Bardian SPRING 2011

dear bardians,
Greetings! It has been a great honor and a tremendous pleasure to serve as president of the Bard–St.
Stephen’s Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors for the last four years. Bard alumni/ae are
fascinating people doing interesting things, and it has been wonderful to get to know so many of you.
Being a Bardian is a lifetime commitment and I look forward to the next chapter.
I am excited to announce that Michelle Dunn Marsh ’95 will be installed as our new president at
the May meeting, held during Commencement Weekend. Michelle, who splits her time between Seattle
and New York City, will be our first president from the West Coast. She is an award-winning book
designer and editor who has developed photo-based books for such institutions as Aperture Foundation
and the Museum of Glass, and has lectured nationally on photography, book design, and publishing. I
know you will enjoy getting to know her.
This year’s Commencement and Alumni/ae Weekend is an especially proud one for those of us on
Walter Swett ’96
©Don Hamerman
the Bard–St. Stephen’s Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors: we are honoring two of our own. Dick Koch ’40 will
receive the Bard Medal for outstanding—and longstanding—service to the College, and Pia Carusone ’03, chief of staff to
Representative Gabrielle Giffords, will receive the John Dewey Award for Distinguished Public Service. Pia led her colleagues
in reopening the Arizona congresswoman’s offices on the first business day after the tragic shooting in Tucson.
In November 1981 Adam Yauch ’86 wrote in his admissions essay to Bard, “My major interest still lies in music, and I
am including a tape of my band. All of the music is original, written and performed by the Beastie Boys.” Ten years later,
“Check Your Head” by the Beastie Boys wafted nonstop through the windows of main campus during my freshman year.
This May, at the President’s Awards Ceremony, Bard will present Adam with the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and
Letters for his “significant contributions to the American artistic or literary heritage.”
In celebration of music that defined another era, two Bardians will be awarded alumni/ae honorary doctor of fine arts
degrees during this year’s Commencement ceremony. Songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman graduated from Bard in 1949
and went on to work for Walt Disney. Their songs, from “It’s a Small World (After All)” to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
to “Feed the Birds,” have left an indelible mark on our cultural consciousness.
It’s going to be a great weekend and you don’t want to miss it. I hope to see you there!
Chim Chim Cher-ee,
Walter Swett ’96
President, Board of Governors, Bard–St. Stephen’s Alumni/ae Association
board of governors of the bard–st. stephen’s alumni/ae association
Walter Swett ’96, President
Roger Scotland ’93, Vice President
Maggie Hopp ’67, Secretary
Olivier te Boekhorst ’93, Treasurer
Jonathan Ames ’05
Robert Amsterdam ’53
Claire Angelozzi ’74
David Avallone ’87, Oral History Committee Chairperson
Dr. Penny Axelrod ’63
Belinha Rowley Beatty ’69
Eva Thal Belefant ’49
Joshua Bell ’98, Communications and New Technologies
Committee Chairperson
Dr. Miriam Roskin Berger ’56
Jack Blum ’62
Carla Bolte ’71
Randy Buckingham ’73, Events Committee Cochairperson
Cathaline Cantalupo ’67
Pia Carusone ’03
Charles Clancy ’69, Stewardship Committee Cochairperson
Peter Criswell ’89
Arnold Davis ’44, Nominations and Awards Committee
Cochairperson
Elizabeth Dempsey BHSEC ’03, ’05, Young Alumni/ae
Committee Chairperson
Kirsten Dunlaevy ’06
Kit Kauders Ellenbogen ’52
Joan Elliott ’67
Barbara Grossman Flanagan ’60
Diana Hirsch Friedman ’68
R. Michael Glass ’75
Eric Warren Goldman ’98, Alumni/ae House Committee
Cochairperson
Rebecca Granato ’99
Dr. Ann Ho ’62, Career Connections Committee Chairperson
Charles Hollander ’65
Dr. John C. Honey ’39
Elaine Marcotte Hyams ’69
Richard Koch ’40
Erin Law ’93, Fund-raising Committee Chairperson
Cynthia Hirsch Levy ’65
Isaac Liberman ’04
Michelle Dunn Marsh ’95
Peter F. McCabe ’70, Nominations and Awards Committee
Cochairperson
Steven Miller ’70, Stewardship Committee Cochairperson
Anne Morris-Stockton ’68
Karen Olah ’65, Alumni/ae House Committee Cochairperson
Susan Playfair ’62
Arthur “Scott” Porter Jr. ’79, Alumni/ae House Committee
Cochairperson
Allison Radzin ’88
Emilie Richardson ’05
Reva Minkin Sanders ’56
Joan Schaffer ’75
Barry Silkowitz ’71
George A. Smith ’82, Events Committee Cochairperson
Dr. Ingrid Spatt ’69
Paul Thompson ’93
Dr. Toni-Michelle Travis ’69
Brandon Weber ’97
Barbara Crane Wigren ’68
Dr. Dumaine Williams ’03, Diversity Committee Chairperson
Ron Wilson ’75
Matt Wing ’06