Press Releases

Simon’s Rock Professor Peter Filkins Awarded Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships
APRIL 28, 2022 — Peter Filkins, Richard B. Fisher Professor of Literature at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, has been awarded a 2022–2023 Guggenheim Fellowship in Biography and a Spring 2023 Fulbright IFK Senior Fellowship in Cultural Studies in support of his writing a biography of Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973), one of the most important Austrian writers and poets of the 20th century.

Simon’s Rock to launch Curiosity Camp for Students Completing 9th, 10th, and 11th Grades
Curiosity Camp at Simon’s Rock is a two-week exploration of college living and learning designed for students currently completing grades 9, 10 and 11. The camp will be held on Simon’s Rock’s campus from July 10–23, 2022.

Simon’s Rock Awarded Early College Full School Impact Planning Grant of $150,000 to Partner with Southern Berkshire Regional School District
Simon’s Rock recently announced that the institution was awarded an Early College Full School Impact Planning Grant of $150,000 from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Simon’s Rock Leads in Global Climate Education Initiative
As our planet continues to heat up, Bard College at Simon’s Rock is joining more than 300 universities, high schools, and other organizations around the world to focus on a critical question. What can we do this year to help solve climate change while creating jobs and promoting access to clean energy for everyone?

Ben Dobson to be Simon’s Rock 2022 Commencement Speaker
Ben Dobson ‘00, founder and president of Hudson Carbon and Simon’s Rock alum, will address the graduates at the 53rd Commencement ceremony of Bard College at Simon’s Rock on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. The ceremony will be held in person and will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person.

Violinist Francesca Anderegg Returns to the Berkshires for a Recital on the South Berkshire Concert Series at Simon’s Rock On Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 pm, Francesca Anderegg will return to the Berkshires and Simon’s Rock for a recital of music for violin and piano by women composers in the McConnell Auditorium of the Daniel Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended and vaccination certificates and masks are required. Anderegg, who grew up in the Berkshires and has performed here frequently, will be accompanied by pianist Matthew McCright. Their program will include works by Clara Schumann, Gra`zyna Bacewicz, Hannah Lash, Jessie Montgomery, and also will include the Violin Sonata of Amy Beach.

Award-winning Author and Coach Dr. Pamela Larde to Deliver 25th Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture
Dr. Pamela Larde, a professor, coach, award-winning author, business owner, and Director of Education at Harvard/McLean’s Institute for Coaching, will deliver the 25th W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Lecture on March 7.

Simon’s Rock to Host Ukrainian Poetry Reading with John Hennessy and Jim Kates
ohn Hennessy and Jim Kates will read translations of Ukrainian poetry in solidarity with the current plight of the Ukrainian people. The reading will take place on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kellogg Music Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The event is free and open to the public.

Simon’s Rock Theater Program to Premiere Four One-Act Musicals with Guest Artist & Pulitzer-Prize Winning Playwright Marsha Norman
The Theater program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock premieres four one-act student-written musicals April 7-9 in the McConnell Theater at the Daniel Arts Center. Simon’s Rock students have had the privilege of working with Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning playwright and screenwriter Marsha Norman over the past eight months in the development process of their musicals.

Simon’s Rock is Welcomed by the Montserrat Ministry of Education for Semester Abroad Program
The Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs, and Sports [welcomed students and faculty from Bard College at Simon’s Rock as part of the first cohort of 16 students and three core faculty, along with numerous visiting faculty, to spend a full semester studying on the island.

Simon’s Rock Alum Chazlee Myers ’12 Awarded Fulbright to Teach English in Italy
Simon’s Rock alum Chazlee Myers ‘12 was awarded an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) grant by the US-Italy Fulbright Commission to provide assistance to local English teachers in Italy and act as a cultural ambassador for the U.S from October 2022 to June 2023. Myers is one of only ten ETA grant awardees for Italy.

South Berkshire Concerts at Simon’s Rock Resumes with the Rolston String Quartet
After a hiatus of 27 months, the series of visiting musicians at Bard College at Simon’s Rock will resume on Sunday, February 27 in the McConnell Auditorium of the Daniel Arts Center. The concert will feature the Rolston String Quartet, a young ensemble from Canada that has been winning awards both at home and internationally. They will be performing a program of works by Haydn, Mendelssohn, and the contemporary Peruvian-American composer Gabriela Lena Frank.