ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — Leon Botstein, who has led Bard College for roughly 50 years, announced Friday that he will retire at the end of June. The 79-year-old said he had postponed a public retirement announcement until an independent review of his contacts with Jeffrey Epstein was finished. He will remain on Bard’s faculty as a teacher and musician.
Botstein was not accused of participating in Epstein’s crimes, but documents released this year by the U.S. Justice Department showed multiple meetings between the two men, including occasions when Epstein arrived at Bard by helicopter. The records indicate Botstein invited Epstein to Bard’s 2013 commencement and discussed meeting him for an opera. In emails, Botstein referred to a “friendship” with Epstein and contacted him weeks after The Miami Herald published new details of Epstein’s prosecution in 2018, writing, “I want you to know that I hope you are holding up as well as can be expected.”
The documents also show Epstein directed $150,000 to Botstein in 2016; Botstein has said he gave those funds to the college. He had previously described his interactions with Epstein as primarily related to fundraising rather than personal involvement.
Bard’s trustees engaged the law firm WilmerHale to conduct an independent review of communications between Botstein and Epstein. The review concluded Botstein did not break the law but made decisions in that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard. It found he “minimized and was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein” in public statements and internally.
According to the review, Botstein clashed with a senior faculty member who argued the college should not engage with Epstein. The report said Botstein expressed a belief that someone convicted of sex crimes with a minor could be presumed rehabilitated like other convicted persons and stressed the college’s fundraising needs. The review quotes him as saying, “I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work.”
Bard’s Executive Committee thanked Botstein for decades of service while acknowledging that recent concerns had been “serious and deeply felt.” The board said funds associated with Epstein will be redirected to organizations that support survivors of sexual harm. Bard’s media relations office described Botstein as “a transformative leader” whose vision helped shape the college into what it is today.