menuAbout
    • Policies
    • Committees
    • CIE
    • President's Commission
  • Resources
  • Academics
  • Partner sub-menuPartnerships + Initiatives
    • Professionals of Color
    • [email protected]
  • Affil sub-menuAffiliated Programs
    • Office of Title IX and Nondiscrimination
    • Equity and Inclusion Programs
    • Accessibility at Bard
  • Newsroom
  • Events
  • Home
At Bard, diversity is an ongoing practice
We embrace plurality, respect divergent viewpoints, and are committed to understanding the rich spectrum of experiences that make up our community. We firmly believe in upholding the value of critical thought and ethical engagement that this process necessarily demands. To accomplish this mission, we are dedicated to generating dialogue that fosters respect and collaboration between people from a wide field of backgrounds, talents, values, and passions.

Our Staff

  • Myra Young Armstead
    Vice President for Academic Inclusive Excellence and Lyford Paterson Edwards and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies

    [email protected]
    845-758-7235
    Office: Fairbairn 10

    Myra Young Armstead

    Vice President for Academic Inclusive Excellence and Lyford Paterson Edwards and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies

    [email protected]
    845-758-7235
    Office: Fairbairn 10

    She received her doctorate in history from the University of Chicago where she interned under the late Dr. John Hope Franklin and concentrated in three fields: U.S. urban history, U.S. diplomatic history, and African colonial history. 

    She holds a master’s in international relations with a concentration in African affairs, and a bachelor’s from Cornell University, where she majored in government. Professor Armstead’s book publications include “Lord, Please Don’t Take Me in August”: African Americans in Newport and Saratoga Springs, 1870–1930 (University of Illinois, 1999); Mighty Change, Tall Within: Black Identity in the Hudson Valley (SUNY Press, 2003); and Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America (New York University Press, 2012). Currently, she is completing two research projects: a book-length study of cultural reforms during the Progressive Era, and a study of class divisions and cross-class connections regarding economic issues among evangelical Protestants in North America. In 2014–15 she received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to undertake research at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for the Progressive Era project. Her study of economics and religion is supported by a three-year (2015–18) grant from the Louisville Institute.
               
    At Bard, Professor Armstead has taught broadly in U.S. history with a concentration in 19th-century social and cultural history.
  • Claudette S. Aldebot
    Dean of Inclusive Excellence



    [email protected]
    845-758-7492
    Office: Kappa House 110

    Claudette S. Aldebot

    Dean of Inclusive Excellence



    [email protected]
    845-758-7492
    Office: Kappa House 110

    Claudette was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and moved to New York in 1995. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and women’s gender and sexuality studies. Her master’s degree is in social justice educational studies with a focus on diversity and inclusion from SUNY New Paltz. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in organizational leadership with a focus on social justice from Northeastern University. 

    Claudette’s professional experience has been primarily focused on higher education, where she has led roles in the areas of residence life, student development, college access, teaching, diversity, belonging, equity, and inclusion. Outside of her work in higher education, she has spent time working and volunteering within the legal, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, as well as being a diversity consultant. This allows her to bring an intersectional perspective in all she does. She leads with a holistic leadership approach. She believes in building and strengthening equitable and inclusive spaces and frameworks for students, faculty, and staff. As a first-generation college student, she truly believes that education is the greatest equalizer and that it is our shared responsibility to lead our youth to a more equitable and inclusive future. 

    In her free time, she likes to explore the beautiful Hudson Valley region with her husband and two daughters. She loves to dance, sing, and travel. She is passionate about living a good life and being in the moment. She lives by the saying: “Tomorrow is never promised, so make today count.”
  • Jessica Purcell
    Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion

    [email protected]
    845-758-7605
    Office: Kappa House 111

    Jessica Purcell

    Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion

    [email protected]
    845-758-7605
    Office: Kappa House 111

    Joining Bard from Española, New Mexico by way of SUNY New Paltz, Jessica Purcell is the new director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. Jessica has committed the last 15 years of her career to supporting historically underrepresented individuals pursuing their academic goals through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at SUNY New Paltz. In her work, she strives to empower others and remind people they are seen, heard, and valuable. She is tireless in reinforcing the idea that each of us is inherently strong and integral to the positive growth and health of the future, which we contribute to with our actions and words. Jessica advises with a student-centered approach and has worked to bring the whole campus community and all its resources together to that end.

    Trained as a mental health counselor, Jessica specialized in family systems and disaster mental health and served as an adjunct professor teaching crisis intervention and multicultural counseling. She has frequently trained students and professionals in risk and suicide assessment, always making sure the humanity and dignity of the student is the priority. She has also contributed to and presented on the development of PILLARS (Providing Insight for Learning, Living, Achieving, and Recognizing my Strengths), the multifaceted rubrics used by EOP at New Paltz to support student growth personally, academically, and professionally. 

