Bard College’s Oldest Living Alum, Arnold Davis ’44, Passes Away at 102 Years Old
Arnold Davis ’44 at the reception for the 2019 exhibition at the Fisher Center entitled "Art and Music in the Collection of Seena and Arnold Davis." Photo by Chris Kayden
Arnold Davis ’44 died on Sunday, September 13, at the age of 102. At the time of his death, Davis was Bard’s oldest living alum. Memorial services were held in Hawthorne, N.Y.
Davis graduated from Bard College at the tail end of World War II, at a time when the college was still part of Columbia University. “It was a very different time for the school,” he said in an interview for a 2012 oral history project about the college.
Davis attended Bard on a full scholarship to study violin. Ever since, Davis has remained a fixture of the Bard community, including as a trustee, as founder and president of the Alumni/ae Association, and as chairman of the Alumni Fund. Davis was present at nearly every graduation ceremony at Bard.
The influence Davis has had on Bard is immense. In 1975, he was part of the committee that hired Leon Botstein as president of the college, a position he held for 51 years.
Davis also met his wife of 65 years while picking strawberries near campus. “It was disappointing that I graduated, and the next year they decided to go co-ed,” Davis joked in the 2012 interview.
After Bard, Davis went on to earn degrees in library science and musicology from Pratt and New York University, respectively. He became the head librarian at The Juilliard School, and a librarian and professor of English at New Jersey State College. He worked as a real estate agent and art dealer. Throughout his life, Davis remained closely affiliated with Bard.
“He had a full and rich life. Bard was a central part of that life, and the college was a major beneficiary of his love of learning, particularly for literature, music, and the visual arts,” Botstein said.
Post Date: 09-24-2026
Davis graduated from Bard College at the tail end of World War II, at a time when the college was still part of Columbia University. “It was a very different time for the school,” he said in an interview for a 2012 oral history project about the college.
Davis attended Bard on a full scholarship to study violin. Ever since, Davis has remained a fixture of the Bard community, including as a trustee, as founder and president of the Alumni/ae Association, and as chairman of the Alumni Fund. Davis was present at nearly every graduation ceremony at Bard.
The influence Davis has had on Bard is immense. In 1975, he was part of the committee that hired Leon Botstein as president of the college, a position he held for 51 years.
Davis also met his wife of 65 years while picking strawberries near campus. “It was disappointing that I graduated, and the next year they decided to go co-ed,” Davis joked in the 2012 interview.
After Bard, Davis went on to earn degrees in library science and musicology from Pratt and New York University, respectively. He became the head librarian at The Juilliard School, and a librarian and professor of English at New Jersey State College. He worked as a real estate agent and art dealer. Throughout his life, Davis remained closely affiliated with Bard.
“He had a full and rich life. Bard was a central part of that life, and the college was a major beneficiary of his love of learning, particularly for literature, music, and the visual arts,” Botstein said.
Post Date: 09-24-2026