The legacy of Bard College President Leon Botstein and that of Jeffrey Epstein are now forever entwined.

" The alum alleged in a 17-page letter to the attorney general’s office that the board had for years prioritized Botstein – “his reputation, his outside interests, his continued presence, his legacy” – over the interests of students, staff, faculty and the public."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/15/bard-college-board-leon-botstein-retirement-jeffrey-epstein
#TrumpAndEpstein #LeonBotstein #BardCollege #Pedophiles

The #corruption continuing to orbit around Epstein never stops.

Stephanie Kirchgaessner: Bard’s board voted to end Botstein’s tenure as president after independent review of #Epstein ties. Leon Botstein announced his retirement on the day the results of the inquiry into his connections with Epstein were released.

#BardCollege #College #NewYork
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/15/bard-college-board-leon-botstein-retirement-jeffrey-epstein

NPR Topics: News | Bard College's president to retire after scrutiny of relationship with Jeffrey Epstein by The Associated Press

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Long‑time Bard College president Leon Botstein announced his retirement, effective at the end of June, after an independent review examined his extensive but controversial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The review found Botstein did not break any laws, but criticized his handling of the relationship—accepting $150,000 from Epstein, inviting the financier to campus events, and downplaying the connection—as reflecting poorly on his leadership. Botstein, 79, will remain on Bard’s faculty as a teacher and musician, and the college said it will redirect funds linked to Epstein to organizations that support survivors while acknowledging Botstein’s decades of service.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/02/nx-s1-5808942/bard-college-president-leon-botstein-retire-jeffrey-epstein

#BardCollege #LeonBotstein #JeffreyEpstein #WilmerHale #BoardofTrustees

Bard College’s President, Leon Botstein, Will Retire After Epstein Revelations

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/us/bard-president-leon-botstein-jeffrey-epstein.html

Wish I could say I'm surprised ... but all my encounters with Botstein were unpleasant. Good riddance. (Ba Win would be deeply disappointed with you, Leon.)

"... Leon Botstein has announced he is stepping down from the helm of Bard College, after an independent review of his contacts with Jeffrey Epstein found the college president’s frequent interactions with the convicted sex offender “could have alerted” him to the possibility that he and Bard would be facilitating Epstein’s abuse of women ..."
#BardCollege #LeonBotstein #epstein
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/01/president-bard-college-resign-leon-botstein-jeffrey-epstein

US Top News and Analysis | Bard College President Leon Botstein retiring after Jeffrey Epstein ties detailed

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Bard College President Leon Botstein announced he will retire at the end of June after 51 years leading the New York liberal‑arts institution, a decision that came one day after the Board of Trustees received a WilmerHale review of his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The report found that while Botstein’s actions were not illegal, his pursuit of Epstein’s donations—despite the latter’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor—was poorly disclosed, with fees and contributions hidden from the board and public statements that minimized the relationship. Botstein, a noted conductor, said in his retirement email that he will refocus on teaching, music festivals and the Bard Conservatory, while the Board expressed gratitude for his five‑decade service. Student activists, however, argued that his departure did not go far enough and called for broader reforms to address a culture that allowed such negligence.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/01/epstein-bard-college-president-leon-botstein-retire.html

#LeonBotstein #BardCollege #JeffreyEpstein #WilmerHale #JamieGorelick #OwenDenker

Bard College Is Split Over Its President and His Epstein Ties

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/style/bard-president-epstein-botstein.html

yahoo news | Letter: Don't rush to judgment on Bard president

To the editor: Having known Bard College President Leon Botstein and his work for more than 50 years, I decry the exaggerated accusations and rush to judgment surrounding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein (“Simon’s Rock community calls for resignation of Bard President Leon Botstein over ties to Jeffrey Epstein,” Eagle, March 10). Our collective inability to hold the most wealthy and powerful Epstein collaborators accountable has redirected our rage toward anyone with even a limited association, often those who are most open and apologetic.

As Bard president, Botstein was tasked with fundraising for our small, chronically under‑funded liberal‑arts college—efforts that extend educational opportunities beyond its means, including programs for prisoners, refugees on the West Bank, and communities in Africa. It is unsurprising that Bard might have been swept into the net by promises of donations from a “skilled manipulator, prodigious networker, and serial exaggerator.” We still do not know the nature of Botstein’s relationship with Epstein—whether it was a profound lapse in judgment, a lack of transparency, a peripheral association, or a systemic breakdown—until the investigation is completed.

Bard has appropriately engaged top‑notch outside counsel, and Epstein’s victims and the Bard community deserve no less. Botstein deserves a fair investigation, not a public inquest and assumed guilt. In these times, Bard College needs its president’s full attention, and Botstein needs Bard’s full support while the inquiry proceeds. — Lisa Newmann, Stockbridge (Class of 1975)

Read more: https://www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-dont-rush-to-judgment-on-bard-president/article_367bd106-dfbf-4319-aaa1-aa36d6cf73ec.html

#bardcollege #leonbotstein #jeffreyepstein #simon’srock #classof1975

The Guardian | Epstein victim says Bard president helped legitimize sex offender by Stephanie Kirchgaessner

Leon Botstein’s communications and relationship with Epstein under review by WilmerHale law firm, while Bard president says he never witnessed anything inappropriate

A victim of Jeffrey Epstein who had previous interactions with Leon Botstein said she believed the Bard College president, whose relationship with the late sex offender is currently under review, was part of a group of influential and accomplished men whose proximity to Epstein helped to rehabilitate his reputation.

Svetlana Pozhidaeva, a former Russian model who worked as a “staffer” for Epstein, told the Guardian in an interview that she saw Botstein with Epstein together “quite frequently” – including having flown with him on a trip to Epstein’s island in December 2012 – and that she believed his reputation as a “sophisticated intellectual” helped “legitimize” Epstein.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/24/jeffrey-epstein-bard-college-president

#jeffreyepstein #leonbotstein #wilmerhale #bardcollege #guardian