JOHN BARD SOCIETY NEWS
Heinz and Lilo Bertelsmann at the groundbreaking of the Bertelsmann Campus Center on Parent’s Day 1997.
Twenty-five years ago, longtime Bard professor Heinz Bertelsmann and his wife, Lilo, decided that Bard needed a campus center. They wanted to create a singular home for activities that were dispersed around the campus—a welcoming place for students and faculty to see a movie, pick up their mail, hear a lecture, eat a hamburger late at night, and for student clubs to meet. They wanted a larger space than the coffee shop in Kline (where the faculty dining room is now) and one that was central to Tewksbury and the “toasters.” They knew exactly where to locate it and had even picked out the architect (Cathy Simon of Perkins + Will, who designed the Olin Language Center). They spoke to Leon about their idea. He recognized the need and readily agreed to work with them to make it happen. There was only one problem: Heinz and Lilo wanted to start building this muchneeded facility as soon as possible, but they could not donate the funds required at that point in their lives. With the help of their advisers and Bard’s counsel, the Bertelsmanns created a charitable remainder unitrust and named Bard the sole beneficiary. A charitable remainder unitrust (with the unfortunate acronym CRUT) is a deferred gift that provides the donors an income and benefits the charity once the trust matures. A CRUT is established by irrevocably transferring assets to a trustee who then invests the trust’s assets and pays you and/or other beneficiaries an annual variable income. At the end of the trust term the assets remaining in the trust are disphoto Doug Baz
tributed for the purpose you designate. Using a CRUT, Heinz and Lilo were able to see their vision for Bard realized during their lifetime. Today, the Bertelsmann Campus Center provides a hub for numerous programs, just as Heinz and Lilo envisioned. On weekdays the rooms are full with meetings of student clubs and faculty and staff committees; students polish their resumes and interviewing skills in the Career Development Office; hydroponic microgreens, which are sold to Chartwells year-round, are grown in an Urban Cultivator outside the Down the Road Café; and dance classes are held in the multipurpose room each semester. Movies are shown on weekends and the building is open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. No one on campus could imagine the college without it! Heinz is remembered not only for his dedication to teaching but also for his forethought in building a dedicated space to enhance and strengthen the Bard community. We are grateful to him and Lilo for their belief in the college, its mission, and, most importantly, its students, who benefit daily from their generosity. If you want to have an impact on Bard today but are not in a position to make a gift at this time, perhaps a CRUT or other type of deferred gift is for you. For further information on making a planned gift, please contact Debra Pemstein, vice president for development and alumni/ae affairs, at 845-758-7405 or Pemstein@bard.edu. All inquiries are confidential.