Bard College Awards 2024

The 2024 Bard College Awards will be held on Friday, May 24, as part of Commencement and Reunion Weekend. This inspiring annual event celebrates the exceptional achievements of Bard alumni/ae and friends of the College; outstanding faculty and staff who are retiring are recognized with the Bardian Award. Join fellow Bard alumni/ae, faculty, and staff for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the Sosnoff Theater patio, followed by the Bard College Awards ceremony, hosted by Bard College President Leon Botstein and Mollie Meikle ’03, president of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors. The event is free, but advance registration is required. Please be sure to pick up your packets from Registration before attending. Hosted by the Bard College Alumni/ae Association.

Read about this year's Bard College Award recipients here.

Cover of La Voz, Volume XXI, Number 2.

Hudson Valley Pilot: “Local Spanish Language Publication La Voz Celebrates 20 Years As Community Expands”

What started as a Bard College Trustee Leader Scholar program is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. La Voz, founded by Mariel Fiori ’05 and Emily Schmall ’05 in 2004, was conceived to address a lack of quality Spanish-language publications in the Hudson Valley—a need it is still meeting in 2024. “Our goal has always been to share what’s available with these populations, to encourage them to have hope, and to ultimately uplift them,” said Fiori to Hudson Valley Pilot.

Rita McBride ’82. Image courtesy the artist’s website

“I can draw through space, and it’s infinite”: Rita McBride ’82 Interviewed by Art Newspaper

Rita McBride ’82 spoke with Art Newspaper about her exhibition Particulates, which was on view at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition, which built on McBride’s past work Portal, was “composed of high-intensity laser beams, water molecules, and dust particles dancing mid-air.” “I was thinking about it as a corporate ruin: what things were important to keep and what things were important to get away from,” McBride said.

Svitlana Kukharuk ’25.

“From ‘Electricity Hunter’ to Bard Student”: Svitlana Kukharuk ’25 Wrote about Her Experience for the Daily Catch

After Russian missiles destroyed critical infrastructure 1.5 miles from her home, Svitlana Kukharuk ’25 and her family went without electricity for 10 hours per day. “I gave myself a new name: ‘electricity hunter,’” Kukharuk wrote for the Daily Catch. Reflecting on her experience leaving Ukraine and her studies at National University of Ostroh Academy, Kukharuk marked the third year of the Russian invasion by tracking her journey from electricity hunter to Bard student, and what she’s doing now to affect the situation in Ukraine.

Wallkill River showing HABs and kayaker. Photo by Emily Vail

Bard College Receives $69,300 Grant from New York State Department of Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program

Bard College has received a $69,300 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program. Bard’s grant is part of $1.8 million in total awards recently announced by Governor Hochul for 26 projects to help communities along the Hudson River Estuary improve water quality, enhance environmental education, and advance stewardship of natural resources. 

Trail clearing volunteers. Photo by Andrew Checchia, courtesy the Daily Catch

Student and Staff Volunteers Clear New Path from Red Hook to Bard College

“Hacking through logs, thorns, and invasive species, nearly 20 volunteers kicked off the expansion of the Saw Kill Trails in the Town of Red Hook Saturday afternoon, making headway on a project that will eventually connect the trails to Bard College,” writes Andrew Checchia for the Daily Catch. Among those volunteers were Bard students and staff, who helped to speed the construction of 1,700 feet of new trails.