Bard College Completes Its Landmark Endowment Challenge
By meeting the challenge, Bard has established the first endowment in its history, positioning the college to sustain and expand its mission as an independent institution of higher education centered on the liberal arts and sciences and dedicated to the public interest for generations to come.
What Is an Endowment?
An endowment is a pool of invested assets created to provide a financial return to a nonprofit institution. By maintaining the investments over a long period of time, a portion of the financial returns provide a steady stream of cash income called the endowment draw.
An institution’s trustees set spending controls to ensure that the endowment draw is consistent and does not exceed the returns on the endowment’s assets, which allows income to accrue in perpetuity. The draw amount, often 5% of the principal amount, is what is available in any given year.
An institution’s trustees set spending controls to ensure that the endowment draw is consistent and does not exceed the returns on the endowment’s assets, which allows income to accrue in perpetuity. The draw amount, often 5% of the principal amount, is what is available in any given year.
How Will the Endowment Affect Bard?
This larger endowment will provide an important additional stream of income to sustain Bard and will act as an insurance policy when other forms of income are under pressure. In that sense, it eliminates existential risk and sets Bard on a pathway of greater financial self-determination. Endowment funds must be invested for at least a year before the institution can take the endowment draw. The College will be able to meet its existing budgets without having to sacrifice quality to pursue its mission.
Made possible with generous support from the Endowment Challenge
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20 Scholarships
Ad Astra Scholarship
Alcaly Bodian Scholarship at Bard
Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Scholarship
Robert C. Edmonds '68 Leadership Scholarship
Forge Scholarship for Indigenous Art
Sibyl Marcuse and Evelyn and Margaret Hutchinson Vocal Studies and Performance Scholarship
The Center for Indigenous Studies Scholarship
Robert Kelly Scholarship
Julie Johnson Kidd Scholarship Program
Mark Loftin Scholarship
Karen G. Olah ’65 Scholarship
Ilene Resnick ’87 and Daniel Weiss '87 Scholarship
The Siebens-Lindholm Scholarship
Electa Quinney Scholarship
Dr. Ingrid A. Spatt ’69 Memorial Flute Scholarship
Lenore G. Tawney Scholarship
Jane Toll Scholarship
Jean "Gianni" van Daalen Scholarship
Nina von Maltzahn Scholarship
Wendy J. Weldon ’71 Scholarship17 Chairs and Fellowships
The Endowed Chair for the Study of the American Past
John and Margaret Bard Professor in Liberal Education and Civic Life
The Borough of Brooklyn Chair for the Study of History and Culture
John Cage Professor of Performance Arts
Glenn & Amanda Fuhrman Chair for the Study of Language and Literature
Gray Foundation Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the Bard High School Early College, Bronx
Keith Haring Chair in Art and Activism
Endowed Chair for the Study of History
Fellowship in Indigenous Art History and Curatorial Studies
Endowed Chair in Indigenous Studies
Anthony Lester Fellowship in Human Rights
The Lourie Family Chair for the Teaching of STEM
Andrew W. Mellon Chair for the Study of Art & Ideas
Mellon Chair in the Humanities
Galaxy Gives, Michael and Sukey Novogratz Chair for the Study of History of Economic Thought
Justus Rosenberg Chair for the Study of the Thought and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr
Tow Chair for Democracy and Education
Teagle Foundation Fellowship of the Chang-Chavkin CenterSpotlight on Newly Created Centers
Chang-Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life
Over the past year, Bard has celebrated significant developments that reinforce its mission. One notable achievement is the establishment of the Chang-Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life. The Center seeks to prepare students for lives of purpose and democratic citizenship by promoting liberal education grounded in the study of texts of major cultural significance that grapple with fundamental human questions. To this end, the Center will promote general education reform in colleges and universities through faculty and leadership development and by advocating for liberal education within and beyond the academy. Part think tank and part training institute, the Center aims to bring transformative liberal education to the widest population of students, especially to those who have been traditionally denied access to high-quality liberal education and meaningful agency in the democratic process.Participants craft their Blues lyrics using the classic AAB structure, sharing personal stories and emotions. Photo by Anna Bilyk ‘27The Ralph Ellison Center
The creation of The Ralph Ellison Center at Bard College, was made possible by the transfer of the rights and resources held by the Ralph and Fanny Ellison Trust to Bard. The Center will model and inspire an integrity of process indicative of Ellison’s characteristically multi-modal approach to artistic and scholarly expression by convening an ecosystem of artists and intellectuals who not only explore and address substantive issues of our time, but also take seriously the responsibility of cultivating the intellectual and interpersonal development of student scholars. The Ralph Ellison Center at Bard will be the home to meetings of writers, artists, and scholars, public discussions, and publications, serving as a central hub to bring together existing campus-wide efforts that amplify meaning and purpose.