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Bard College President Leon Botstein to Retire After Epstein Revelations

educationMay 1, 2026181,625

Bard College president Leon Botstein announced he will retire after revelations that he exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein and made 25 visits to Epstein’s properties. Botstein ran Bard for 50 years and is credited with stabilizing the college’s finances and reputation during his tenure. Documents include a 2013 note signed "Miss you" and show continued contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, raising questions about institutional accountability and demands for transparency at Bard.

Moira Donegan
@moiradonegan.bsky.social

Leon Botstein, longtime friend of pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, has resigned as president of @bardcollege.bsky.social. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

80110h ago
Moira Donegan113

Here is a link to a summary of law firm Wilmer Hale’s investigation into Botstein’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s quite scathing. drive.google.com/file/d/1axoP...

Quite Wrongly 🖤🩶🤍💜31

And he'll probably still insist he's the REAL victim here.

J. Smith22

Recently, this Bard dude publicly chewed me out at a Brooklyn Public Library panel discussion (with Chuck Todd?!) for daring to point out the irony of Botstein being so prominently featured in a Hannah Arendt doc when he helped validate Epstein. Feeling a tiny bit vindicated today. Glad for victims.

Olivia Giovetti20

I love that the first thing my husband said to me after he got the alumni email was “Did you do this?”

Sarah Goldberg18

Great news!!! Thank you for the work you did to bring this into awareness.

girlmathur.bsky.social10

Could he look any creepier? Jesus.

Melissa Jo Peltier9

About time. Interesting that so many of these men simply “find themselves” in positions of great power over very young women.

Springtime for Hegseth9

He's still gonna be on faculty and live on campus. :/

Mina8

This situation was particularly disturbing and I don’t think we know the whole story yet.

Miss g6

CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS DID IT!!!!!

Olman Feelyus3

Just look at his vaguely ethnic and liberal collarless linen shirt with probably some kind of rare wood buttons and you know he's a sex offender.

David2

Hell yeah! Was starting to think this would just never happen

Amber Woods @Amber Speaks Up
@amberspeaks.bsky.social

NEW Bard College President resigns after it was revealed he made 25 visits to Jeffrey Epstein’s properties. Note: survivors say resignations do not equal transparency or justice.

3567h ago
Dr. Paula Bruno, Ph.D., L.Ac.12

He said that he'd been intending to retire anyway ("you can't fire me; I quit!") plus he'll be living in campus housing & remaining a member of the teaching faculty. He's not losing much, it sounds like, & if Bard is acting like they've excised a cancer from their institution they're exaggerating.

Kathy Mortensen 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ 🇺🇦🇺🇸 🖇 🐸 💙 🌵 🏊‍♀️ 🛶5

Resistance are not just justice. Statute of limitations has a role. But the hidden nature of this is beyond acceptable

am-mccarthy.bsky.social4

"Great credit is due to the Bard College community of undergraduate anti-rape activists—organizing as “Take Back Bard”—who insisted on Bostein’s resignation even in the face of widespread indifference from the faculty and sneering mockery of their efforts in the New York Times." Moira Donegan

Mike Davis • Feed After Midnight4

This dude was on my list. Not saying it did anything, but it didn't hurt. ++ Let them know we’re not distracted. Keep the pressure on: 1️⃣ SHARE this post to spread the word. 2️⃣ GET contact information. 3️⃣ SEND your message via email or social post. mdavis19881.substack.com/p/lets-put-p...

Menrva3

"survivors say resignations do not equal transparency or justice." Concur

Winkypop3

Charge them with rape and lock them up

Prisonculture
@prisonculture.bsky.social

Leon Botstein resigns as Bard College president - www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley... [gift link] - looks like Bard students won.

1095h ago
Rivka17

Apparently he’s planning to continue as a faculty member and keep living on campus, though. Ugh.

stellar jay3

As a former Bard student I'm proud of them for pushing his resignation

RI Smith2

Being an unrepentant pedophile fan has its downsides.

Rima I Anabtawi
@rimaanabtawi.bsky.social

A much more in depth piece. Bard president Leon Botstein stepping down after inquiry into his Epstein ties Investigation found Botstein – who had claimed he wasn’t friends with Epstein – made 25 visits to his townhouse www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

689h ago
Phillip Pantuso
@phillippantuso.bsky.social

SCOOP: Leon Botstein announced his resignation as Bard College president following a review of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, which showed he did, in fact, visit the sex predator’s island — which he’d previously denied. Nora Mishanec has it first: www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley...

