DEAR BARDIANS, Fall is a popular time of year in the Hudson Valley. Farm stands overflow with produce, first-year students flood Bard’s Annandale campus and the crisp air brings the energizing feelings of a fresh start. That sensation could not be truer for me this year. In August I moved back to the Hudson Valley to become deputy director of admission at Bard College. I believe more in the power of a Bard education and its influences on the world than in anything else. Returning to the College in this new capacity is an honor; I am thrilled to be back. Meanwhile, Brandon Weber ’97 capably takes the reins as president of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association on an interim basis. On a global scale this was an extraordinary summer, starting with Brexit and continuing with the runMackie Siebens ’12 up to November’s election in the United States. Against the backdrop of international terrorism, climate photo Kye Ehrlich ’13 change, and other crises, global anxiety prevails. In such an atmosphere, approaching the challenges of life with a positive attitude is itself a challenge. Bard’s exceptional level of engagement in the outside world is all the more important in such times. The number of Bard’s international campuses and partnerships alone make it an unusual institution, one that values difference and invites conversation on controversial topics. Bard College greets the unknown not with trepidation and anxiety but as a representation of potential and possibility. Our alma mater emphasizes the importance of this attitude better than other colleges. You only have to look to its programs in prisons, Russia, and the Palestinian Territories to understand that Bard truly lives its values. We care about learning as a lifestyle, not a static, brief period of our lives. So consider your support for Bard as more than a gift to education. Consider it a vote in favor of opening possibilities for bright minds, broadening horizons, and promoting peaceful curiosity; a vote against narrow-mindedness and self-absorption. Bard is more than a liberal arts college; it’s a force for good. Long may it be nurtured. Bardian and engaged, Mackie Siebens ’12
board of governors of the bard college alumni/ae association Brandon Weber ’97, Interim President KC Serota ’04, Vice President; Diversity Committee Cochair Lindsay Stanley ’12, Secretary/Treasurer Robert Amsterdam ’53 Brendan Berg ’06 Jack Blum ’62 Evan Nicole Brown ’16 Pia Carusone ’03 Kathleya Chotiros ’98, Development Committee Chair Charles Clancy III ’69 Andrew F. Corrigan ’00 Peter Criswell ’89 Arnold Davis ’44 Malia Du Mont ’95 Michelle Dunn Marsh ’95 Randy Faerber ’73, Events Committee Cochair Andrew Fowler ’95 Eric Goldman ’98 Christina Hajagos-Clausen ’92 Boriana Handjiyska ’02, Career Connections Committee Cochair Sonja Hood ’90 Miriam Huppert ’13 J. P. Kingsbury ’03, Young Alumni/ae Committee Cochair Paul Margolis ’76, Oral History Committee Cochair Peter F. McCabe ’70, Nominations Committee Cochair Mollie Meikle ’03, Young Alumni/ae Committee Cochair Steven Miller ’70 Anne Morris-Stockton ’68 Anna Neverova ’07, Career Connections Committee Cochair Karen G. Olah ’65 Gerry Pambo-Awich ’08 Abhay Puskoor ’08 Nia Rock ’78 Allison Rodman ’10 Jim Salvucci ’86 Henry Seltzer ’06 Dan Severson ’10 Michael Shapiro ’75, Oral History Committee Cochair Genya Shimkin ’08, Diversity Committee Cochair; YAAC* Cochair
Barry Silkowitz ’71 George A. Smith ’82, Events Committee Cochair Dr. Ingrid Spatt ’69 Geoffrey Stein ’82 Walter Swett ’96, Nominations Committee Cochair Olivier te Boekhorst ’93 Paul Thompson ’93 Paul Vranicar ’01 Matt Wing ’06 Emeritus/a Claire Angelozzi ’74 Dr. Penny Axelrod ’63 Dr. Miriam Roskin Berger ’56 Cathaline Cantalupo ’67 Kit Ellenbogen ’52 Barbara Grossman Flanagan ’60 Diana Hirsch Friedman ’68 R. Michael Glass ’75 Dr. Ann Ho ’62 Charles F. Hollander ’65 Maggie Hopp ’67 Cynthia Hirsch Levy ’65 Susan P. Playfair ’62 Roger N. Scotland ’93 Dr. Toni-Michelle Travis ’69 Barbara Crane Wigren ’68 *Young Alumni/ae Advisory Council (YAAC) of the Center for Civic Engagement
board of trustees of bard college David E. Schwab II ’52, Chair Emeritus Charles P. Stevenson Jr., Chair James C. Chambers ’81, Chair Elect Emily H. Fisher, Vice Chair George F. Hamel Jr., Vice Chair Elizabeth Ely ’65, Secretary; Life Trustee Stanley A. Reichel ’65, Treasurer; Life Trustee Fiona Angelini Roland J. Augustine Leon Botstein, President of the College + Stuart Breslow + Mark E. Brossman Thomas M. Burger + Marcelle Clements ’69, Life Trustee Craig Cogut The Rt. Rev. Andrew M. L. Dietsche, Honorary Trustee Asher B. Edelman ’61, Life Trustee Paul S. Efron Robert S. Epstein ’63 Barbara S. Grossman ’73, Alumni/ae Trustee Andrew S. Gundlach Sally Hambrecht Marieluise Hessel Maja Hoffmann Matina S. Horner + Charles S. Johnson III ’70 Mark N. Kaplan, Life Trustee George A. Kellner Paul S. Levy Fredric S. Maxik ’86 James H. Ottaway Jr., Life Trustee Martin Peretz, Life Trustee Stewart Resnick, Life Trustee Roger N. Scotland ’93, Alumni/ae Trustee Jonathan Slone ’84 James A. von Klemperer Brandon Weber ’97, Alumni/ae Trustee Susan Weber Patricia Ross Weis ’52 +ex officio