Donors Make Degrees Happen

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Eric Goldman ’98

From Rochester, NY to Turkey and China to Phoenix, AZ and the Czech Republic to Greece and numerous places in between, Eric Goldman '98 has made it possible for students from all over the world to receive a Bard education. Since 1982, Eric has annually supported talented students in the fields of economics or social studies through the Eric Warren Goldman '98 Endowed Scholarship Fund. 49 Scholars and counting.

While these students have all matriculated into Bard directly from high school, Eric’s route to Bard was far different. Although he graduated from Bard with the class of 1998, Eric was already recognized as a successful entrepreneur. Eric headed straight for Wall Street after graduating from high school. Within just a few years, his financial acumen propelled him from an initial internship in arbitrage into the realm of investment banking. In his early twenties, he was written about in Fortune and profiled on NBC. He was a financial wunderkind. Over the next decade, Eric’s business expertise extended to several ventures: energy and alternative energy companies, a laser manufacturing firm, and a restructuring firm. A true multi-talented Bardian.

Eric entered Bard through what was then the Continuing Studies Program, a program to provide adults returning to college with the opportunity to study for a Bard degree. He focused on American Studies. Dick Wiles was his advisor and with whom he maintained a life-long relationship. Eric’s senior project, “Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Revelations from his Hudson Valley Heritage,” an exploration of F.D.R’s “laboratory” for social and economic experiments, led him to spend many hours in the Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park. As a returning student, Bard let him pursue his education according to a schedule that allowed him to work at the same time. 

From a young age, Eric demonstrated his strong sense of social responsibility through volunteerism and philanthropy. Eric became involved with Bard in 1979 through his interest in the construction of the new arts center, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Center. Additional funds were needed to complete the facility, and thanks to his generosity it opened in 1981. The college’s trustees invited Eric to join the board and he served from 1981-1985. As a Trustee, he spearheaded Bard’s first endowment campaign and worked tirelessly on innovative curriculum and programmatic changes.

Since then, Eric has championed and generously supported other building projects and programs on campus: the Bertelsmann Campus Center, Richard. B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, and the Anne Cox Chambers Alumni/ae Center. Most recently, his efforts helped create and support the Bard Center for the Study of Hate. As a member of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors since 2004, Eric led the Board of Governors Endowed Scholarship Fund as part of its 150th Anniversary Campaign. A collector of art and antiquities, he has donated several prized artifacts; a letter by composer Gustav Mahler and paintings by Milton Avery, for instance. His generosity and tireless advocacy for Bard has inspired others to support the college from alumni/ae to neighbors to philanthropists.

In 2018 Bard awarded Eric the Bard Medal, the alumni/ae association's highest honor. His citation noted: "We honor you for your forty years of service and dedication to Bard. Your bond with Bard began, improbably, as a benefactor and trustee. Your philanthropic efforts created the Milton Avery Arts Center and secured the future of the MFA Graduate Program, now one of the leading programs in the country. You then did the improbable: you chose to take a break in your career and attend college. You chose Bard. Taking a pause in a brilliant career in finance you became an undergraduate student, completing your BA in American Studies. Your love of art, your commitment to education, and the study of economics and history were strengthened by your experience as a student and led you, as an alumnus, to support scholarships, the library, and new initiatives at the College. You have been a tireless and articulate leader within the College's alumni/ae association. The Bard Medal marks the deep gratitude and admiration of your alma mater."

Eric Warren Goldman Scholars often stay in contact with Eric following their graduation. These communications led to the formation of the Bardians in Finance affinity group which meets regularly to network, talk about the latest financial and economic trends, and mentor current students and younger Bardians. 

Professionally, in recent years Eric has devoted his time to the EWG Consulting Group and the Extended Family Office Group to assist individuals and families with their philanthropy, provide advice on legacies, estate planning, and art advising, among other areas. His core beliefs in helping others from an ethical and unbiased perspective inform his business practices.

As Eric has said repeatedly, “I believe in helping students with opportunities that they couldn’t normally have. And, you influence the life of a student scholar, and they make an impact on the world and their professions. And, hopefully they will give back, too.”

Bard is deeply grateful to Eric for his commitment to a liberal arts education as a pathway to an enriched and informed life. His generous philanthropy offers a Bard education to talented students and significantly enhances the welfare of the College.