749h ago
The New York Times
@nytimes.com

Leon Botstein, who ran Bard College for 50 years and secured its finances, will retire after revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

707h ago
am-mccarthy.bsky.social6

Great credit is due to the Bard College community of undergraduate anti-rape activists—organizing as “Take Back Bard”—who insisted on Bostein’s resignation even in the face of widespread indifference from the faculty and sneering mockery of their efforts in the New York Times. @moiradonegan.bsky

Hakan Topal5

His ties? He was literally pimping for Epstein.

OMRush3

50 years in any career: just retire. Dear lord old people, just retire.

Deb2

Some lose their jobs but jobr have gone to jail. The DOJ has failed the victims.

Amir Attaran2

Lesson: if you don't go out on a high, eventually you go out on a low.

Steven Mazie
@stevenmazie.bsky.social

NEW: Leon Botstein steps down as president of Bard College after 51 years at the helm.

3010h ago
Steven Mazie11

The retirement follows the release of a report from WilmerHale (initiated by Bard's board of trustees) on Bostein's fundraising relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa
@benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social

Leon Botstein is retiring from his role as president of Bard College.

2410h ago
Walter Mondial
@dabenner.bsky.social

Leon Botstein may have resigned from bard for Epstein stuff but let’s not forgot he’s also a very bad conductor. He specializes in repertoire the audience doesn’t know for a reason.

285h ago
Stephanie M. Lee
@stephaniemlee.bsky.social

Breaking: Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, will retire in June, capping a 51-year run after a law firm’s investigation concluded that he “minimized” his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, report @ngluckman.bsky.social @emmymrtin.bsky.social @andyandy.bsky.social www.chronicle.com/article/bard...

138h ago
Olivia Giovetti
@oliviagiovetti.bsky.social

Full email that was just sent to all Bard alumni from Botstein and the board.

To the Bard community, From President Leon Botstein After completing 51 years as the president of Bard, I am announcing that I will be retiring from the presidency at the end of this academic year, June 30, 2026. I knew I could not retire until the completion this January of the 1-billion-dollar endowment campaign begun in 2020 as a result of the generous challenge grant by the Open Society Foundations. The College now has a core endowment that will give it the opportunity to fully secure its financial future into the years ahead. I am proud to have marshalled, during my tenure, nearly 3 billion dollars of philanthropy from numerous sources on account of the College’s unique and vital purpose. I am deeply grateful to all the institutions and individuals who have stepped up to support Bard and the people it serves. In an age in which liberal arts education is under immense stress, the distinctive mission of the College must endure. This demands a commitment to rigorous academic inquiry and the larger public good which Bard advances through its many initiatives in degree programs for underserved populations, in the arts, liberal learning, and international education. The College must also continue to contribute to our neighbors in the Hudson Valley, who have been wonderfully supportive of Bard and its mission. Over the past 50 years, Bard has developed and acquired a magnificent campus, and attracted an outstanding faculty, and dedicated staff. It boasts a vibrant and terrific student body. I offer my thanks to these constituencies for their extraordinary service and loyalty to Bard. L
179h ago
Olivia Giovetti13

The WilmerHale report is… not flattering. (cc @musicologyduck.bsky.social)

David Darmofal
@daviddarmofal.bsky.social

This abhorrent, disgusting man was the President of Bard College for 50 years. 50 years. Insane. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

77h ago
Reuben Baron
@rubigb.bsky.social

Hey, he listened to my "LEON BOTSTEIN RETIRE BITCH" email!

810h ago
stpthstrn.bsky.social
@stpthstrn.bsky.social

Teachers lose their livelihood and go to prison, rightfully so, due to their illegal sexual relations with minors. These men in powerful positions with millions at their disposal never even face justice. Bard College’s President Will Retire After Epstein Revelations www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/u...

37h ago
Shannon
@shannonfego.bsky.social

Leon Botstein finally leaving Bard College as of June 30th. (Got sent a text with the message sent to the Bard Community)

411h ago
1 source
nytimes.comBard College’s President Will Retire After Epstein Revelations

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