We embrace plurality, respect divergent viewpoints, and are committed to understanding the rich spectrum of experiences that comprise our community.
What We Do
DEI collaborates with faculty, staff, and students on learning, teaching, student development, institutional functioning, and engagement in local and global communities. In an increasingly intertwined and rapidly changing world, we are dedicated to a rigorous examination of the institutions and structures that sustain inequality. Above all, we maintain an ongoing commitment to decreasing the distance between these ideals and our everyday realities.
The Council for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) sponsors and cosponsors campus-wide events such as speakers, panels, and movie screenings that relate to social justice, intercultural communication, equity, and inclusion. The council is committed to making Bard an environment that is supportive of communities historically marginalized in liberal arts and sciences education.
Student Clubs
Student clubs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at the College include the Bard Christian Fellowship, the Latin American Student Organization, and the Trans Lyfe Collective. For more information about these and other clubs, visit student.bard.edu/clublist.
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Student Government provides leadership for students interested in making Bard College a better place, and is always ready to support students working on issues of diversity and inclusion. -
Housing the Dean of Student Affairs Office, CSLA provides support to students struggling to figure out what diversity means, what they want it to mean, and how to bridge the gap between the two. -
The OSA helps students plan programs, organize events, and lead clubs in an effort to make Bard a more diverse and accepting place, all while keeping students engaged and making sure they have fun.
Gilson Place: Dedicated in Support of Students of Color
Gilson Place, formerly Grey Stone Cottage, is a space dedicated to the advancement of students of color. Bard faculty and student leaders collaborated on its recent renovation and redesign. Gilson Place supports the academic, personal, and social success of members of the Bard community historically underrepresented in liberal arts and sciences education and fosters dialogue about race and culture on campus. The space is named for Alexander Gilson, a freed African American slave who became the head gardener at Montgomery Place, now part of the Bard College campus, and eventually opened up his own nursery business.
Accessibility at Bard
In service of its mission, Bard College is committed to being a fully accessible community in which all students, staff, faculty, alumni/ae, and visitors are valued, engaged, and empowered to participate. The College strives to continually improve physical, educational, and programmatic access and identify barriers that would otherwise limit full participation in the life of the College. The College encourages all community members to be actively engaged to advance this mission.
Brothers at Bard
Brothers at Bard began as a campus club and has grown to an institutional initiative with four objectives: to offer a safe space for men of color studying at Bard College; to mentor men of color in high school; to facilitate career development among alumni of color; and to play an active role in the national coalition of organizations dedicated to lifting up young men of color in their academic, personal, and professional development.
Spotlight on the Posse Program
The Posse Foundation recruits talented public high school students who might have been overlooked by traditional college selection processes, forming them into supportive Posses and connecting them with participating colleges. Every year Bard accepts a Posse of 10 students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential, offering them full-tuition scholarships.