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September 2025 News for Bard Families & Friends |
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Class of 2029, First Year Arrival Day 2025. Photo Credit: Karl Rabe |
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Dear Families,
We had a fantastic time welcoming new Bardians to campus in August. Classes started on Monday, September 1 and the semester is off to a great start with much to look forward to this fall.
First, please remind your student to attend Club Fair taking place on Saturday, September 6 from 1-3 pm on the quadrangle on the south side of the Campus Center. Club Fair allows students to meet with representatives from all the registered clubs (there are dozens!) and learn how to get involved.
In collaboration with Village Apothecary, Bard’s Health Services Team is organizing COVID and flu vaccine clinics on Thursday, September 25 and Friday, October 24 from 9am-3pm in the gym at the Stevenson Athletic Center. Emails containing more information about these clinics as well as a link to schedule an appointment will be circulated to students closer to the clinic dates.
October 1 marks the launch of registration for January’s BardWorks program, a multi-departmental collaboration developed to help students translate their liberal arts education into meaningful professional pathways. By drawing on the College’s extensive alumni/ae, professional, and family networks, participants receive personalized mentorship and practice key career skills such as interviewing, networking, and articulating their goals with clarity and confidence. BardWorks dates this year are January 20-23, 2026. Students received information about BardWorks 2026 via email on Monday, September 1. A registration link will be shared with students on October 1.
We are always looking to welcome a small group of engaged parents to join the BardWorks networking event in New York City but space is limited. If you are interested in this opportunity or you wish to donate to BardWorks, please contact Mackie Siebens '12, Assistant Director of Development for Family Programs, at [email protected] or 845-758-7316.
Also looking ahead to October, Bard Athletics and Recreation will be hosting its third annual golf tournament in support of Bard Athletics on Friday, October 10 at the Red Hook Golf Club. Registration is live and available by completing this form.
Please save the date for Bard’s Family and Alumni/ae Weekend, October 24-26, 2025. Stay tuned for the schedule of events and online registration. Activities include classes, tours, information sessions, guided walks, apple tastings, athletic events, Halloween themed festivities, and more!
The Bard College Conservatory of Music marks its 20th anniversary with two concerts at Bard Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater during Family and Alumni/ae Weekend and a final landmark concert at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, October 29. These concerts honor two milestones: the founding of the Conservatory of Music in 2005 and Leon Botstein’s 50th year as President of Bard College. For more information about the conservatory performances taking place on campus during Family and Alumni/ae Weekend click here, and to purchase tickets for the performance at Lincoln Center click here. More information about other Conservatory performances can be found here.
Wishing you a wonderful start to the fall,
Sincerely,
Mackie Siebens '12
Assistant Director of Development, Family Programs
[email protected]
845-758-7316
P.S. The Hannah Arendt Center’s 17th annual fall conference, JOY: Loving the World in Dark Times, will take place from Thursday, October 16 through Friday, October 17. More information can be found here.
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Dates to Remember
To view the full 2025–2026 academic calendar, click here.
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 | Drop/Add Period Ends 5 pm
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | Late Drop Period Ends
Monday, October 13, 2025 – Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | Fall Break
Friday, October 24, 2025 | Midterm Grades and Criteria Sheets Due from faculty
Friday, October 24, 2025 – Sunday, October 26, 2025 | Family and Alumni/ae Weekend
Thursday, November 27, 2025 – Sunday, November 30, 2025 | Thanksgiving Recess (classes end at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26)
Friday, December 5, 2025 | Last Day to Withdraw from a Class
Monday, December 8, 2025 | Senior Projects Due
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | Advising Day
Thursday, December 11, 2025 | Registration for Spring Classes Opens
Monday, December 15, 2025 – Friday, December 19, 2025 | Completion Days—Regular Classes and Final Exams |
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From Left to Right: Rob, Henry '25, Janice and Walter Mielarczyk. Rob and Janice are Co-Chairs of the Family Leadership Council. |
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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 Student Robert Lee Williams Published in the New York Times
In an essay for the New York Times series “Finding Beauty,” Bard Prison Initiative student Robert Lee Williams wrote about his bittersweet relationship to trees during his incarceration.
