Bard College at Simon’s Rock closes

The closure of Bard’s campus at Simon’s Rock has left faculty facing an uncertain future.
Photo courtesy of the Berkshire Eagle
The closure of Bard’s campus at Simon’s Rock has left faculty facing an uncertain future.
GREAT BARRINGTON — An online petition by a student trying to save the livelihoods of Bard College at Simon’s Rock faculty has gained 912 signatures since it was first released on Tuesday, Nov 19.
And another student is working on a campaign to establish a fund that employees of the school who lose jobs and health insurance can draw from.
After the Nov. 19 announcement that the school would close its early college at the end of spring semester, employees and students have been grappling with the news, attending frequent meetings and trying to help those whose jobs are likely on the chopping block.
There is much sorrow, anger and frustration in the atmosphere, students said.
“It’s been really, really sad,” said Isabella Zeisset, 18, a sophomore, who started the Change.org petition asking Bard to renew faculty contracts. “The students are really worried about the faculty.”
Numerous faculty contacted by The Eagle said it is too early to talk about what’s happening.
And, the students said, it is also too painful. Many longtime faculty and staff at the school are facing layoffs as the school moves its entire operation to Bard’s new Massena Campus at Annandale-On-Hudson, N.Y.
It’s a move that Bard has been mulling for several years.
Bard said in its announcement and on its website that faculty positions will not be transferred from Simon’s Rock, and that they have to apply anew for any available teaching slots.
A spokesperson for Bard has not answered specific questions the number of positions at the New York campus, about 40 miles southwest of Great Barrington.
Rumors are flying through campus about these numbers, students and other sources told The Eagle. The Bard website showed roughly 50 job openings as of Thursday evening.
A Simon’s Rock spokesperson said the school currently has 238 employees. It was unclear exactly how many staff and faculty may lose their jobs.
Those who do get rehired at Bard could lose seniority in terms of benefits. It will be up to the discretion of Bard, the website says.
For these reasons and more the announcement on Tuesday rattled the entire campus and town, given Simon’s Rock’s immense economic and cultural significance in town since the 1960s.
School officials cited declining enrollment as a primary reason.
Students who continue on will transfer to the new Bard campus in the fall to finish their studies. Summer housing will be available “on a limited basis and prioritized for students with the greatest need,” the school website says.
The school is one of Great Barrington’s largest employers. And over the decades its students have worked and shopped at businesses in town. Many returned to the town later to raise families and open businesses.
“It’s a huge deal,” said Erik Bruun, who owns SoCo Creamery downtown and has employed Simon’s Rock Students. “And once you start pulling back the layers of the impacts, [the closing] really almost affects every element of the community. It’s a great loss.”
“The school made a big difference,” Bruun said, “in a lot of people’s lives.”
But Bruun, who wrote about the school in the 1980s when he worked as an Eagle reporter, remembers that the school has long struggled with money.
“It was sort of touch and go in the 80s,” Bruun said. And apparently also for the last “several years,” according to the school’s website.
The school’s board of overseers and college administration “have been working to find a solution for a path forward for Simon’s Rock … after it became clear that the current state of enrollment and fundraising was not sustainable”
The school, as a nonprofit, did not pay property taxes and has not made any payments in lieu of taxes, according to the town.
Another big question is what will happen to the campus. It will be sold, but the question is to whom and for what. Great Barrington residents have floated a variety of ideas, such as affordable housing and even as the new location for a Monument Mountain Regional High School, which could cost around $140 million to rebuild.
In response to questions, Bard spokeswomen Liz Benjamin said that there are no offers currently on the table to buy the campus or any part of it.
The Kilpatrick Athletic Center will carry on with its regular programming through the end of summer. “More information will be shared as it becomes available,” she said.
The Daniel Arts Center, Benjamin added, “will honor all performances and rental agreements through the end of 2025 summer season.”
There are various other campus programs, including a farming program, whose fate is uncertain.
Bard has not responded to the the student petition. Benjamin said that school officials are aware of it, and that “this situation is developing, but faculty and staff will have the opportunity to apply for positions at the new campus.”
Some petition supporters expressed their concerns and anger in comments.
“Shameful,” wrote one. “The school knew full well and hid this from us when our daughter started a few months ago. At the least they should offer the teachers the new jobs and allow all students to enter Bard full time ASAP.”
“The faculty at the Rock,” wrote another, “are the school’s heart and soul. I was there twenty years ago and can attest to the lifelong impact of the incredible professors I had back then.”
The petition’s author, Zeisset, said she has “deep connection” to the school. Her parents met at Simon’s Rock when they were students. She will continue to Bard next fall, but worries about the employees and faculty here. She hopes the petition will help pressure Bard to hire them.
“A lot have dedicated half their lives to Simon’s Rock,” Zeisset said. “Just the idea of leaving their life’s work behind has been really difficult.”
