Newsmakers

These Bard alumni created a film that "stands on its own as a meditation on the uncomfortable truths, and unexpected joys, of creative collaboration." The comedy troupe Olde English—comprised of Caleb Bark '12, Raphael Bob-Waksburg '06, Joel Clark '05, Adam Conover '04, Ben Popik '05, and Dave Segal '05—premiered their collaborative film The Exquisite Corpse at the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood.

What would it take to make faster computers and more efficient solar panels? Jesse Kohl '07 is looking for answers at the crossroads of nanotechnology and clean energy.

Bardian filmmakers are turning heads with a new Web series called The Outs, about gay life in New York City. Bard alums involved include Adam Goldman '08 (writer-director), Jay Gillespie '08 (director of photography), Ted King '08 and Andrew Theiss '09 (sound), Sasha Winters '08 (acting), Amanda Warman '09 (producer) and Jake Teresi '10 (key grip). Read more about The Outs in the Huffington Post.

Farrow's advice to Dominican graduates: "Shake things up."

Bard alumnus Adam Yauch '86 has passed away at the age of 47 after a battle with cancer. The Bard community mourns this loss. We are proud to have honored Adam last year at Commencement with the Kellogg Award in the arts.

Evan Spigelman '09 took home the Big Easy Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Anna Henschel '09 was nominated for Best Director for the production at the Bard Alumni/ae-run Skin Horse Theater.

Miss Lovely, a film by Bard alum Ashim Ahluwalia '95, heads to the Cannes Film Festival this year as India's only entry.

What do Bard alums do in their spare time? Alumnae Lilly Bechtel ’09 and Maida Ives ’08 started a women's arm wrestling league in New York City.

We have more exciting postgraduate fellowship news: Seniors Sadaf Hasan and Rachel Van Horn, and alums Duron Jackson MFA '11 and Maya Perlmann '11 have all been awarded Fulbright Fellowships. Congratulations!

The new Bard Alumni/ae Center is coming together fast. The building is under construction on 9G across from the main entrance to the College. The center will be open during commencement and reunion this year, complete with Two Boots Pizza!

The Bard community is deeply saddened to learn of the death of alum Robert Sherman '49. Robert and his brother Richard (also class of '49) composed the soundtracks to many childhoods in their years at Disney.

Mariel Fiori ’05, founding editor and managing director of La Voz, has been named one of the Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc.’s 2012 40 Under 40 Rising Stars. La Voz is an independent monthly Spanish-language magazine aimed at bridging the Anglo and Hispanic cultures in the Hudson Valley region. The 40 Under 40 Rising Stars program recognizes members of the Hispanic/Latino community under the age of 40 who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and achievements in the areas of business, educations, politics, nonprofit sector, community service, and more.

On any given evening, the dinner guests of Ali Wentworth '88 may be family members, girlfriends, or dignitaries with Secret Service agents. What are her tips and tricks for entertaining? Ali shares her stories in Food and Wine magazine and in her new book, Ali in Wonderland.

What do Bard alumni/ae do after graduation? Some of them create cutting-edge theater that uses "linguistic fireworks" to make "new art for a new generation." Check out Steven Sapp '89, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp '92, and William Ruiz '03 in the new Universes production of Ameriville.

With Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona resigning, a special election is starting to take shape for the Tucson seat. Among the possible contenders? Giffords's chief of staff, Bard alumna Pia Carusone '03.

The "demented brilliance" of Bard alumnus Nick Jones '01 has been noted by the New York Times, and his work has appeared at New York's Lincoln Center. His next project? A musical about Grizzly Adams performed by bears.

Farrow has been a driven international human rights activist since graduating from Bard College at 15. He is currently Hillary Clinton's special advisor on global youth after stops at Yale Law, House Foreign Affairs Committee and UNICEF. He will start a Rhodes fellowship this fall.

Kyle Allison '01, Ronan Farrow '99, Jessica Mah '06, and Claire Rosen '01 of Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. are making headlines.

When Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made a surprise Aug. 1 return to Capitol Hill to vote on debt legislation, her chief of staff, Pia Carusone, was at her side, at the center of the action but on the periphery of the spotlight.

Ronan Farrow '04, a philosophy major and Bard's youngest graduate, serves as special adviser to the secretary of state for global youth issues.

Ever wondered what it's like working in subzero temperatures to repair a radio telescope that weighs half a million pounds? Chris Kendall '82 has done just that, and will share his experience working at the Amunsen Scott Station in Antarctica on Nov. 10, 7–9 pm, in Olin 102.

Wearable communication? Kate Hartman '03 gives a TED talk on fashion that exposes and enables communication with self, others, and the environment.

Do former New York State prison inmates work harder than the average college student in post-graduation jobs? PBS NewsHour investigates Bard Prison Initiative graduates.

Most people think farmers' markets are more expensive than supermarkets—but studies don't always support that conclusion. In fact, they're often cheaper.

Yugon Kim ’98 was a Fine Arts major at Bard and is now a founding partner of IKD, an architectural design firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that is cross-disciplinary in nature. "We have backgrounds in architecture, art, exhibition design, furniture and set design. From its inception, the intersection of architecture and art has been at the core of our design philosophy. We enjoy the freedom to work on a wide range of different projects and clients and every day we work on something new."

After Bard, Yugon worked as a furniture maker while continuing his sculptural work. After a few years, he decided to go to architecture school at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. "I worked with a number of architects after graduating, most recently with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Genoa, Italy where I oversaw the design and construction of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum extension for a period of six years. At the completion of this project, I co-founded IKD with a classmate from Harvard and have taught at a number area schools, now currently at the Rhode Island School of Design."

At Bard, he enjoyed the freedom to explore whatever he wanted academically. The interdisciplinary opportunities helped develop the kind of thinking that led him to found IKD. "Bard helped me identify my own voice by introducing me to a wide range of voices, both teachers and fellow students," he adds.

Yugon’s advice for current Bardians? "Do what you love. Always take full advantage of an opportunity that comes your way no matter how small. You never know how one thing can lead to another or how things organically come together."

With thanks to the Bard College Career Development Office