Bard College

On Friday, Bard College President Leon Botstein announced he will be retiring in June. But some students say they were upset he took so long to step down as they expressed concerns about campus culture and the schools' finances.

For years, I have wondered why Bard College, an innovative institution where I have worked for nearly 30 years and serve as the executive vice president and vice president for Academic Affairs, does not receive more press coverage. But, as the adage goes, be careful what you wish for.

(Airs 03/20/26 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: There’s an effort underway in Albany to close a sex trafficking loophole, we’ll learn more about the birth of New York state, and The Adirondack Park Agency is another step closer to moving its headquarters.

(Airs 03/20/26 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: There’s an effort underway in Albany to close a sex trafficking loophole, we’ll learn more about the birth of New York state, and The Adirondack Park Agency is another step closer to moving its headquarters.

The Student Voter Empowerment Act, which stands before the New York Legislature, seeks to foster informed student electoral participation by requiring New York institutions of higher learning to systematize and expand their engagement with student voters. The legislation comes as student voting at American colleges is increasingly under assault. Joe Donahue discusses the proposal with Jonathan Becker and Sierra Ford.

In 1991, students protested Bard College’s alleged inaction pertaining to cases of rape. Decades later, some students and alumni say the problem persists. The renewed scrutiny comes after the college's president has appeared extensively in the Epstein files.

WAMC asked Bard College students how they feel about their college president Leon Botstein appearing in the Epstein files thousands of times.

Bard College President Leon Botstein sent a statement to the college community addressing news about his relationship to Jeffrey Epstein and emails revealed in the Epstein Files.

Longtime Bard College President Leon Botstein is named in thousands of emails in the Epstein files. The batch of documents released last week, which returns over 2,500 results for Leon Botstein’s name, shows Botstein communicated with Jeffrey Epstein for years after Epstein was a registered sex offender.

The newly released book "Youth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses" uses the history of the 26th Amendment and the ongoing fight to promote and defend youth voting rights as a prism through which to teach the history of the struggle for the fundamental right to vote in the United States.Jonathan Becker is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Politics at Bard College where he is also the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement. He has published extensively on student voting rights.