“Welcome to the second edition of Diversity@Bard. In addition to sharing various campus DEI advancements, this issue will highlight DEI efforts in Bard academics. This newsletter acknowledges the current and future impact of our collective DEI efforts, to include structured assessment (data collection) initiatives, the utilization of collaborative DEI working groups, and the DEI impact of our talented faculty.” Read Dean Sablo's Letter

Dean d'Albertis provides an update on recent academic initiatives at the College, including a DEI mini-course for Citizen Science faculty, the completion of required DEI training for all Bard employees, and spring faculty recruitment and hiring.

Read Dean d'Albertis's Letter

An electrical engineer at Boeing. An assistant professor of virology. The founder of a solar energy company. These and many others in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are Bard College alumni/ae who have launched their graduate study and STEM careers from the foundation they received in the liberal arts and sciences at Bard.

For many, pursuing graduate study and careers in the STEM fields is far from easy. Women and people of color remain greatly underrepresented in STEM. The Passion to Persist project was developed by Bard’s Equity and Inclusion Programs in partnership with STEM faculty. It is designed to inspire and support underrepresented students in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing by providing individualized peer coaching, faculty mentoring, and cohort support. Read More

and Myra Young Armstead, Vice President for Academic Inclusive Excellence and Lyford Paterson Edwards and Helen Gray Edwards Professor of Historical Studies

Faculty across the College have joined together to reimagine the curriculum in ways that respond directly to the crisis of systemic racism. Academic programs are engaged in revisiting course design and requirements for their majors with a goal of making visible for all students the importance of this intellectual, social, and political commitment by members of our academic community. We draw your attention in particular to a set of courses offered this semester under the aegis of the Racial Justice Initiative, an interdisciplinary collaboration among students and faculty to further the understanding of racial inequality and injustice in the United States and beyond. Students are encouraged to reach out to faculty teaching these courses to learn more. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of new courses developed in response to our historical moment: the course list features innovative offerings in all four divisions. Read More

New York Times critic Robin Pogrebin interviews Bard alumna and Studio Arts faculty member Tschabalala Self ’12. “The colorful works display Ms. Self’s signature combination of painting and collage,” writes Pogrebin. “These paintings speak to what Ms. Self said is the show’s main theme: ‘understanding and naming the institution of American slavery as the origin of Black American identity. ... For me, it’s clarifying what I mean when I refer to Blackness,’ she added. ‘Without the institution of slavery, this country could never have been built to be what it is today. The Black American is almost a mascot for modernism. The Black American represents the modern world, the new world.’” Read More

Collecta in Classicis: “Together in Classics,” provides a space for scholars, teachers, and students to have a conversation about inclusivity in Classics, what that means, what it looks like, and why Classics is not always inclusive. We welcome scholars who have engaged critically with diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, physical ability, and more as it relates to their experience in the field of Classics, or in their study of the Classical World, or both. Furthermore, we hope to include voices of marginalized groups typically silenced either in the past, or even today, by the Classics. How we make Classics more inclusive and accessible, and what that means and looks like, are difficult questions. We hope to encourage productive dialogues that contribute, in individual steps, to the transformative work needed in order for the field of Classics to be reimagined. Collecta in Classicis is supported by the Inclusion Challenge through the Office of the Dean of the College. Learn more about the spring event series on the Classical Studies website. Read More

In the spirit of truth and equity, it is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are gathered on the sacred homelands of the Munsee and Muhheaconneok people, who are the original stewards of this land. Today, due to forced removal, the community resides in Northeast Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We honor and pay respect to their ancestors past and present, as well as to Future generations and we recognize their continuing presence in their homelands. We understand that our acknowledgement requires those of us who are settlers to recognize our own place in and responsibilities towards addressing inequity, and that this ongoing and challenging work requires that we commit to real engagement with the Munsee and Mohican communities to build an inclusive and equitable space for all. Read More

As part of the College’s 11th Annual MLK Day of Engagement, more than 175 Bard students participated in workshops, action groups, a legal justice panel, and a conversation with civil rights pioneer Fred Gray. Read More

The Bard College Conservatory of Music is committed to fostering musical and academic excellence in students coming from populations historically underrepresented in the classical music field. Bard Conservatory is pleased to announce the creation of up to five Inclusive Excellence in Music Scholarships for incoming first-years in the Undergraduate Double Degree Program, one for incoming first-years in the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, and one for incoming first-years in the Graduate Conducting Program. Read More

“That could be me.” Bard alumnus Dariel Vasquez ’17, cofounder and executive director of Brothers@, never felt welcome at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, even though he grew up in nearby Harlem. His first visit to the Met was on a Bard class trip for a Northern Renaissance Art course with Teju Cole. Seeing the confidence and enthusiasm of Professor Cole, a fellow Black man, at the front of the class transformed the discomfort he felt into a sense of belonging. Vasquez was interviewed for the Met’s 150th anniversary “Met Stories” series.

Dax-Devlon Ross, the antiracism workshop facilitator who led a session for faculty and staff in the fall, will continue to work with faculty this semester. His upcoming two-part sessions total five hours in length and consist of an “Antiracism 101” session followed two weeks later by one on establishing “call-in culture” (as opposed to a “callout culture”). Dates of the workshops are February 9 and 23 (3:00–5:30) and March 9 and 23 (morning slot, exact time TBA).

In October 2020, the Bard MBA was proud to sponsor Be Social Change's Antiracist Business Virtual Summit. Bard MBA faculty and alumni/ae were featured panelists along with external racial justice experts who shared with participants about what it means to run an antiracist company. The presenters also focused on how businesses of all sizes can create and support diverse, inclusive, and equitable organizations. Read More

The Office of the Dean of Inclusive Excellence, in concert with the Office of Student Activities and Council for Inclusive Excellence, requests your support for Womxn’s History Month 2021. Although we honor and benefit from the phenomenal contributions of womxn all year, Womxn’s History Month is an opportunity to celebrate the history, culture, and accomplishments of womxn on a national level.

If you are planning an activity that would support Womxn’s History Month, please send the name and date of the program to diversity@bard.edu. However, more importantly, please register the program in the Bard Campus Calendar via the “Submit an Event” tab. Under the “Calendar Options,” please check “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” to ensure that the event is included in the heritage month programming calendar. Read More

Bard College will host the Third Annual Difference and Justice Symposium on March 20, 2021. This is a virtual, cross-network event comprising student presentations and conversations. The theme of this year’s symposium is, “How Do We Create a Healthy Environment While Living in an Inequitable World?”

We encourage all members of the Bard Network to submit proposals for 45-minute workshops to present at this year’s symposium. Proposals are due by February 26, 2021, and should focus on one of three themes: historical systems, wellness, and activism. Read More

Visit the DEI website! We are always adding new events and updates about DEI work on campus. You can read about progress on the action agenda for the academic year, learn about the work of the Council for Inclusive Excellence and the President's Commission on Racial Equity and Social Justice, or get involved with affinity groups on campus, like Out@Bard or Professionals of Color. Visit the website and reach out to diversity@bard.edu to connect with us.

Bard College is committed to preventing and addressing all forms of discrimination and harassment that affect the campus community. In order to investigate a complaint and determine an appropriate response, allegations should be delivered through established and secure reporting channels. If you have experienced misconduct, you can make a report by using the Bard College Incident Reporting Form or the Title IX Reporting Form, or by calling the anonymous reporting hotline at 888-323-4198.