Bard College is currently eating itself from the inside out. For a school that markets itself as a bastion of progressive thought and moral clarity, the ongoing fallout over President Leon Botstein’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein is more than just a PR headache. It’s an existential crisis. Students are angry. Faculty are divided. The board of trustees is holding the line. But the core of the issue isn’t just about a few meetings or a bit of fundraising. It’s about the massive gap between what an institution says it stands for and what it does when a checkbook opens.
You’ve likely heard the basics. Reports surfaced that Leon Botstein, the man who has led Bard for half a century, met with Epstein several times after the financier was already a convicted sex offender. He wasn’t the only one, of course. Figures from MIT, Harvard, and various world-class research centers were also in that orbit. But while other leaders resigned or faced massive internal reckonings, Botstein stayed put. That decision has fractured the campus in ways that won’t be easy to fix.
The Reality of the Botstein and Epstein Meetings
Let’s be direct. Leon Botstein didn’t just bump into Epstein at a gala. Records show he visited Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse roughly a dozen times. He also invited Epstein to the Bard campus. Why? To get money for the college. Botstein has been incredibly candid about this, which is both refreshing and deeply uncomfortable. He basically told the press that his job is to raise money for a perennially cash-strapped institution and that he’d talk to almost anyone to keep the lights on.
The numbers weren't even that big in the grand scheme of higher education. Bard received around $150,000 from Epstein’s foundations. For a guy worth hundreds of millions, that’s couch change. For a college president, it’s a drop in the bucket of a multi-million dollar budget. The trade-off seems nonsensical. You risk the entire reputation of a storied liberal arts college for the price of a few scholarships or a small faculty salary? It doesn't add up.
Botstein’s defense hinges on the idea that he didn't know the extent of Epstein’s crimes beyond what was already public. He claims he saw Epstein as a potential donor for the arts and sciences. But this ignores the reality of 2011 and beyond. Epstein was already a registered sex offender. The "I didn't know" defense feels thin when you're a world-renowned intellectual whose job involves deep vetting and high-level discernment.
A Campus Under Pressure
The vibe at Bard right now is tense. If you walk across the Annandale-on-Hudson campus, you’ll find a student body that feels betrayed. These are kids who came to Bard specifically because it promises to be "a place to think." Now they're thinking about why their leader was hanging out with a predator.
The student government hasn't been quiet. They’ve passed resolutions. They’ve demanded transparency. They want to know exactly where the money went and who else knew about the meetings. More importantly, they want to know why there were no internal alarms. When a president spends that much time with a radioactive figure, usually someone in the development office or the provost’s circle says something. At Bard, it seems like there was a total silence.
Faculty members are in an even tougher spot. Botstein is a legend. He’s a conductor, a scholar, and he basically built the modern Bard College. Many owe their careers to him. But many also teach courses on ethics, power, and social justice. It’s hard to look a student in the eye and talk about the "structures of oppression" when your boss was visiting a man who literally ran a sex-trafficking ring. Some faculty have called for his resignation. Others are terrified that without Botstein’s fundraising prowess, the college will go under.
The Board of Trustees Stands Firm
Despite the noise, the Bard Board of Trustees hasn't budged. They issued statements supporting Botstein, citing his decades of service and his "unparalleled" contribution to the school. This is a classic institutional play. They’re betting that if they just wait it out, the news cycle will move on.
They might be wrong.
In today’s climate, the "great man" theory of leadership is dying. People don't care as much about your 50-year track record if your current judgment is compromised. The board’s refusal to conduct a truly independent, public-facing investigation is what’s fueling the fire. By shielding Botstein, they’re making the college look like a private club rather than a public-interest institution.
Why This Matters Beyond Bard
This isn't just about one small college in upstate New York. It’s about the "dirty money" problem that plagues all of higher education. Whether it’s the Sackler family and the opioid crisis or Epstein and his web of influence, colleges have become addicted to billionaire wealth.
The pressure to build new labs, fund new chairs, and keep tuition (somewhat) competitive drives administrators to make deals with the devil. Bard just happens to be the current poster child for this failure. If Botstein stays without any real consequence, it sends a message to every other college president: as long as you’re successful, your associations don't matter.
We need to stop pretending that fundraising is a neutral act. It’s a moral act. Who you take money from tells the world who you’re willing to validate. When Botstein sat in that townhouse, he wasn't just a guy looking for a check. He was the President of Bard College, providing a veneer of academic respectability to a man who used that exact respectability to find more victims.
Moving Toward Real Accountability
If Bard wants to survive this with its soul intact, it needs to do more than issue press releases. The current strategy of "deflect and wait" is failing. Here is what actually needs to happen for the college to move forward.
First, the board needs to commission a transparent, third-party audit of all interactions between the administration and Epstein’s associates. No more redacted memos. People want the full timeline.
Second, the college needs to create a permanent, student-faculty oversight committee for large donations. If a donor has a criminal record or a history of predatory behavior, there should be a formal process to reject those funds before they ever hit the bank account.
Third, there has to be a conversation about succession. Botstein has been there since 1975. That’s too long for any leader. Part of the reason the college is so paralyzed is that he’s become synonymous with the institution. Bard needs to prove it can exist without him.
Stop waiting for the "perfect" time to speak up. If you're a student or alum, keep the pressure on. The only thing institutions fear more than bad press is a donor base that dries up and a student body that stops believing in the mission. The ghost of Epstein won't leave Annandale-on-Hudson until the college stops trying to hide from it.
