Bard’s board voted to end Botstein’s tenure as president after independent review of Epstein ties

Bard College’s board of trustees “voted to end” the 51-year tenure of Leon Botstein, the school’s president, last month after board members were presented with the results of an independent review of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein , according to emails seen by the Guardian. Botstein framed his departure as a long-planned retirement in a statement on 1 May. The move appears to have created a rift within the liberal arts college’s board of trustees. One newly appointed board member criticized the vote on Botstein’s contract, calling it “compromised”, according to the email correspondence seen by the Guardian. Bard confirmed this week that its longtime chair – the billionaire James Chambers – and two others had resigned. The precise circumstances of their departure have not been disclosed. One longtime professor, Bruce Chilton, noted that the recent changes to the composition of the board have created “legitimate worry” among some faculty and staff that Botstein could potentially extend his post, because decisions “which have been made, could be unmade”. The Guardian has separately learned that an alum of the college has called on the New York attorney general’s charities office to launch an investigation into the board of trustees. …