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February 2026 News for Bard Families & Friends |
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Bard Students, Parents, Alumni/ae and Staff at the BardWorks 2026 Networking Reception in New York City. Photo Credit: Queenie Si '25. |
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Dear Families,
BardWorks 2026 wrapped up its three day series of workshops and receptions on Friday, January 23 in NYC. This year’s program was a huge success with almost 50 students and over 40 parents and alumni/ae participating. Special thanks to the current and former members of Bard’s Family Leadership Council for so generously sponsoring the program and to the parents who offered their valuable time during the BardWorks networking events. Below is a testimonial from a participating Bard student:
"BardWorks was amazing and so helpful. I am really glad I signed up, and please say thank you to all the other staff who helped and worked the event. I will be telling all my friends to do it!"
- Ayla Bobrowsky '27
Bard Wellness programs are ready to support students in 2026! The Wellness Team is providing monthly Peer Health programs focusing on mental, sexual and physical health, as well as dog therapy, acupuncture, virtual and in-person yoga classes and more! Follow Bard’s wellness programming at @wellnessatbard for regular updates.
Of note, the following Bard graduate programs are accepting applications for Fall 2026 through May 1. If your student has interest in any of these programs, I invite you to use the links below to review each one.
• #1 Ranked MBA in Sustainability (Hybrid)
• MS in Environmental Policy (MS EP)
• MS in Climate Science and Policy (MS CSP)
• MEd in Environmental Education
The MS and MEd programs also offer a 4+1 BA/Master's option for undergraduate Bard students. If you have questions, please reach out to Margo Bogossian, Associate Director of Enrollment & Marketing, at [email protected].
Next month, the College is looking forward to celebrating Bard’s 50 years of Innovation and Excellence and honoring Bard President, Leon Botstein, on March 26, 2026 in New York City at Cipriani South Street. Tickets for the gala are available by using this link and more information can be found below.
Finally, Commencement 2026 plans are already underway. If you have a student graduating from Bard in May (congratulations!), please be aware that more information will be circulated in the coming weeks. The March Annandale Insider issue will be full of important details for families looking ahead to graduation.
Best Wishes,
Mackie Siebens '12
Assistant Director of Development for Family Programs
[email protected] | 845-758-7316
P.S. Room selection for the 2026-2027 academic year will take place in April. Students have already received details about this, including information about special applications.
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Bard Gala 2026
Join Bard College in celebrating fifty years of innovation and excellence and honoring Bard College President, Leon Botstein.
Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 6:00 pm
Cipriani South Street, 10 South Street, New York City
Individual tickets as well as tables of 8 or 10 people can be purchased here.
For further information, please contact Linda Baldwin at [email protected] or 845-758-7414.
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Dates to Remember
To view the full 2025–2026 academic calendar, click here.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 – Sunday, March 22, 2026 | Spring Recess
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 | Last Day to Withdraw from a Class
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 | Senior Projects Due (5:00 p.m.)
Thursday, May 7, 2026 | Registration for Fall Classes Opens at 8 a.m.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – Tuesday, May 19, 2026 | Completion Days—Regular Classes and Final Exams
Monday, May 18, 2026 | Provisional Senior Grades Due in the Office of the Registrar
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 | Last Day of Spring Classes
Thursday, May 21, 2026 | Baccalaureate Service and Senior Dinner
Saturday, May 23, 2026 | Commencement |
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Family Leadership Council
Members of the Family Leadership Council (FLC) play a leadership role in the Bard community through a range of activities. FLC members develop and participate in on-campus and regional recruiting and mentoring events, promote and provide career opportunities for students, and participate in peer-to-peer fundraising. Parents on the FLC play a role in the success of the Bard College Fund through annual gifts. The Family Leadership Council meets twice each year: once during Family Weekend in the fall and once in the spring. These meetings are open so all Bard families are welcome to attend.
Interested in joining or have questions? Contact Mackie Siebens '12, Assistant Director of Development for Family Programs, at [email protected] or 845-758-7316. |
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Bard College. Photo by Peter Aaron ’68
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Bard College Completes Its Landmark Endowment Challenge
The Open Society Foundations today welcome Bard College’s successful completion of a landmark endowment challenge first issued in 2021 by Open Society Founder George Soros. By meeting the challenge, Bard has established the first endowment in its history, positioning the College to sustain and expand its mission as an independent institution of higher education centered on the liberal arts and sciences and dedicated to the public interest for generations to come.
