What We Do

Our Mission

The Dean of Student Affairs Office is concerned with the quality of college life. It seeks to enhance the value of the undergraduate experience by encouraging students to participate actively in the community, be concerned about their peers, and explore personal matters that affect their individual pursuits and the community.

The office promotes an atmosphere wherein students can develop an idea of themselves as scholars and individuals by creating a campus environment that encourages the exploration of their intellectual, artistic and ethical questions. The Deans of Student Affairs (the Dean, Associate Deans and Assistant Deans) collaborate with the various Student Services Administrators and Academic programs to address the needs of Bard College students throughout their matriculation. Specifically, the Deans of Student Affairs assists students with their transition from high school to college, their development of identity and preparation for life after Bard College through the offices of First-Year Experience, Sophomore-Year Experience, Multicultural Affairs, and the Senior-Year Experience. Complementing the Student Government Association, the Deans of Student Affairs also support students’ accountability to the Community Standard of Behavior. The Deans of Student Affairs and the Student Services Administrators engage the students as individuals and as members of the living-learning community to ensure that students have a well-rounded academic and social life.

Our Services

The Department of Athletics and Recreation works to provide opportunities for student athletes and non-athletes to participate in a host of traditional and nontraditional sports and physical activities.
The Chaplaincy at Bard College engages with many different people throughout our community. The aim is to help people develop a clearer understanding of what they believe, of how they relate to their own faiths and to those of other faiths. We call upon the resources of several religious and philosophical traditions in our work, without asking others to adhere to them. Our concern is with how the individual integrates his or her own spirituality within a community of diverse faiths, and with how the community accommodates the fact of diversity.
Counseling Services and Health Services attend to individual student needs by providing private, confidential assistance, while Bard's Response to Rape and Associated Violence Education Program (BRAVE) provides peer counseling and educational programs for the community.
The Office of the First-year Experience addresses issues that may arise during the transition from high school to college.
The International Student Services Office helps international students achieve their educational and personal goals. The office advises students on all matters pertaining to their legal status in the United States and on cultural, social, educational, and personal concerns. The International Student Adviser also serves as informal adviser to the International Student Organization.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs acts as the primary contact for students, staff and faculty regarding cross-cultural communication, inter-cultural engagement and campus climate.
The Residence Life Office oversees Residence Directors and a staff of student Peer Counselors who support and coordinate student life in residence halls, including the organization of hall councils and the planning of residence hall programming.
The Bard College Safety and Security Department works to make the campus as safe as possible. The Department is available 24 hours a day to assist all members of the College community. It is service oriented, providing assistance and information to students daily, often successfully solving student problems without the need for intervention.
The Office of the Soph:MORE-Year Experience helps you navigate between the excitement and newness of your first-year and the more focused upper level seminars taken in your junior and senior years. Traditionally, the sophomore year is when students moderate into their discipline of study and advance into the upper college program.
The Student Activities Office works with the student government and student clubs and organizations to facilitate events and create long-range plans to enhance student life and leadership opportunities.
The Trustee Leader Scholar (TLS) program supports students who exhibit a strong commitment to academic rigor and community service. Students who are designated Trustee Leader-Scholars receive partial scholarships and/or stipends and are eligible for financial aid on the basis of need.