by Felice Gelman
Introduction
Each year Bard LLI signals its appreciation of Bard’s unstinting support of our programs with donations supporting students. Our aim is to make it possible for students to pursue their interests, further their skills, and complete senior projects. We usually learn more about the results from the annual Seniors-to-Seniors Tea in the spring where students present the senior projects our grants have supported.
Another area we support is Academic Inclusion Grants. Seventy-eight percent of first-year Bard students receive financial support, averaging more than $46,000, mostly in grants and scholarships. From this, you can see that Bard accepts many students with relatively few resources. The Academic Inclusion Grants help put them on par with their better-resourced peers.
Here are some of the proposals submitted this year for funding.
If You Want to Fly, You Must Practice
Bard’s Dance Program will use $1,000 to help dance students participate in classes and festivals outside the academic year. Dancers must study and practice year-round. Students hoping to participate in dance events during winter and summer breaks, even if they win scholarships, need some help with travel and living expenses.
Learning to be at Home
The Center for Experimental Humanities needed funding for the third season of its podcast, “EH Out Loud.” This season is planned as a spin-off of “Home, Away From Home” created by Huda Attaey and Maha Zafari, which explores the lives of Afghan refugees in Bishkek. Maha will work with Experimental Humanities faculty and staff to create a new season focused on the struggles, joys, and resilience of Afghan students at Bard College. The $1,000 grant supports podcast guest honoraria, food for a Season 3 release party, and books and workshop materials. (You can listen to the podcasts here.)
Jazz is Made Together
Bard’s Music Program is starting up an alumni mentoring program for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students focused on jazz. The effort will reach out to recent alumni of color who can mentor small groups and one-on-one meetings. Mentoring will focus on developing artistic skills, guidance with projects, and career planning. The $1,500 grant pays for mentor honoraria, training and materials, and food for group gatherings.
Asian Women Make Art
Professor Tom Wolf, leading a seminar in Asian Art, wanted to take his students to see the Ruth Asawa Through Line exhibit at the Whitney, the Japan Society’s exhibit Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus, and Bard professor An-My Lê’s Between Two Rivers/Giữa hai giòng sông/Entre deux rivières exhibit at MOMA, as well as a stop at the iconic Pearl River Mart. The $1,000 grant helped cover transportation, food, and museum admissions.
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