Dear Accepted Student,

We know what an important decision graduate school is, and how the current crisis has made this decision even more difficult. It may seem hard even to think about the fall at this point, but at BGC the future–of our institution, and of our students–has been very much on my mind. 

With the suddenness of the COVID-19 outbreak here in New York City, our Bard Graduate Center community had to respond quickly. A week before the city and state acted to impose social distancing and a stay at home recommendation we turned our around-the-table seminars into Zoom seminars. We cancelled our seminar series and lectures and we closed our West 86th Street campus to prevent students and faculty from coming together in our building. Reluctantly, as you know too well, we had to reformat our Accepted Students Day, as well.

This on the fly reinvention of a teaching environment based on conversation and presence and sociability into one that happens at a distance was not easy. But we have entered this new world believing that in every crisis there is also opportunity and so we are looking to find ways to develop new skills and new possibilities for the future. You’ve seen one of these initiatives already, our “When Research Meets Teaching” newsletter, and we’ll be sharing our “One More Thing” video series soon.

But we have also been doing the less visible, harder, but more long-lasting work of using this crisis to focus on what is our greatest capital here at BGC: our students, faculty, and staff. By paying more attention to each other now, we are building an even more solid foundation for the intellectual work we will do once we return to our preferred way of being. In the meantime, continue to look for innovative and creative programming and path-breaking research. I hope to welcome each and every one of you in September and proudly look forward to our future years together.  

Yours,

Susan Weber
Director and Founder