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Bard College, 2025. Photo by Karl Rabe
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Bard College Earns Recognition for Commitment to First-Generation Student Success
Bard College has been announced as a new member of FirstGen Forward Network for 2025–26. Formerly the Center for First-generation Student Success, FirstGen Forward is an organization which aims to accelerate the success of first-generation students in education, career, and life, and provides data and training for educational institutions around the country to scale and sustain the important work of serving these students.
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Bard College President Leon Botstein. Photo by Ric Kallaher
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Bard College President Leon Botstein Publishes Essay on Autocracy and American Higher Education in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published Bard College President Leon Botstein’s essay “Autocracy and the university in America today” in its September 2025 issue. In his piece, Botstein examines what anti-immigration policies and the upending of decades of close collaboration between the US federal government and American universities could mean for the future of scientific research, educational standards, democracy, and the United States.
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Erika McEntarfer ’95.
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Former Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer ’95 To Speak at the Levy Economics Institute on September 16
Bard College alum and former US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer ’95 will give a lecture, “The Importance of Official Data in Assessing Economic Conditions,” on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 5pm EDT (UTC -04:00) at the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
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Assembly member Didi Barrett presented the honor in person at the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater on Bard’s Annandale campus. Photo by Matt Dine
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New York State Assembly Honors Bard College President Leon Botstein
In a proclamation presented on August 8, the opening night of the 35th Bard Music Festival, the New York State Assembly honored Leon Botstein for transformative accomplishments in innovative education and the contributions to the arts over his 50-year tenure as president of Bard College. “Leon Botstein is a rare individual whose intellectual curiosity, passion for the arts, and dedication to learning has not only shaped Bard College into an elite institution, but continues to inspire those who engage with him,” said Barrett.
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Orchestra photos by Fadi Kheir. Festival graphics by Saboteur Studios, UK.
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Eighth Annual China Now Music Festival in New York Announces 2025 Season: Music in Motion, September 27 – October 5, 2025
Under the theme “Music in Motion,” this year’s festival will feature three major concerts and a US–China Music Forum, showcasing the creative legacy of three generations of Chinese composers and their groundbreaking work at the intersection of music, dance, and opera. “This year’s theme, Music in Motion, explores the dynamic flow of contemporary Chinese music—its innovation, cross-cultural dialogues, and ability to evolve with the times,” said Jindong Cai, artistic director and conductor of the festival, which takes place in New York City and at Bard College.
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August Supporters
Thank you to Bard families and friends who supported Bard in August. We are grateful for your generosity to the College!
#donorsmakedegreespossible
Anonymous (2) • Kimberly L. Haas • Rand Whipple and Anne Dowd • Charles Phillips and Maureen Langloss • Angelica Sanchez • Bonnie T. Goad and Daniel Donohue • Jane A. Brien '89 and Stewart Verrilli • Judith Joa • James Sottile and Noell H. Sottile • Geraldine Brodsky • Frank Komola • Stephana Bottom and Duncan M. Webb • Michael S. Rosenberg and Kimberly L. Beane • Hilary E. Greene and Kevin Greene • Gregory Fields and Rozanna Leo-Fields • Dan Junkins and Minette Junkins • Connie Laport • Ako K. Mott and Michelle C. Mott • Bert Glassberg • Peter W. Greenwald and Gail M. Newman • Debbie Cooper and Daniel Sternberg • Charles G. Oviatt and Susan E. Oviatt • Stewart Resnick and Lynda Resnick • David W. Jacobowitz '65 and Linda Rodd • Jason T. Robison and Anne S. Robison • Jeffrey C. Slagle and Bronislava Slagle • Bryan V. Knapp and Katie R. Silberman • Fei Liu • Aldo Daniel Real Gonzales • Helene Tieger '85 and Paul Ciancanelli • Elizabeth Stewart • Stefano Ferrari • Jane Kim • Gisela Hendley • David Meikle
To give to Bard today, visit giving.bard.edu/bcf! |
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