Months after being connected to the Epstein files, longtime Bard College president Leon Botstein announced he would leave his position in June. He wrote in a letter that “it has been my intention to retire from the presidency,” and indicated he would continue to live on campus and be involved in Bard’s premier cultural events.
As Botstein recedes into the background of Bard’s operations, the college’s board of trustees recently released a statement giving full-throated praise to his legacy (“the most transformative leader in the recent history of American higher education,” it reads). The document also gives a brief outline of plans for a transition in leadership.
A five-member transition committee will oversee a three-phase plan that includes the appointment of an acting president on July 1, an interim president “to serve for roughly two years” and, finally, a permanent president “with the goal of that person taking office in 2028.”
The college also recently announced CNN news personality Fareed Zakaria would be giving its 166th commencement address on May 23.
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