Message from Bard College President Leon Botstein
To the Bard community,
After completing 51 years as the president of Bard, I am announcing that I will be retiring from the presidency at the end of this academic year, June 30, 2026.
I knew I could not retire until the completion this January of the 1-billion-dollar endowment campaign begun in 2020 as a result of the generous challenge grant by the Open Society Foundations. The College now has a core endowment that will give it the opportunity to fully secure its financial future into the years ahead.
I am proud to have marshalled, during my tenure, nearly 3 billion dollars of philanthropy from numerous sources on account of the College’s unique and vital purpose. I am deeply grateful to all the institutions and individuals who have stepped up to support Bard and the people it serves.
In an age in which liberal arts education is under immense stress, the distinctive mission of the College must endure. This demands a commitment to rigorous academic inquiry and the larger public good which Bard advances through its many initiatives in degree programs for underserved populations, in the arts, liberal learning, and international education. The College must also continue to contribute to our neighbors in the Hudson Valley, who have been wonderfully supportive of Bard and its mission.
Over the past 50 years, Bard has developed and acquired a magnificent campus, and attracted an outstanding faculty, and dedicated staff. It boasts a vibrant and terrific student body. I offer my thanks to these constituencies for their extraordinary service and loyalty to Bard.
I previously informed the Board of Trustees that in view of the completion of the endowment campaign, my 51 years of service as president, and my upcoming eightieth birthday, it has been my intention to retire from the presidency and focus my energy as faculty member, teacher, and musician. I will continue with the Bard Music Festival, SummerScape, and the Bard Conservatory and will live at Finberg House.
I want to thank my superb colleagues, past and present, in the administration as well as the faculty, for an exceptional half century.
One individual deserves particular mention: the person who hired me in 1974 and without whom none of this would be possible, David E. Schwab III ’52. David gave me the charge “to build something great or close the college.” I’ve devoted my life’s work to lead Bard to become significant in American education and culture, and to make a strong economic and social impact on the Hudson Valley region. He challenged me to ensure that Bard become not just like any other institution of higher education, but that it should stand for both excellence and equity.
We should all remember that through our collective work Bard has defied the fate of many smaller institutions of higher education, and has overcome its long history of financial instability and poverty to become a college of national and global prominence, known especially for its devotion to liberal education and to public service.
Bard’s success in that defiance has derived from its commitment to innovation and excellence, not the opposite.
I believe it was prudent and in the best interest of Bard to wait until the Wilmer Hale review was complete to make this announcement.
I want to wish the college and its future leadership the very best and I pledge to both my support.
Leon Botstein,
President, Bard College
Post Date: 05-01-2026
After completing 51 years as the president of Bard, I am announcing that I will be retiring from the presidency at the end of this academic year, June 30, 2026.
I knew I could not retire until the completion this January of the 1-billion-dollar endowment campaign begun in 2020 as a result of the generous challenge grant by the Open Society Foundations. The College now has a core endowment that will give it the opportunity to fully secure its financial future into the years ahead.
I am proud to have marshalled, during my tenure, nearly 3 billion dollars of philanthropy from numerous sources on account of the College’s unique and vital purpose. I am deeply grateful to all the institutions and individuals who have stepped up to support Bard and the people it serves.
In an age in which liberal arts education is under immense stress, the distinctive mission of the College must endure. This demands a commitment to rigorous academic inquiry and the larger public good which Bard advances through its many initiatives in degree programs for underserved populations, in the arts, liberal learning, and international education. The College must also continue to contribute to our neighbors in the Hudson Valley, who have been wonderfully supportive of Bard and its mission.
Over the past 50 years, Bard has developed and acquired a magnificent campus, and attracted an outstanding faculty, and dedicated staff. It boasts a vibrant and terrific student body. I offer my thanks to these constituencies for their extraordinary service and loyalty to Bard.
I previously informed the Board of Trustees that in view of the completion of the endowment campaign, my 51 years of service as president, and my upcoming eightieth birthday, it has been my intention to retire from the presidency and focus my energy as faculty member, teacher, and musician. I will continue with the Bard Music Festival, SummerScape, and the Bard Conservatory and will live at Finberg House.
I want to thank my superb colleagues, past and present, in the administration as well as the faculty, for an exceptional half century.
One individual deserves particular mention: the person who hired me in 1974 and without whom none of this would be possible, David E. Schwab III ’52. David gave me the charge “to build something great or close the college.” I’ve devoted my life’s work to lead Bard to become significant in American education and culture, and to make a strong economic and social impact on the Hudson Valley region. He challenged me to ensure that Bard become not just like any other institution of higher education, but that it should stand for both excellence and equity.
We should all remember that through our collective work Bard has defied the fate of many smaller institutions of higher education, and has overcome its long history of financial instability and poverty to become a college of national and global prominence, known especially for its devotion to liberal education and to public service.
Bard’s success in that defiance has derived from its commitment to innovation and excellence, not the opposite.
I believe it was prudent and in the best interest of Bard to wait until the Wilmer Hale review was complete to make this announcement.
I want to wish the college and its future leadership the very best and I pledge to both my support.
Leon Botstein,
President, Bard College
Post Date: 05-01-2026