Bard faculty call for 'transition' plan for college president linked to Epstein
Source: The Guardian
Wed 4 Mar 2026 15.55 EST
Last modified on Wed 4 Mar 2026 15.57 EST
Members of Bard College's faculty have called on the group’s board of trustees to develop a "transition in leadership" plan for Leon Botstein but stopped short of calling for the college president to resign in the wake of revelations about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The board of trustees announced on 19 February that it had retained the outside lawfirm of WilmerHale to conduct an "independent review" into communications between Epstein and Botstein, who has served as the college’s president for 50 years. Faculty have – until now – been silent about the revelations, which emerged as part of the latest tranche of emails and other communications released by the Department of Justice, and included that Botstein took a trip to Epstein’s island in 2012.
One person involved in the matter said members of faculty have discussed how to respond to the controversy for two weeks, and debated different courses of action, including some who wanted to call for Botstein’s resignation, and believed that enough was now known about his relationship with Epstein to be considered "disqualifying".
Botstein has previously defended his relationship with the sexual predator, who pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/04/bard-college-leon-botstein-jeffrey-epstein
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143619066