2023 News Archive

This summer, Simon’s Rock student Ke Coco Deng had the opportunity to work as a research assistant for Audubon Seabird Institute with Project Puffin.

Two Simon’s Rock students, Sarah Wang and Harlan Abrams, have received their second NASA Fellowship via the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium for research in Assistant Professor Dr. Amy Smith’s laboratory.

Simon’s Rock senior Helen Cohen attended the 2023 American Speech Language and Hearing (ASHA) convention for research for her ongoing Senior thesis with funding from her Senior Award.

Dr. Jack Burkart, faculty in Mathematics, is new to Simon's Rock, but is quickly finding himself at home. While applying for faculty work, Burkart found himself looking for schools that valued both teaching and mentoring at the same level of research.

Simon's Rock's math enthusiasts have been training hard since October of this year as they prepare for the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, also known as the Putnam Exam.

The short story "Maniacs" by Brendan Mathews, Dean of Faculty and Curricular Development and faculty in Creative Writing and Literature, was included in the list of Distinguished Stories in the new Best American Short Stories 2023.

The madeleine has a long literary legacy, including a highlight in French author Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu.

Simon’s Rock Visiting Scholar Felix Kaputu presented his doctoral research on October 3, 2023, to receive his fourth doctorate. This doctorate is in Human Rights from Bircham International University in Madrid, Spain.

Dr. Sarah Snyder, Assistant Professor of Biology at Simon’s Rock, and her students have been involved with a fascinating program currently ongoing. In the fall semester of 2022, Simon’s Rock was selected to be a collaborator in the Student Network for Amphibian Pathogen Surveillance (SNAPS).

Athletic Director of the Kilpatrick Athletic Center at Simon’s Rock, Bill Meier, is the founder and program director of SwimAmerica of Western Massachusetts and head coach for both the Pace/Makers Masters Swim Team and the Simon’s Rock Llamas Swim Team.

ThinkFOOD Conference, The Center for Food Studies, and the OSUN Certificate in Food Studies

Mileta Roe, Simon's Rock Faculty in Spanish and Comparative Literature, translated a play titled "LA RATA-CAMBALACHERA" for Concrete Temple Theatre in New York City, NY.

Jackson’s essay “Military Mobilities: War, Occupation, and Chinese Exclusion in the Making of the U.S. Empire of 1898” was recently published in Global Labor Migrations: New Directions.

For Dr. Carla Stephens, Director of the new Bard Queer Leadership Project (BQLP), it's hard to pick a favorite subject to teach. "This is a very tough question," says Stephens. "Until this year, I would have easily chosen Cold War Civil Rights. I still love it and can hardly wait to teach it in the College.”

Simon’s Rock theater faculty John Mussall has designed scenic elements for the play Lunar Eclipse, currently making its World Premiere at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA.

Simon’s Rock senior Yonah Sadeh, a dual major in Visual Studies and Film and Digital Media, shares his experience at the Prague Film School last spring.

The U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Colleges rankings have awarded Bard College at Simon’s Rock top-tier rankings in a number of categories.

Students from Parami University, along with university president and Simon’s Rock alum Kyaw Moe Tun ‘05, spoke with BBC News about the state of higher education during the military coup in Myanmar in 2021.

An innovative new program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock aims to empower LGBTQ+ students with the professional and social capital to lead the charge for a more inclusive future.

Jennifer Browdy ‘77 and Audrey Kalman ‘77 co-founded the online literary community Birth Your Truest Story. Browdy is currently Professor of Comparative Literature & Media Arts and Division Head of Languages & Literature at Simon’s Rocj. Kalman is the daughter of Simon’s Rock founding faculty member Eileen T. Handelman

David Franco has served as an Assistant Professor since 2019. Dr. Franco teaches classes in English, Spanish, and French–supporting beginner Spanish students as they navigate vocabulary and grammar, leading advanced French speakers through fluency and French Literature, and exploring 17th century French drama and cinema.

Miha Habič serves as an assistant Professor of Mathematics for Simon’s Rock, where he started in 2019. There is something for everyone in the Mathematics course options, as Miha offers engaging classes for the novice learner to the devout STEM student.

At Simon’s Rock, faculty members engage in scholarly pursuits that extend beyond the classroom, using their experience and expertise both for the Simon’s Rock community and their larger academic fields.

Transitioning from high school to early college is a transformative period, though the shift to greater independence and opportunity can prove challenging.

Simon’s Rock alum Molly McCully Brown ‘08 has been named Director of Creative Writing at University of Wyoming, where she will lead University of Wyoming’s prestigious Master of Fine Arts writing program. Brown is currently a member of the faculty at Old Dominion University in Virginia.

Theater faculty Sara Katzoff's roots go deep with Bard College at Simon's Rock. Not only is Katzoff an alum, but Simon's Rock has been part of her life since she was four years old. Both of her parents are teachers and lived in the Berkshires off and on throughout her childhood.

Last Friday, May 5, Simon’s Rock hosted the online event Earth Work Symposium⁠ along with Open Society University Network (OSUN). This event was hosted by the school’s students and faculty in Global Political Ecology with presentations and discussions led by an international panel of experts on transdisciplinary Earth studies and nature conservation.

Myers’ newest musical brainchild, entitled “In Search of the Bridges,” is set to have its world premiere this April, first in Lakeville, Connecticut, on April 28 and then more locally at Saint James Place in Great Barrington on April 30

Since its founding in the 1960s, Bard College at Simon’s Rock has operated with ever-evolving ideas on education. With two grants from The Council for Independent College’s recent initiative, Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), the Office of the Dean of Studies aims to both catalog and expand on these ideas. Kristy McMorris, Dean of Studies, and Kenneth Knox, Associate Dean of Studies, are leading the way.

Chazlee Myers ‘12 Shares Her Fulbright Experience in Italy

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named Bard College at Simon’s Rock a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars.