Diversity at Bard

Tabetha Ewing, associate professor of history and chair of the Division of Social Studies. Photo by Scott Barrow.

At Bard, diversity is an ongoing practice:

we embrace plurality, respect divergent viewpoints, and are committed to understanding the rich spectrum of experiences that comprise 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.

Building upon a culture of innovation and intellectual rigor, we envision diversity to include and look beyond traditional categories of difference. In an increasingly intertwined and rapidly changing world, we are dedicated to a rigorous examination of the institutions and structures that sustain inequality based on divisive ideas about difference. Above all, we maintain an ongoing commitment to decreasing the distance between these ideals and our everyday realities.

Diversity in Practice

From Hannah Arendt to Chinua Achebe, 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.

+ Africana Studies

+ Gender and Sexuality Studies

+ Latin American and Iberian Studies

Myra Young Armstead, vice president for academic inclusive excellence and professor of historical studies at Bard College. Photo by Scott Barrow.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at Bard seeks to materialize our intellectual commitments to plurality, dialogue, and rigorous study by creating a learning environment that includes the voices, works, and ideas of historically marginalized communities and cultures. DEI works closely with other campus departments and organizations, including:

Campus Climate Team / BICRT
The Campus Climate Team is a group of faculty, staff, and students that proactively addresses climate issues on Bard’s campus. The Bias Incident Community Response Team (BICRT) helps to assess, communicate about, and create institutional responses to bias incidents.
Center for Civic Engagement (CCE)
bard.edu/cce
The CCE connects students with opportunities on and off campus to empower them to become active citizens. It can help students find and finance internships, start organizations, and attend or lead conferences.
Center for Faculty and Curricular Development (CFCD)
The Center for Faculty and Curricular Development (CFCD) offers programs and support for faculty at all stages in their teaching and professional development. It provides a convivial venue for faculty-initiated discussion of a wide range of topics and issues, including diversity and inclusion in the classroom.
Center for Student Life and Advising
bard.edu/csla
Housing the Dean of Student Affairs Office, CSLA can provide personal and professional 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.
Council for Inclusive Excellence
The Council for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) works on institutional inclusivity initiatives through broad interdepartmental collaboration in the areas of faculty orientation and development workshops, campus-wide programming, student leadership, and off-campus engagement.
Dean of the College, Deirdre d’Albertis
bard.edu/doc
Dean d'Albertis provides support and guidance as the College works to make the classroom, and the campus as a whole, more inclusive for all of our students.
Difference and Media Project
dmp.bard.edu
The Difference and Media Project provides a space for students to plan programs and lead discussion groups that grapple with what difference means and what it should mean while creating a multimedia laboratory space.
Faculty Diversity Committee
The committee promotes discussion and professional development among the faculty regarding diversity, equity, and inclusivity.
Multicultural Diversity Committee
A subcommittee of Student Government, the MDC works with the Bard community to enhance and broaden diversity at the College.
Office for Gender Equity
bard.edu/genderequity
The Office for Gender Equity is dedicated to preventing, responding to, and remedying occurrences of gender-based misconduct throughout Bard College and its affiliated programs. To increase awareness of gender-based misconduct and cultivate a safe and proactive community, the Office for Gender Equity provides educational and preventative programming for employees and students.
Residence Life
bard.edu/reslife
Residence Life provides students with community and support in their dormitories. Peer counselors in the residence halls encourage their fellow students to bring conversations about diversity and inclusion to their homes and engage their peers in more informal settings.
Student Activities
studentactivities.bard.edu
The Office of Student Activities 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.
Student Government
Student Government provides leadership and direction for students interested in making Bard College a better place to learn and to be. It finances student clubs and is always ready to support students interested in working on issues of diversity and inclusion. Student Government leaders act as liaisons between students and all levels of the administration.
Related Student Clubs
For more information about these and other clubs, visit student.bard.edu/clublist.
- AfroPulse
- Anti-capitalist Feminist Group
- Anti-Racism
- Asian Student Organization
- Bard Christian Fellowship
- Bard Educational Opportunity Program (BEOP) Club
- Bard Immigration Group
- Bard New Orleans Exchange
- Bard Prison Initiative
- Black Student Organization
- Brothers at Bard
- Caribbean Student Association
- China Experience Club
- Colored Womyn United
- Creative Resistance
- Global China Connection
- Harvesting Justice
- Hindu Student Organization
- Human Rights Radio
- International Student Organization
- Italian Club
- Jewish Student Organization
- Joanie4Jackie
- La Voz
- Latin American Student Organization
- Muslim Student Organization
- National Alliance on Mental Illness at Bard
- Queer People of Color
- Queer Student Association
- Race Monologues
- Russian Club
- Student Labor Dialogue
- Students for Justice in the Middle East
- Students Without Borders
- The Draft
- Trans Lyfe Collective

