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Bard College President Leon Botstein speaks at the college\u2019s 2013 commencement. Botstein, who has been Bard\u2019s president for 51 years, announced on Friday that he would resign following the release of a damning report detailing his ties to the convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
Philip Kamrass\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON\u00a0\u2014 Leon Botstein, the longtime leader of Bard College, announced Friday afternoon that he was stepping down as president following an internal legal review of his relationship with Jeffrey\u00a0Epstein.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAfter 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,\u201d Botstein wrote in an email to Bard faculty that was shared with the Times Union.<\/p>\n
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Botstein\u2019s resignation did not mention Epstein or refer to the Justice Department\u2019s disclosures about his ties to the convicted sex offender<\/a>. He will retire from the presidency but said he would remain as a faculty member, teacher and musician. He also said he will continue to operate the Bard Music Festival, SummerScape, as well as the Bard Conservatory, and will live on campus at Finberg House.<\/p>\n More: What to know from the Times Union\u2019s investigation into Leon Botstein and Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/p>\n In February, Bard\u2019s 25-member Board of Trustees hired the law firm WilmerHale<\/a> to review Botstein\u2019s interactions with Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019. According to a statement\u00a0released on behalf of the trustees, the review \u201cwill include all communications, financial contributions connected to\u00a0Epstein, and any related matters relevant to understanding these issues fully.\u201d<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A summary of WilmerHale\u2019s review sent to the board found that Botstein had extensive in-person contacts with Epstein, including \u201capproximately 25 visits to Epstein\u2019s townhouse, a two-day visit to Epstein\u2019s Little St. James Island and a flight to the island with one such woman (along with Leon Black\u2019s family), two visits by Epstein to Bard and to various concerts and recitals accompanied by multiple women who have since been identified as victims of Epstein, and multiple requests that President Botstein help such women \u2014 in the form of invitations to concerts and rehearsals, visits with the women and their parents, advice on their musical careers, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Times Union has previously reported on Epstein\u2019s visits to Bard\u2019s campus<\/a> in Annandale-on-Hudson as well as\u00a0Epstein\u2019s efforts to leverage his relationship with Botstein<\/a> to lure women, including musicians, into his orbit, whom Epstein later victimized.<\/p>\n Through a spokesperson, Botstein had previously denied visiting Little Saint James<\/a>, where some of Epstein\u2019s sex trafficking and assault crimes are believed to have occurred. (Botstein has not been charged with or directly implicated in any of Epstein\u2019s crimes.) That was one of several evasions or lies<\/a> that the college president told the media and the Bard community about his relationship with Epstein.<\/p>\n The law firm\u2019s summary noted that Botstein \u201cminimized and was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein\u201d in his public statements and his statements to the Bard community.<\/p>\n In the wake of disclosures earlier this year about his ties to Epstein, Botstein met at least five times with members of the Bard community on campus. He held three student town halls at his home in February and March, addressed faculty in March and spoke with operations and support staff in April. As rumors swirled about his departure, Botstein continued to insist that he would not leave the presidency until the board had selected his replacement.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But in a statement Friday, the Board of Trustees said it had not yet selected a new president. The board said it would \u201csoon\u201d announce an interim leader for the next academic year and provide details of a \u201cnational search\u201d for the next permanent president.<\/p>\n The law firm\u2019s summary criticized Botstein\u2019s failure to investigate Epstein\u2019s background as he pursued the financier for donations. According to WilmerHale, Botstein did so against the advice of a senior faculty member who recommended \u201cthat Bard should not engage with Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA quick\u00a0internet search would have revealed not only the nature of Epstein\u2019s past crimes but also\u00a0his lifelong status as a registered Level Three Sex Offender who a court had found presented a\u00a0high risk of re-offending,\u201d according to the summary.<\/p>\n The summary also noted that Botstein\u2019s contact with Epstein over the course of six years \u201ccould have alerted President Botstein to the possibility that he and Bard would be facilitating Epstein\u2019s continued abuse of women, legitimizing Epstein, or exposing Bard students to a person like Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n