Bard College President Leon Botstein to Retire After Epstein Ties Exposed

Leon Botstein, one of the longest-serving college presidents in the United States and a prominent Jewish academic leader, is retiring as Bard College president amid revelations about his connections to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The announcement came Friday alongside the release of a law firm’s investigation commissioned by Bard’s Board of Trustees.

The WilmerHale report found that while Botstein’s actions were not illegal, he “minimized and was not fully accurate” about his relationship with Epstein. He made at least 25 visits to Epstein’s New York townhouse and took a two-day trip to Epstein’s private island—details Botstein had previously denied or claimed not to remember. The report also noted that Epstein brought women to events on Bard’s campus, yet Botstein did not question whether these women were in danger, despite Epstein’s status as a convicted sex offender.

Botstein’s willingness to overlook Epstein’s troubling background appears tied to his relentless pursuit of funding for Bard College, which he took over at age 28. According to the report, Botstein justified his compromises by stating he would “take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work.” This stance reportedly caused unease among some senior faculty members.

The Board of Trustees expressed gratitude for Botstein’s five decades of leadership and pledged to strengthen policies around donor vetting and fundraising conflicts of interest. Botstein himself, in a letter to the Bard community, framed his retirement as planned but delayed until the investigation’s conclusion. He emphasized Bard’s rise from financial instability to national prominence and affirmed his commitment to continue teaching and living on campus after stepping down on June 30.

Botstein’s tenure included notable initiatives such as leading a student orchestra to perform in Nuremberg, Germany, as a symbolic stand against authoritarianism. Yet his legacy is now marred by the shadow of Epstein’s influence and the ethical lapses that allowed it to persist unchecked.

This development adds to the growing list of powerful figures whose associations with Epstein have led to public reckoning and institutional fallout. Bard College’s move to hold Botstein accountable signals a broader demand for transparency and integrity in academia and beyond.