Additional Resources

Bard Early Colleges
bard.edu/earlycollege
The Bard Early Colleges are founded on the belief that many high school–age students are eager and ready for the intellectual challenges of a college education. The Bard Early Colleges provide adolescents with a rigorous, credit-bearing college course of study in the liberal arts and sciences following the 9th and 10th grades at no cost to the student. Bard's early college model provides a seamless, affordable pathway for students to and through college. The Bard Early College network includes campuses in Manhattan (Lower East Side and Harlem Children's Zone), N.Y.; Queens, N.Y.; Newark, N.J.; New Orleans, La.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Baltimore, Md.
Bard Educational Opportunity Programs
bard.edu/beop
Bard Educational Opportunity Programs (BEOP) support Bard College scholars from a variety of backgrounds. Bard staff and peer mentors work closely with BEOP scholars to ensure their academic and personal success at Bard.
Bard Prison Initiative
bpi.bard.edu
The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) creates the opportunity for incarcerated men and women to earn a Bard College degree while serving their sentences. BPI graduates are positive forces in their families and communities, with high rates of post-release employment and stunningly low recidivism.
Chaplaincy
bard.edu/chaplaincy
The chaplaincy at Bard is committed to helping students, staff, and faculty explore and develop their spiritual identities. The chaplaincy has on staff two Episcopal priests, a Catholic priest, an imam, and a rabbi. Chaplaincy staff offer pastoral care, formal and informal study, support for student faith organizations, and ecumenical events throughout the year.
Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists
achebecenter.bard.edu
Visiting writers, artists, and scholars take part in readings, discussions, and performances at the Achebe Center, which honors the legacy of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor Emeritus of Languages and Literature.
Clemente Course in the Humanities
clemente.bard.edu
The Clemente Course provides free, college-level humanities instruction to motivated students who might not otherwise have the opportunity for higher education. Participants study literature, art history, moral philosophy, and U.S. history, and receive college credit for completing the program.
Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities
bard.edu/hannaharendtcenter
Intellectuals and scholars meet at Bard to consider current issues with the same kind of insight and independence of mind that political philosopher Hannah Arendt—who came to Bard in the 1940s and left her private papers to the College—brought to bear on such themes as anti-Semitism, totalitarianism, and consumerism. The Arendt Center houses a digitized archive and library. Bard students serve as research assistants, participate in lectures and workshops, contribute to the archive website, and assist at conferences.
Institute for International Liberal Education
iile.bard.edu
The Institute, founded in 1998, is a recognized leader in the establishment of joint ventures in liberal education with universities abroad. Working with partner universities that seek to introduce more democratic educational practices, IILE establishes dual-degree or dual-credit programs that realize the best features of American liberal arts education while respecting and incorporating local knowledge and ambitions.
La Voz
lavoz.bard.edu
La Voz is an award-winning, free Spanish-language publication that serves the Hispanic community of the Mid–Hudson Valley. Founded in 2004 as a student project, La Voz has grown to a circulation of 5,000 and an estimated readership of 20,000. La Voz empowers its readers with information on legal rights, personal finance, health education, and English learning.
Posse Program
www.possefoundation.org
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.