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Jeszack Gammon '17 with three of his L&T students at the block party by Kline.* |
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Dear Bardian,
I was away for a couple of weeks in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, so last week was my first chance to meet the new students. There are 447 first-years from 26 countries, plus 116 transfers of which 25 are BardBac, 12 attended a BHSEC, and 25 are from Simon's Rock. I am happy to report that the Bard spirit, whatever that means to you, is alive and well in Annandale. The students are funny, engaged, serious, smart, confident, shy and everything in between. Just like we were.
Alumni/ae Affairs co-hosted the CCE Block Party at the close of Bard's Democracy Day events last week, which included every student volunteering at a local organization. The day had started with a fantastic alumni/ae panel in the Fisher Center. Thank you to the participants: Peter Criswell '89, Chair, Ulster County Legislature and former President of the Board of Governors; Emma Kreyche '02 of the Worker Justice Center; Patrick Stephens '19, Center for Community Alternatives; and Shawn Young '19 from BPI. You made us Bardian and Proud!
L&T on campus wraps up this week. This year they have been asking “What is Freedom?" As Erica Kaufman, Director of the Institute for Writing and Thinking, explains…"Moving across art and music, literature and philosophy, politics and science, we will consider how freedom operates in everyday life, artistic expression, civic experience, and self-understanding. The writers in our Anthology (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ralph Ellison, Hannah Arendt, and Franz Kafka, among many others) grapple with this question in a myriad of ways."
But L&T doesn't only happen in Annandale—it happens across the Bard network, and this year, amazingly, it happened in Kyiv, Ukraine. Founded by Bard senior Yana Lahoda '27 as a TLS project, 35 high school students from Kyiv as well as from rural communities and frontline regions came together for three weeks of Bard's signature intensive reading, writing, discussion and inquiry. Follow @language.thinking.kyiv on Instagram.
Enjoy as many tomatoes and peaches as you can in these last heady steamy days of summer.
Be seeing you,
Jane '89
Director of Alumni/ae Affairs |
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P.S.
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Alumni/ae Reunion weekend this year is May 28-30, 2027. We are celebrating 2s and 7s, but, as always, everyone is welcome. Mark your calendar, tell your friends and watch your email for updates. If you want to be involved and join your class committee, email [email protected] for more information.
*Jeszack is teaching L&T for the first time. He's also the Career Advisor and Pathway Design Lead at the Career Development Office and he was the block party DJ, @jeszack.
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Board of Governors Update
The Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors Nominations Committee would like to thank everyone who submitted suggestions for Bard College Awards and Honorary Degrees for 2027. The committee appreciates your engagement and is always delighted to learn about distinguished Bard alumni/ae.
Please note that the next Board of Governors meeting will take place on campus as part of Family and Alumni/ae Weekend on Saturday, October 24, from 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. All Bardians are welcome to attend. |
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Special Event
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For all your jazz fans out there: The Bard Jazz Program continues to be one of Bard’s most innovative and exciting programs, with an amazing faculty and students—including Associate Professor Angelica Sanchez, who will perform a piano duo concert with NEA Jazz master pianist and composer, Marilyn Crispell, on Tuesday, September 8. This concert is a benefit for the program and includes a reception with the artists. Tickets are limited for this very special event. Hope to see you there! Follow @bard_jazz on Instagram.
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Books by Bardians
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Books by Bardians
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Save the Date: Family and Alumni/ae Weekend
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Mark your calendars: Bard Alumni/ae Weekend will be held from Friday, October 23 – Sunday, October 25, 2026.
Get ready for a weekend packed with everything that makes Bard, well, Bard. Spread the word to your friends and classmates.
This year’s Family and Alumni/ae Weekend highlights include:
- An open house at the new Maya Lin-designed Performing Arts Lab
- The opening of the Ralph Ellison Center
- Tours of Campus Center North
- A Spirits of Annandale Cemetery tour
- Alumni/ae lunch in Blithewood
- Sample classes
Come explore, learn, reconnect, and experience all that makes Bard special. Registration will open soon.
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Arlo Haskell ’00. Photo by Ashley Kamen ’01
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Arlo Haskell ’00, Executive Director of the Key West Literary Seminar, Featured in the New York Times
The work of Bard alumnus Arlo Haskell ’00, executive director of the Key West Literary Seminar, was featured by the New York Times in an article about Key West’s literary history. The Seminar recently renovated a house belonging to writer Elizabeth Bishop, and it hosts a walking tour and summer writing workshops for high schoolers in order to “incubate future writing talent.”
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Annie Korzen ’60.
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Actress and Bard Alumna Annie Korzen ’60 Writes Modern Love Essay for the New York Times
Annie Korzen ’60, actress and Bard College alumna, published an essay in the Modern Love section of the New York Times. Korzen, who is now probably best known as a hilarious and outspoken accidental 85 year old TikTok star (@akorzen) as well as her role as Doris on the show Seinfeld, reflects on her decades-long marriage, her role as a caretaker as her husband’s health declined, and her transition to a new stage of life after his passing.
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Artist Simi Stone ’24.
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Artist and Bard College Alumna Simi Stone ’24 Published in Hudson Valley One
Simi Stone ’24, Bard College alumna, artist, and musician, published a piece in Hudson Valley One about becoming a painter. Stone recounts how her artistic journey has evolved throughout her life, returning to a consistent theme of nature inspired by her hometown of Woodstock. “Like many Woodstock artists, I process all aspects of my life through making art through painting, music, the written word, or whatever other medium,” Stone writes.
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Julianne Swartz MFA ’03, associate professor and codirector of the studio arts program.
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Bard Scholar Julianne Swartz MFA ’03 Awarded Grant from Bobby Anspach Foundation
Julianne Swartz MFA ’03, associate professor and codirector of the studio arts program at Bard College, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Bobby Anspach Foundation. The grant will support Swartz’s project, Heart Flow Instrument, a large-scale contemplative environment in the form of a deconstructed fountain that functions as a body in itself, where water, sound, light, and human presence circulate through interconnected vessels.
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Our July Supporters
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Thank you to all who made a gift to Bard in July. Your generosity fuels the work of this community — from supporting students and faculty to sustaining the programs, spaces, and opportunities that make Bard what it is. Every gift, no matter the size, makes a real difference, and we're grateful for your continued partnership. Thank you for believing in Bard and investing in its future. For all ways to give, click here.
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