Bard Academy and Bard College at Simon’s Rock Announce Relocation to Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley
Move Will Preserve Unique Residential and Day Academy and Early College Programming and Provide Simon’s Rock Students’ Access to World-Class Bard College Amenities
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA (November 19, 2024) – The Bard College Board of Trustees and the Bard College at Simon’s Rock Board of Overseers today jointly announced that Simon’s Rock will be relocating from its Great Barrington, MA, campus to a new campus on the property of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. The school’s new home, recently acquired and adjacent to Bard’s existing campus, will open its doors to Simon’s Rock students in Fall 2025.
Founded in 1966, Simon’s Rock allows students to begin college after 10th or 11th grade; the Academy was launched in 2015 to prepare 9th and 10th grade students to enter the Early College program. The move will provide the Academy and Early College students with the same rigorous educational programs, creative opportunities, and tight-knit campus community they currently enjoy, while also giving them access to Bard’s existing facilities and programs.
Current students will remain at the Great Barrington campus through the end of the next semester, Spring ’25, and those opting to continue their program of study and degree completion at Simon’s Rock and Bard can do so in the new location next fall.
"Simon’s Rock has been the pioneer of early college, and as a result of its success and track record, there are now 10 public early college high school campuses founded by Bard in six states and more than 1 million high school students nationwide taking early college courses this year,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein. “Because of that success, and the larger national movement which it inspired, demand for the original residential model is less strong than it was when Elizabeth Blodgett Hall founded Simon’s Rock in the 1960s. With Bard’s recent purchase of the Massena Campus, we now have more flexibility in space that can allow for a more financially viable and educationally rich future for Simon’s Rock by placing it physically proximate to the institution that has owned and run it for 45 years.”
Botstein added: “By moving the institution, we are giving Simon’s Rock the opportunity to continue its mission. We’re grateful to the community of Great Barrington in the Berkshires for being home to Simon’s Rock’s founding and a good neighbor for its nearly 60 years there. I’m pleased that this move has the backing of the Simon’s Rock Board of Overseers and our leading donors — all of whom are either alumni or parents of alumni.”
Along with amenities and programming that will be available to them on the Massena Campus, Simon’s Rock students will have access to the educational and cultural resources on the main Annandale campus. This includes the Reem-Kayden Center for Science and Computation, the Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, the Stevenson Library, the Hessel Museum of Art, and more. Simon’s Rock students will also be able to participate in Bard events, clubs, musical groups, and sports teams.
“We are now at a pivotal moment for Simon’s Rock,” said John B. Weinstein, Provost and Vice President at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. “Departing from our beloved Great Barrington campus is heartbreaking — the campus has been my professional home for more than 20 years and my literal home for nearly five. It is full of memories for so many people. But this move is the only course of action for the school to preserve the viability of a residential early college experience in an unpredictable time for institutions of higher education nationwide.”
Simon’s Rock will continue to secure and maintain the Great Barrington campus following the relocation and will work with local officials during the search for a suitable new owner for the property. Bard and Simon’s Rock will also work with New York officials in the village of Red Hook to ensure the timely renovation of Massena Campus facilities and a smooth transition for faculty, staff, and students to their new home.
“This is a bittersweet moment for all of us who know and deeply love Simon’s Rock and were privileged to become members of the amazing community fostered at the school,” said James M. Clark Jr. ’76, Chair of the Bard College at Simon’s Rock Board of Overseers. “Yet rest assured that along with the physical relocation of the school comes a transfer of the spirit and ethos that has guided Simon’s Rock since its founding. We are excited for this new chapter in the school’s history.”
“I have loved and supported Simon’s Rock for many years because I have remained confident that we offer an outstanding education for young people,” said Emily H. Fisher, Bard College at Simon’s Rock Chair Emerita, and parent of a Simon’s Rock graduate. “I truly believe that the new Massena campus is the beginning of a brighter, more secure future for Simon’s Rock.”
Students will be given individual consultation on the move and what it means for their course of study. For students who do not wish to relocate to the Massena Campus, Simon’s Rock is working with partner institutions in Massachusetts for transfer pathways.
For more information on the relocation and the future of the Great Barrington site, please visit simons-rock.edu/announcement.
Media, please contact Liz Benjamin: Liz@MarathonStrategies.com, 518-424-0356.
If you have questions, please reach out to the following:
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Press & Media: Liz Benjamin: Liz@MarathonStrategies.com, 518-424-0356
General Information: questions@simons-rock.edu