Salem Lockney, a junior, said she’s working on the fundraising aspect of this for the employees. A professor is helping her figure out the “ethics” conundrum of who would be able to draw money from a fund and how much.
“I’m not sure what that looks like yet,” said Lockney, 18, who also attended the pre-college Simon’s Rock Academy. “I have so much anger about the whole thing and I wanted to do something about it.”
“The staff and faculty,” Lockney said, “have really changed my life.”
AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.
Ready for her first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School, Liliana Cawley, 7, would soon join her second grade class, but first she posed for a photo to mark the occasion.Photo by Leila Hawken
AMENIA — While the courage and perseverance of Revolutionary era patriots is well understood and celebrated, the stories of the fate of British loyalists in New York are not as clear.
Seen as the initial event in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Amenia Historical Society will present a talk titled, “The Plight of a Loyalist in Revolutionary New York,” examining the journal of Cadwallader Colden, Jr., spanning the period of 1777-1779. The speaker will be noted author, genealogist and historian Jay Campbell.
The talk is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church in Amenia. The handicapped-accessible church is located at 656 Smithfield Valley Road. Refreshments will be served.
Colden was the son of a New York Lieutenant Governor. He was a surveyor, farmer and mercantilist, serving as a judge in Ulster County. His fortunes changed dramatically with the dawn of the Revolutionary War when he remained loyal to the British Crown. His arrest came in 1776, just before the start of his journal.
Campbell is a historian specializing in Hudson Valley history, and the regional stories of Revolutionary era families.
Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry. As an interior designer by trade, Rollins designed this booth to evoke a high-end department store to align with the designer brands she carries.
MILLERTON — The Townscape 50/50 raffle drawing has collected a pot of more than $7,000.
That raffle drawing will take place this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Veteran’s Park. The moment is not just about picking a winner, but also about reflecting on how far Townscape has come since its humble beginnings in 1998, when founder Catherine Fenn — alongside Renee Vollen and Jan Gilmor — first set out to beautify her beloved village.
Fenn’s connection to Millerton runs deep. “I moved here from the Bronx when I was eight years old and fell in love with the place, even as a child,” she recalled, remembering camping trips at Rudd Pond and enjoying the quiet pace of life.
At 15, her family relocated to southern Connecticut. “My dad didn’t think there was much here for us, so we moved. I left kicking and screaming, literally, and I said, ‘Someday I’m coming back.’”
Years later, after marrying, divorcing, and raising children, Fenn kept that promise. She returned to Millerton and married a childhood friend who was very involved in the fire department. After his passing, Fenn threw herself into her own way of giving back.
“I care about this village deeply. Townscape is my way of helping Millerton be the best it can be,” she said.
What began as an informal effort to gather volunteers and plant flowers eventually blossomed into something larger. “We started with flowers up and down Main Street — barrels of them everywhere. Then it grew into benches, tables, trees and even events. It was such a fun world, a really wonderful organization with so many people involved.”
Fenn’s service to the community extends beyond beautification. She spent roughly two decades on the Planning Board, served as Town Supervisor and worked with the county housing authority. Still, her passion for flowers, trees and landscapes has left the most visible mark on Millerton — shaping not only how the village looks, but how it feels.
In 2006, Townscape became a nonprofit organization. But beautification, Fenn admits, isn’t always the easiest cause to fund. “We’re just putting flowers out — and I shouldn’t say ‘just,’ because to me it’s really important. The trees, the benches, all of it matters. But it’s not high on most people’s list when they think about charitable donations. Still, people have been wonderfully generous over the years.”
This Saturday’s raffle drawing is one way neighbors can show their support. The winner does not have to be present to claim the prize, but those who stop by can enjoy cookies, lemonade and artwork by local creators on display in the park.
MILLBROOK — Local crows should prepare to become highly spooked as planners of Millbrook Community Day, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, have announced that a Scarecrow Contest will be part of the festivities.
Residents are invited to get creative and devise their own renditions of a scarecrow from traditional to whatever imagination might come up with.
Judging criteria will include creativity, including originality, new ideas, or perhaps whether the scarecrow tells a story. Design criteria include the creator’s technique, materials — recycled materials are emphatically a plus — and durability.
Rules include that scarecrows be free-standing, able to stand on their own or with minimal support. No scarecrow can be store-bought. Entries must be able to fit within a 6 x 6 foot space once assembled. A stand is available upon request. Scarecrows must be non-political, family friendly, and in a good-natured spirit.
Entrants are responsible for set-up, scheduled from 9 to 10 a.m. on Sept. 20, location to be assigned the week before. Judging will begin at 1 p.m. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
For more information and to register to participate, email mba@millbrooknewyork.com or go to www.millbrooknewyork.com/community-day-2025