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Clockwise L-R: Maia Cluver ’22, Cecilia Giancola ’25, and Oskar Pezalla-Granlund ’24.
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Bard College Named a Top Producer of Fulbright US Students for 2025–26
Bard College is proud to be included on the list of US colleges and universities that produced the most 2025–26 Fulbright US Students. Maia Cluver ’22 is currently living in Jordan as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Cecilia Giancola ’25 received a Fulbright independent study-research scholarship to India. Oskar Pezalla-Granlund ’24 was selected for a study-research grant to Spain. And Grace Molinaro ’24 received a Fulbright scholarship to study Modern Standard Arabic in Egypt.
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Abhinav Prem, assistant professor of physics.
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Bard College Awarded Department of Energy Grant for Quantum Computation Research Project
Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Abhinav Prem has received a two-year research award from the US Department of Energy to develop new methods that make quantum computers more stable and reliable. The project, “Leveraging Novel Symmetries for Noise-Resilient Topological Quantum Computation,” is a joint collaboration with professor Stephan Haas at the University of Southern California. Bard is the lead institution and recipient of $300,006 of the $500,000 award.
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Felicia Keesing.
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Bard Professor Felicia Keesing Elected a Fellow of the British Ecological Society
Felicia Keesing, the David and Rosalie Rose Distinguished Professor of Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard College, has been elected a fellow of the British Ecological Society (BES). The fellowship is bestowed in recognition of outstanding contributions to ecology through research, teaching, leadership, policy, and the practical application of ecological science.
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The Fisher Center at Bard College. Photo by by Peter Aaron '68
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The Fisher Center at Bard Announces Summerscape 2026, Bringing Opera, Dance, Spiegeltent, and the 36th Bard Music Festival, Mozart and His World, to the Stunning Hudson River Valley Setting, June 25 – August 16
The Fisher Center at Bard, one of the country’s leading multidisciplinary producing houses, offering extraordinary support to artists to realize ambitious and groundbreaking projects, announces SummerScape 2026, June 25 – August 16. Two major productions, the world premiere of Courtney Bryan’s Suddenly Last Summer and Richard Strauss’s The Egyptian Helen (Die ägyptische Helena), affirm opera’s vitality and dexterity, and the 36th Bard Music Festival takes on one of classical music’s most towering legacies, that of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart.
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Our January Supporters
Thank you to Bard families and friends who supported Bard in January. We are grateful for your generosity to the College!
#donorsmakedegreespossible.
Anonymous (2) • Louis Sorell and Jeannie Sorell • Joel Rivlin and Pamela Rivlin • Irina Lebedeva • Stephen Block • Kimberly L. Haas • Rand Whipple and Anne Dowd • Jeffrey L. Kosky and Stephanie L. Hodde • Richard B. Barber and Ann H. Schaetzel • Brian Conte and Kristine Conte • Tracy Sadler-Hormazabal • Jane A. Brien '89 and Stewart Verrilli • Judith Joa • Jay Ross and Rennau D. Ross • Geraldine Brodsky • Stephen Penman and Nancy Banks • Nick J. Pagliante and Gwendolyn Pagliante • Karen J. Hillenburg • Sergio R. Hormazabal • Frank Komola • Lori G. Quince • Daniel B. Clark and Wendy L. Williams • Lee Roussel and Andre Roussel • John J. Miller and Emily Altschul-Miller • Margaret E. Foxweldon and Leonard L. Weldon • Gregory Fields and Rozanna Leo-Fields • L. H. Lumey and Lourdes Wan • Dan Junkins and Minette Junkins • Virginia S. Warner • John Bermingham and Marnie Bermingham • Peter W. Greenwald and Gail M. Newman • Bette C. Hill • Susan H. Gillespie • Allan Doescher and Lois Doescher • Henry A. Woodack • Eric R. Williams and Krista L. Williams • Jeff G. Bricmont and Wendy Bricmont • David W. Jacobowitz '65 and Linda Rodd • Jason T. Robison and Anne S. Robison • Robert B. Richards • Joanna J. Jordan • Martin Leandri and Michelle Leandri • Fei Liu • Richard W. Waugaman • David Posner • Matthew Deady and Mary F. Deady • Lisa Senior • Kathleen Augustine • Peter Buffett • Jane Kim • Chris L. Berger and Elizabeth A. Berger • Kristen M. Kiefer • Barbara S. Grossman '73 and Michael Gross • David Meikle • Geoffrey E. Melton and Jenn S. Marckres
To give to Bard today, visit giving.bard.edu/bcf. |
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