Spring is here and SPROJ is near. May 3rd, on a sunny day (fingers crossed) outside Ludlow, the students will be lining up for the age-old tradition of handing in their senior projects. I remember so well giving mine to Dean Levine—and now, all these years later, I can still visit it in the stacks in the library. Lots of things change at Bard, but not the agony and ecstasy of your Senior Project (AKA SPROJ).

If you would like to support the Senior Class Gift this year, which is going toward purchasing new kitchen appliances for Gilson Place, you can order a special limited edition shirt (link), designed by Nyah Alexis '23.

I'm just back from a terrific trip to LA, where we had an event with Leon on April 20th. Over 60 alumni/ae came out to the very first event at the James Fuentes Gallery—thank you to James Fuentes '98! I drove around seven lane freeways to meet alumni/ae all over the city, and Bard was everywhere: I was having lunch in Art's Deli in Studio City with one Bardian, and as we walked out another Bardian walked in! A Bardian from the Class of 1960 had me over, and her house guest lying on the couch was a friend from Bard. I visited a Bardian at her workplace, and she showed me a book she was making for someone that she had no idea went to Bard with me! We are everywhere. If you live in Southern California and want to be connected to Bardians out there, please fill out this short survey here (link).

This month in Annandale, we've been lucky enough to have a bonanza of alumni/ae visiting classes and giving talks: thank you to artists Isabel Barber '11, Jacob Fisher '15  and Austin Sley Julian '11 for coming back for the alumni/ae arts panel and studio visits. Kings College professor Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan '01 was here to give a talk called Learning to Code: From Information Theory to French Theory. Nathan Marcus Reich '99, International Relations Specialist at the Department of Energy, spoke to a class taught by Bard's Diplomat in Residence Frederic Hof. And this Sunday, April 30th at 4pm, Mostafiz ShahMohammed '97 is hosting the New York premiere of a very Bardian film he co-produced, Miúcha: Voices of Bossa Nova.
 
The announcements of the 2023 Guggenheim fellowships brought great news for Bard: four alums (Diane Severin Nguyen MFA '20, Sasha Phyars-Burgess '10, Jessica Segall '00 and Martine Syms MFA '18) and three Bard faculty were all awarded fellowships. Congratulations to everyone. We are so #BardianAndProud! The full story is here (link).

On Saturday, April 29th, Steely Dan is at Bard! Ok, Steely Dan is not actually playing, but if you didn't get to see them this might just be the next best thing. The brainchild of Brian Reynolds, a graduate student in the conducting program, thought it was about time to celebrate Bard's iconic alumni. In his words, "Over 50 years after Donald Fagen and Walter Becker first met at Bard College, the school’s elite musicians come together for a first-of-its-kind concert celebrating the music of Steely Dan. Featuring a full rhythm section, horns, and background singers, the band will perform a selection of Steely Dan’s high fidelity hits in exacting detail." The show is in Olin Auditorium at 8pm. More details here on the performance (link).

Calling for Class Notes! If you want to let Bardians know what you are doing, please email us at [email protected]. You know Class Notes is always the first place you go in the Bardian, so please add yours. Third-person, 50-100 words, deadline May 15th. All the news that's fit to print! (We are working on an online version, the Bard directory, and also Bardian businesses page but… in the meantime just sent us your news and follow us on social media).

Reunion is only weeks away! Did you make your gift to your class yet? Are you coming? Did you sign up? What are you waiting for? All you need to know is here (link). We want to see you back at Bard!

I can't wait to be seeing you,
Jane

P.S. Bard is accepting nominations for the Stuart Levine Award for Leadership and Collegiality, which honors faculty members who advance Bard College’s commitment to distinction in undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education in and outside the classroom. All faculty members with at least five years of service are eligible for the annual award. The selection is made by the president upon the recommendation of the dean of the college and chairs of the four divisions of the College. The recipient of this award is announced at the final faculty meeting of the year. Previous recipients are Brooke Jude (2021) and Swapan Jain (2022). Nominations by students, alumni/ae, staff, and faculty will be accepted through May 14, 2023.

Designer Brandon Blackwood ’13 Inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Profiled in Harper’s Bazaar

Fashion designer and Bard alumnus Brandon Blackwood ’13 was one of 10 new members inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) this year. Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA, said, “Our newest members represent everything America has to offer . . . diversity . . . creativity . . .  and true individual talent.” 

New Bard High School Early College Slated to Open in South Bronx

A new Bard High School Early College is slated to open in the South Bronx this fall. “From the first conversation with Chancellor Banks and his team, something that was really important was about bringing the same quality and standards and resources and rigor that defines this program to the Bronx in full,” said Stephen Tremaine, vice president for Early College Policies and Programs. “First and foremost for South Bronx residents—and to do that unapologetically.”

Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova will Premiere at Bard College on April 30

On Sunday, April 30, the film Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova will have its first public premiere at Bard College. Produced by alumnus Mostafiz ShahMohammed ’97, the film will be screened in Bard’s Jim Ottaway Jr. Film Center at 4 pm, with a reception to follow until 6:30 pm. This groundbreaking documentary, which received global recognition at Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and Rio Film Festival, explores the illustrious life of Brazilian singer Heloísa Maria Buarque de Hollanda, known by her artistic name Miúcha, and captures the story of her unique talent. 

Bard MBA Student, BPI Alumna Stacy Burnett ’20 MBA ’23 Wins Mid-Hudson Business Plan Competition, Three Other Bard Teams Compete

“Stacy Burnett has a powerful idea to shake up the big-business of prison re-entry: hire formerly incarcerated people to mentor folks who are newly released,” writes Katie Boyle MS ’07, director of enrollment and marketing for Bard’s MBA in Sustainability, on the Lead the Change blog. Burnett, a current MBA student and alumna of the Bard Prison Initiative, pitched the idea at the Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Business Plan Competition alongside her business partner Charlene Reyes. The idea, which Burnett and Reyes developed when they were both students in the Bard Prison Initiative, won first place in the Learn, Work, and Play category.

Bard College Alumnus Dale Beran ’04 Interviewed on CNN about Online Radicalization

Dale Beran ’04, Bard alumnus and lecturer at Morgan State University, appeared for an interview on CNN, where he spoke about the online radicalization of young men and discussed how certain online communities form, such as the spaces on Discord and other platforms where highly classified US documents were first leaked by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old air national guardsman.

“A Reasonable Supreme Court? Hardly. Don’t Be Fooled by this Extremist Establishment:” Moira Donegan ’12 on the Court’s Recent Abortion Pill Ruling for the Guardian

In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Bard Written Arts alumna and journalist Moira Donegan ’12 cautions that we should not be fooled by the highest court’s decision to allow the abortion drug mifepristone to remain available—temporarily staying a Texas federal judge’s ruling to reverse the drug’s FDA approval and pull it from US markets—while the case goes through an appeals process. Donegan deduces “sharp intra-Republican disagreement over how to handle the unexpectedly virulent political fallout from the Dobbs decision” among the right-wing Supreme Court justices who jointly ruled to overturn abortion access as a federal right.