Bard College president Leon Botstein retires after Epstein ties scrutiny

Leon Botstein will leave Bard College after 51 years as president, ending one of the longest runs in American higher education as the school confronts a damaging review of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Botstein said he will retire June 30, 2026, after leading the private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, since 1975. His departure came after Bard’s trustees retained WilmerHale to conduct an independent review of communications between Botstein and Epstein, and the firm’s summary concluded that Botstein “minimized and was not fully accurate” in describing the relationship.

The review found no illegal activity, but it said Botstein’s conduct reflected on his leadership of Bard. The findings reportedly included about 25 visits by Botstein to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, a two-day stay on Epstein’s Little St. James island, and two visits by Epstein to Bard College itself. Botstein had previously said his contacts with Epstein were centered on fundraising for Bard.

The board’s executive committee said it would name an interim leader and strengthen policies on donor vetting, fundraising and conflicts of interest. That response underscores how heavily the college is now weighing questions of governance, accountability and institutional judgment, not only the conduct of one leader but also the safeguards around him.

The retirement also arrives after Bard completed a $1 billion fundraising challenge in January 2026. The college said the endowment was built by matching a $500 million commitment from Open Society with another $500 million from donors, money intended to support undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty, student scholarships, the arts and international engagement. Botstein told campus that he had already informed the board of his intention to step aside and said he waited until the campaign was finished.

Botstein’s exit closes a long chapter at Bard, but it does not close the larger questions his case has reopened about elite institutions, powerful benefactors and the ease with which prestige can postpone a full accounting.