Commencement Schedule 2025

Pick up your tickets for the weekend’s meals, a campus map, and a schedule. A limited number of on-site barbecue tickets will be available for purchase until 3 pm Saturday. $28 per adult, $12 per child 4–12, free for children 3 and under.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Join the Bard College Rugby team as they host the Bard Rugby Alumni/ae Association for the annual alumni/ae games! All are welcome.
Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer and Lacrosse Complex, north field

All alumni/ae, along with graduating student athletes and their families, are invited to join athletics administrators, coaches, and staff for light fare and drinks to kick off the celebratory weekend. 
Instructional Classroom #1, Stevenson Athletic Center 

Bard College soloists and composers in concert with The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Leon Botstein, conductor. No reservations required. Seating is first come, first served.
Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Work by seniors graduating in the Photography Program.
Woods Photography Studio

Work by seniors graduating in the Studio Arts Program.
Fisher Studio Arts Building

Pick up your tickets for the weekend’s meals, a campus map, and a schedule. A limited number of on-site barbecue tickets will be available for purchase until 3 pm Saturday. $28 per adult, $12 for children 4–12, free for children 3 and under.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Take a walk in the woods and learn about the Bard Guilds Program from Paul Marienthal, dean for social action and director of the Trustee Leader Scholar Program (TLS). Bard students have been learning how to literally build bridges while fixing the College’s trails. (Please note: This 1.5 mile walk includes some steep hills.)
Meeting point: The Community Garden, Blithewood Avenue
Ending point: Honey Field, behind Stevenson Athletic Center

 

German and Austrian paintings from the turn of the 20th century, a bequest to Bard College from Dr. Edith Neumann.
Levy Economics Institute, Blithewood

For Class of 2025 graduates of the Bard Graduate Center:

Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture; Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts; Bard Center for Environmental Policy; Center for Curatorial Studies and Art in Contemporary Culture; Master of Arts in Teaching Program; Graduate Vocal Arts and Graduate Conducting Programs of the Bard College Conservatory of Music; Master of Business Administration in Sustainability; Levy Economics Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy; Master of Music in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies, The Orchestra Now (TŌN); Master of Arts in Global Studies; Master of Arts in Human Rights and the Arts; Master of Arts in Chinese Music and Culture; and Master of Music in Instrumental Studies; and their guests.

Advance registration required. $25 per adult, $12 per child 4–12, free for graduates, faculty/staff, and children 3 and under.
Blithewood north lawn

For graduating seniors, their families, guests, and alumni/ae.
$14 per adult, $8 per child 4 to 12, free for children 3 and under.
Main Dining Room, Kline Commons

Stop by the Stark Blooms flower truck to buy a celebratory bouquet for your graduate. If you purchased flowers in advance, please bring a copy of your email confirmation or the receipt on your phone to retrieve your order. Flowers available while supplies last. 
Kline Commons, south lawn

The Red Hook concession stand offers snacks and cold drinks for sale. All proceeds go to support Red Hook Responds, a volunteer organization that provides resources to those in need in the community.
Kline Commons, south patio

Commencement Exercises

1 pm

Tent opens for seating
Commencement Tent, Seth Goldfine Memorial Rugby Field

2:30 pm
Academic Procession
Alumni/ae from reunion classes are invited to join the Class of 2025, trustees, and faculty in the procession to the Commencement tent. (Academic attire is required.) 
Formation at Annandale Road, south of the Chapel of the Holy Innocents

Livestreaming of Commencement
Olin Auditorium, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

3 pm
Commencement Ceremony
Celebrate the Class of 2025 and the awarding of honorary degrees. James C. Chambers ’81, chair of the Board of Trustees of Bard College, presiding, and The Right Reverend Matthew F. Heyd, officiating. A professional photographer will take photos of graduates receiving their degrees. Families of graduates will be contacted by Genesee Photo Systems to purchase images. For safety reasons, standing in the aisle is prohibited during the ceremony.
Commencement Tent, Seth Goldfine Memorial Field

Watch the Livestream

Gather with family and friends.
$28 per adult, $12 for children 4–12, free for children 3 and under. Advance reservations recommended. Cash wine and beer bar. 
Blithewood north lawn

Bard’s favorite graduation dance band gives it up for new graduates, alumni/ae, and families.
Blithewood north lawn

Annual gathering of jazz-loving alumni/ae musicians. 

This year, Jazzfest is honoring the memory of Richard Gordon, beloved professor at Bard for over three decades. He was a presence at Commencement weekend jazz activities for as long as they’ve been around. His extraordinary piano performances, with resonances of Thelonious Monk, Stevie Wonder, jazz standards, and popular songs, fill our memories. His warmth, kindness, intelligence, and generosity filled our hearts. Sharing his music was a joy for him and all who were with him. Everyone is welcome.
Blum Hall, Edith C. Blum Institute, Avery Arts Center

Stake your spot on the lawn and lie back for the best fireworks show in the Hudson Valley.
Blithewood west lawn

End the night with TYMMYT (pronounced Timmy-Tee), American rapper, singer, and trumpeter from Atlanta, Georgia. TYMMYT (Timothy Trumpet Jr. ’20) returns to Bard for his five-year reunion with a DJ set full of nostalgic Bard vibes and new school sounds. Everyone is welcome!
Fisher Studio Arts Building

In honor of alumni/ae, faculty, and special friends of the College who died during the past year.
Officiants: Bard College Chaplaincy
Chapel of the Holy Innocents

Watch the Livestream

Wake up to a serenade of Bard's all-bird chorus, and join us for a stroll along Tivoli Bay trail's dew-glittered forest! Meet alum Juliette Zicot '23 at 8:30am at Ward Manor for a birding walk. Bring waterproof footwear, and binoculars. Hosted by Juliette Zicot '23.
Ward Manor

Join Bard President Leon Botstein and Mollie Meikle '03, president of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors, for a celebration brunch. All are welcome. Remarks at 11:30 am. $28 per adult, $12 per child 4–12, free for children 3 and under. Advance registration recommended.
Kline Commons

After all the festivities are over, enjoy one last taste of the natural beauty in Annandale and take a guided walk on Bard's Montgomery Place Campus. Follow South Woods Trail through the tranquil and exquisite old growth forest with volunteer and educator Heaney Woods, and learn about the history of the landscape and the Montgomery Place Estate. 

As a landscape that has supported waves of human occupation, from indigenous people, to European colonists, to the generations of people who lived and worked on the present site, the lands of Montgomery Place have been under constant development and transformation.
Meet at Montgomery Place Visitor Center

 

New graduates and all alumni/ae interested in volunteering for alumni/ae committees and programs are cordially invited to attend.
Olin LC Room 115

For a description, please see Sunday, 12:30 pm.
Meet at Montgomery Place Visitor Center