Newsmakers

BPI founder Max Kenner '01 and alumnus George Chochos '08 speak about the program's history, expansion, and its profound impact on students.

Virginia Hanusik's photography project focuses on coastal land loss in Louisiana, which relates to work she began during her sophomore year at Bard.

J. p. Lawrence '14, an Army National Guard member who was deployed to Iraq, reports on an American lawyer who defends Ugandans wounded on American bases in Iraq.

Ben Hopkins ’14 and Liv Bruce ’15, who make up the punk band PWR BTTM, require that every venue where they perform have gender-neutral bathrooms.

Elizabeth Royte '81 wrote the cover story for the March issue of National Geographic on how one third of global food is wasted, and the people who are working to change that.

"Apple’s marketing promises that each new product will help us live up to our highest ideals; however, more often than not, the products ... enable our basest impulses," Marrs writes.

Arthur Holland Michel '13, cofounder and codirector of Bard's Center for the Study of the Drone, gives input on the use of drones to prevent rhino poaching in South Africa.

"Worm Loves Worm ... brilliantly explores the idea of love between two beings, regardless of gender (or species) and despite societal ­pressures."

Nguyen Khoi Nguyen, video and multimedia editor at Science magazine, created this video on last week's monumental, first-time detection of gravitational waves.

Cekala found beauty in the salt used to keep Boston roads safe. Her curiosity has led to an exhibition of photography and video, now on view for the second time in the city.

Cynthia Conti-Cook will receive the Michele S. Maxian Award for Outstanding Public Defense Practitioner for her instrumental role in the Eric Garner case.

Caitlin Keogh is now being represented by Chelsea gallery Bortolami. Her work can be found in the well-received group exhibition “Flatlands” at the Whitney Museum of Art.

The new culinary education center, cofounded by world-renowned restaurateur Claus Meyer, is free to residents of Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Joris-Peyrafitte’s "tragic love story for the no-labels generation" began as his Senior Project at Bard in 2014, and has now won a Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ralph Nader interviewed environmental writer and Bard alumna Elizabeth Royte '81 on why vultures are critical to the ecosystem.

Founded at Bard in 2010 and led by alumni/ae, Contemporaneous now makes its home in New York City. The ensemble plays Murray's in Tivoli on February 2.

Arthur Holland Michel investigated how a small team of engineers built the first lethal Predator drone and created the basis for modern drone warfare leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks.

The fourth annual Bard Works program runs from Sunday, January 24, to Friday, January 29, offering opportunities for students to gain valuable career tools as they near graduation. Juniors and seniors participate in a series of workshops, networking events, and other professional development activities. With the support of mentors from the campus community and beyond, students hone their business etiquette and job searching skills, work on public speaking and workplace leadership, and explore how to translate their undergraduate education to the global marketplace. Participants include 65 students and more than 50 alumni/ae, parents, and local professionals.

Bard MFA alumna Robin Coste Lewis discusses her book Voyage of the Sable Venus, which won the National Book Award last year.

Jedamiah Wolf, alumnus of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, coauthors this examination of how and why Congress removed sustainability concerns from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Eight Bard alumni/ae are involved in the production of Bieber Bathos Elegy, created by Felix Bernstein '13, which will premiere at the Whitney Museum in New York City on January 15. This hybrid work by New York–based artist, poet, and writer Bernstein combines musical performance, poetry, cabaret drag, and opera to explore the concept of bathos—the failure to achieve pathos—and illuminate issues of identity and persona through the character of Justin Bieber. The work is directed by Gabe Rubin '14 with assistant director Clara Lipfert MFA '18, composed by Rron Karahoda '13, with production design by George Dupont '14 and sound design by Cammisa Buerhaus MFA '18, and features musical performances by Leila Bordreuil '13 and Lazar Bozic '14.

"At a time when many people question the value of a liberal-arts education, Max Kenner believes — fervently — that studying the humanities and sciences can transform lives."

Films by Film and Electronic Arts faculty members So Yong Kim and Kelly Reichardt as well as alumnus Miles Joris-Peyrafitte '14 will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, later this month. Reichardt's Certain Women features Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, and James Le Gros. The film follows the intersecting lives of three women in small-town America, and is based on short stories by Maile Meloy. In Kim's Lovesong, with Jena Malone, Riley Keough, and Brooklyn Decker, the relationship between two friends deepens during an impromptu road trip. Joris-Peyrafitte's As You Are is the telling and retelling of a relationship between three teenagers through a construction of disparate memories prompted by a police investigation, with Owen Campbell, Charlie Heaton, Amandla Stenberg, John Scurti, Scott Cohen, and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Holland Michel, Bard alumnus and codirector of Bard's Drone Center, unfolds the little-known history of the rise of unmanned aircraft in the American military.

A study by two researchers at the Center for the Study of the Drone, at Bard College, provides a comprehensive overview of the risks posed to manned aircraft by unmanned aircraft.

With the holiday season approaching, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that up to one million new drones will be entering U.S. airspace, creating potentially dangerous situations for unmanned and manned aircraft. A new study released today by The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College offers a comprehensive examination of incidents involving drones and manned aircraft in the national airspace over the past two years. Using data from the FAA and Department of Interior, the report, “Drone Sightings and Close Encounters: An Analysis,” explores 921 incidents in the national airspace from December 2013 to September 2015. Coauthors Dan Gettinger and Arthur Holland Michel identified 327 close encounters in which drones presented some level of hazard to manned aircraft, 90 of which involved commercial multiengine jets, and 594 sightings, in which drones were spotted near or within manned aircraft flight paths but did not pose immediate danger of collision.