    Jessica believes passionately in the transformative power of education and the necessity of providing access and opportunities to those who are not traditionally given the privilege and power that higher education can afford.
  • Haron Atkinson
    Program Coordinator for Inclusive Excellence

    [email protected]
    845-758-7605
    Office: Kappa House 102

    Haron Atkinson

    Program Coordinator for Inclusive Excellence

    [email protected]
    845-758-7605
    Office: Kappa House 102

    A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Haron joined the Bard community in April 2021. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he received a bachelor of arts in sociology in 2003. From 2008–2013, he engaged in advanced study in sociology with a concentration in race and urban studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.

    In nearly 15 years of work in student affairs, Haron has had the opportunity to work and sharpen his student affairs skills at Trinity College, Georgia State University, and Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. His professional experience has been focused centrally on social justice issues in higher education.  In particular, he has worked with passion, purpose, and commitment to challenge institutionalized inequalities in higher education. He firmly believes that in order for his work to be most effective he must demonstrate professional practices that are ethical, student-centered, forward-thinking, and compassionate.

    In his role as the program coordinator for the Office of Inclusive Excellence, he provides administrative support for the Office of the Dean of Inclusive Excellence (ODIE) and the many programs, events, and initiatives for which ODIE is responsible.

    When he is not working, Haron enjoys being a foodie, cooking, intelligent political discourse, and traveling.  

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force

President Botstein has appointed a standing task force of Bard administrators to work with the Council for Inclusive Excellence (CIE). This group will keep the community informed on a regular basis on the steps being taken.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force

Claudette S. Aldebot
Dean of Inclusive Excellence
[email protected]

Erin Cannan (Cochair, CIE)
Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Civic Engagement
[email protected]

Myra Armstead (Cochair, CIE)
Lyford Paterson Edwards and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies
Vice President for Academic Inclusive Excellence
[email protected]
 
Jonathan Becker
Executive Vice President; Director, Center for Civic Engagement
[email protected]

Deidre d’Albertis
Dean of the College
[email protected] 

Malia Du Mont
Chief of Staff to the President; Vice President for Strategy and Policy
[email protected]

Peter Verdesi
Director of Safety and Security
[email protected]

Coleen Murphy Alexander
Vice President for Administration
[email protected]

In the Classroom and Beyond
Photo by Karl Rabe

In the Classroom and Beyond

Bard College has historically been a sanctuary from ethnic, political, religious, and other forms of intolerance. We embody this legacy today with a strong investment in both local and global initiatives, from our Center for Civic Engagement to the Bard Prison Initiative and Early Colleges, as well as with our programs in Bishkek, Berlin, East Jerusalem, and St. Petersburg. Our curriculum encourages students to deepen their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion through the distribution requirement, Difference and Justice, and Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences courses, as well as programs of study that create space for historically marginalized voices in the academy.

More about Academics

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Practice

Inclusive Pedagogy

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion works to create opportunities for both new and veteran faculty members to meet as a division or program to focus on curriculum and pedagogy as it relates to cultivating an inclusive learning environment. These workshops use scenarios to facilitate open discussion of specific issues raised by students, and are intended as a forum for faculty to reflect on and discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in their pedagogical practice.

Dialogues on Diversity: We invite students to participate in informed conversations about their experiences on campus related to diversity and inclusivity. Direct input from students helps inform DEI’s initiatives.

Campus-wide Programming: DEI sponsors and cosponsors campus-wide events such as speakers, panels, and movie screenings that relate to social justice, multiculturalism, and inclusion.
 

Center for Faculty and Curricular Development

DEI collaborates with the Center for Faculty and Curricular Development to incorporate topics of diversity and inclusivity in the following initiatives:

  • New Faculty Orientation: During orientation, new faculty work with current faculty and staff through a series of Bard classroom case studies concerned with diversity and inclusion. This is an opportunity for new faculty to begin a conversation about what it means to have a diverse and inclusive classroom at Bard.
  • Lightning Lunches: Structured discussions designed to fit into 45–55 minutes, which often explore issues of inclusivity in the classroom.

Additional Bard Resources

  • Bard Early Colleges
  • Equity and Inclusion Programs
  • Bard Prison Initiative
  • Chaplaincy
  • Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists
  • Clemente Course in the Humanities
  • Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities
  • Institute for International Liberal Education (IILE)
  • La Voz

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources

  • Bias Incident Report
  • Office of Title IX and Nondiscrimination
  • Accessibility at Bard
  • Disability Support Services
  • Excellence in Athletics Coalition
  • Student Life + Advising
  • Dean of the College
  • Faculty + Curricular Development
  • Center for Civic Engagement
  • Student Government
  • DACA and Undocumented Students
  • DEI Programs + Scholarships
Bard College
30 Campus Road
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York 12504-5000
Phone: 845-758-6822
Admission E-mail: [email protected]
©2023 Bard College
Follow Us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Follow Us on Instagram
You Tube
Information For:
Prospective Students
Current Employees
Alumni/ae 
Families
Quick Links
Employment
Travel to Bard
Site Search
Support Bard