Former Bard College President Leon Botstein on Wednesday resigned immediately from all remaining positions he held at the school after a letter from a ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee outlined allegations and an email claiming to tie Botstein to notorious convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The letter involves allegations surrounding a young woman pursuing a musical career and Epstein using his relationship with Botstein to groom her. Included is a redacted email dated May 15, 2014, that reads, in part, “Is (Jane Doe) for me, or are you keeping her for yourself.”
The email was from two days before Botstein was scheduled to meet with the young woman and was addressed to the chair of Bard College’s Board of Trustees and the acting president at Bard, calling on them to further assist with an investigation surrounding Botstein and his relationship with Epstein.
The letter from Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin says, “I write to share damning evidence that Botstein likely enabled and possibly even participated in Epstein’s abuse while serving as Bard’s President, as well as deeply troubling whistleblower reports that Botstein used his position on Bard’s campus to influence Title IX proceedings and protect sexual predators on the Bard faculty. I trust that, in light of these revelations, Bard will continue its commendable cooperation with our investigation and help ensure all students are protected at Bard and on all college campuses.”
It follows a previous letter penned by Raskin and sent to college officials in June.
Brandon Weber, chairman of the Bard’s Board of Trustees, released a statement Wednesday morning saying the college is undertaking a full review of the allegations made in the House Judiciary Committee’s letter and cooperating with the committee’s investigation.
“Professor Botstein informed Bard earlier today that he is resigning immediately from all Bard-affiliated positions, including his professorship and roles with The Orchestra Now and other music programs. Members of the Executive Committee of the Bard College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept his resignation,” Weber said.
Botstein also released a statement Wednesday stating that the allegations in the letter were untrue, “including the email that I did not author or send.”
It continued, “Any assertion that I knew of or was involved in Epstein’s criminal behavior is wrong. I am confident that any fair review would confirm these facts. But I do not want to see even false allegations about me put the institution I have served for more than half a century at any risk. Therefore, I have submitted my resignation to the Board of Trustees at this time to protect Bard from any distraction and ensure the College’s entire focus is on the future and on the remarkable work it does in Annandale on the Hudson and throughout the world.”
Earlier this year, Botstein had announced his retirement from the role of president but stayed on with the college as a teacher and musician.
But Raskin pressed the college for records about connections between Botstein and Epstein and asked it to turn over documents related to the two men’s relationship. Raskin said the committee was investigating how Epstein conspired to operate a billion-dollar sex trafficking operation that victimized more than 1,000 women and girls, and how he “exploited and leveraged his multifarious ties in higher education, including to Bard College.”
WilmerHale, a law firm hired by Bard’s Board of Trustees, conducted an internal review into the relationship. It found the president did not do anything illegal but “made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard,” according to the college.
Raskin did not hold back in his latest letter to the school sent on Tuesday.
“There is significant evidence that Botstein’s misconduct extended well beyond Epstein,” he said. “In the course of this investigation, the Committee on the Judiciary has received information from over a dozen whistleblowers about a culture of sexual misconduct at Bard that has been allowed to fester for several decades.4 Botstein was at the heart of this culture.”
Students on campus voiced mixed opinions on Thursday. Some wished that the school had acted sooner to oust Botstein from campus. Others understand that he was a big fundraiser for the college.
Dawn, a student at Bard, said Thursday that she was shocked to find out that Botstein was still around the campus.
“I just hope that the college can take further steps in getting him out of here, because I don’t agree with his actions at all. From what I have seen, it just kind of disgusts me,” she said.
“I guess he helped the school financially, but to me, that’s dirty money. So I just hope that we can make sure that he leaves the safe space that is Bard,” Dawn said.
John Camera contributed to this report.