Bard senior Antoinette Kane has been honored with the 2015 Spirit Award, which recognizes a young person in foster care who is succeeding in college. The award carries a $10,000 scholarship.

She may feel more comfortable as a supporting player, but Blythe Danner proves she can hold her own as a lead in the new film I’ll See You in My Dreams.

Hudson Valley Magazine interviewed Bard alumna and La Voz editor Mariel Fiori for their December Women in Business issue.

After graduating from Bard, photography major Nick Zinner became the guitarist of the band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zinner's photographs of his life on and off stage are now on view at an L.A. gallery.

After earning degrees from Bard and New York Theological Seminary and enrolling at Yale, George Chocos shared his story recently as part of Senate and House briefings with faith leaders.

Janet Echelman MFA '98 creates aerial sculptures out of high-tech fibers used in NASA spacesuits. Her work has been commissioned for the inaugural exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Center for Civic Engagement Senior Fellow Jonathan Cristol discusses revisions to the UNSC within the current structure.

After spending his last two years taking college classes at BHSEC Manhattan, Conrad Taylor transferred to Binghamton University and got elected to City Council.

On Thursday, November 12, the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College brought 48 students to the nation's capital for Bard Works D.C. This career development event featured Bard alumni/ae presenting on their work in the D.C. area, with opportunities for students to ask questions and connect with leaders in politics, government, the nonprofit and private sectors, and the arts. The Bard Works D.C. schedule included a reception on Thursday evening with Bard alumni/ae, parents, and friends, and a day of panels on Friday. Bard Works 2016, a weeklong professional development event for Bard juniors and seniors, will take place January 24–29 in Annandale.

Governor Andrew Cuomo welcomed 80 additional educators to the Master Teacher Program this fall, including Bard MAT alumna and Red Hook Central School District science teacher Amanda Stoddard MAT '08. These outstanding teachers have been recognized for their dedication to providing the most innovative STEM education to their students, their commitment to professional growth, and their enthusiasm for sharing their successful practices with colleagues in their schools and districts. Stoddard joins fellow Bard MAT alumni/ae master teachers Kate Belin '05, Colleen Bucci '08, and Beth Goldberg '06.

Los Angeles–based photographer and Bard alumnus Skyler Dahan talks about how a class with Bard Professor Tim Davis got him out of his comfort zone.

For the first time, the Museum of Modern Art and the Performa art biennial have co-commissioned a work: There Are Certain Facts That Cannot Be Disputed, by Bard alumna Juliana Huxtable.

Washington State native and Bard alumna Jenny Riffle answered curator Stuart Pilkington's call for landscape photography in one's own back yard with Snoqualmie Evergreens.

Last week Gettinger and Holland Michel participated in a two-day war game designed to explore the different ways that drones could be used for tactical and strategic effect in a conflict.

"Focusing on diverse topics ... Siegel’s increasingly elegant and astute works dive deep into her subjects but never explain them," writes Steel Stillman.

Seven of the 10 recipients of the 2015 Anonymous Was A Woman Award have Bard College affiliations, including faculty members, visiting artists, artists in residence, and alumnae. Anonymous Was A Woman is an unrestricted grant of $25,000 that enables women artists, over 40 years of age and at a significant juncture in their lives or careers, to continue to grow and pursue their work. The award is given in recognition of an artist's accomplishments, artistic growth, and the quality of her work. The Bard-affiliated 2015 winners are: Wendy Ewald, former Bard MFA visiting artist; Rachel Harrison, Bard MFA faculty member and former visiting artist; Pam Lins, Bard MFA faculty member; Jennifer Montgomery, former Bard MFA faculty and Bard MFA ’94 alumna; Dona Nelson, Bard MFA faculty member; Lisa Sanditz, visiting assistant professor of studio arts at Bard College; Julianne Swartz, artist in residence in studio arts at Bard College and Bard MFA ‘02 alumna. More about the award

Bard alumna and deaf artist Christine Sun Kim received her MFA in Music/Sound from Bard. Her installations highlight the conceptual aspects of sound and engage both deaf and hearing participants.

Visitors came from around the country to visit Annandale October 23 – 25 for Family and Alumni/ae Fall Weekend. The three-day schedule included a host of activities, from canoeing on Tivoli Bays to the Fisher Center debut of The Orchestra Now, Bard's new training orchestra and master's degree program. Participants attended sample classes in every division, shared the annual Fall Harvest Lunch and many other meals, enjoyed a farmer's market and student art sale, student and alumni/ae athletic events, and behind-the-scenes tours of favorite places on campus.

J. p. Lawrence '14 interviews Bard biologist Felicia Keesing and other experts about the potential increase in the number of rodents and ticks brought about by a local abundance of acorns.

"Austrian and Curato turn the simple wedding of two worms into a three-ring circus that slyly turns the whole controversy over same-sex versus heterosexual marriage on its head."

Mark O'Connell writes about how Simon's Rock Dean Leslie Davidson gave him the support he needed as a struggling, young gay man.

Eden, one of the first graduates of Bard's Center for Curatorial Studies, talks about her new role leading Houston nonprofit, multidisciplinary art center DiverseWorks.

Fite transformed a 6.5-acre abandoned stone quarry in Saugerties, New York, into a monumental sculpture park. Now visitors can stay overnight in Fite's own house.

Jim Toia captures nature in his work, creating art from preserved spider webs. An exhibition of his work is now on view at the New Jersey State Museum.