Bard College President to Retire Following Disclosure of Extensive Jeffrey Epstein Links

(SeaPRwire) –   The long-serving president of Bard College declared his retirement on Friday, several months after disclosures showed his connection to Jeffrey Epstein was far more extensive than earlier understood.

Leon Botstein, who has led the small New York liberal arts college for fifty years, stated in an email from Bard that he will step down at the conclusion of June.

In his message, the 79-year-old Botstein did not directly address the examination of his Epstein links, noting only that he delayed a public retirement announcement until an independent assessment of his dealings with the infamous sex criminal was finished.

He indicated he will stay at Bard as a member of the faculty, continuing to teach and perform music.

Botstein faced no allegations of participation in Epstein’s exploitation and abuse of girls and women. However, he was part of a lengthy roster of distinguished individuals who kept amicable ties with Epstein over many years, even after his sex crime conviction.

A cache of documents made public by the U.S. Justice Department this year revealed Botstein and Epstein met several times, with Epstein occasionally traveling to the college by helicopter. The president had also invited Epstein to attend the 2013 graduation and proposed they get together for an opera.

Furthermore, Botstein contacted Epstein weeks following The Miami Herald’s 2018 report with new specifics on Epstein’s criminal case, writing, “I want you to know that I hope you are holding up as well as can be expected.” He also described his “friendship” with Epstein in at least two separate emails.

Epstein directed $150,000 to Botstein in 2016, which the president has said he gave to the college. Botstein has in the past rejected having a personal bond with Epstein, maintaining his interactions were focused on fundraising for the institution.

Bard’s board of trustees hired the external law firm WilmerHale to perform an independent review of the correspondence between Epstein and Botstein. The review determined the president committed no illegal acts but “made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard,” a college summary stated.

“In his public statements and his statements to the Bard community, President Botstein minimized and was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein,” the review found.

At one stage, the review noted, Botstein clashed with a senior faculty member who believed Bard should have no association with Epstein. It concluded the president “relied on his view that a person convicted of crimes involving sex with a minor—’an ordinary sex offender’, in his words—could be presumed to be rehabilitated in the same way that any other convicted person should, in his view, be given that presumption.”

“President Botstein forcefully argues that Bard’s need for funds was paramount. His view was, ‘I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work,'” the review stated.

In a separate communication, Bard’s Board of Trustees Executive Committee expressed gratitude for Botstein’s decades of service but added that the “concerns raised in recent months have been serious and deeply felt.”

The committee said money linked to Epstein will be channeled to groups that aid survivors of sexual violence.

Bard’s media relations office issued a statement describing Botstein as “a transformative leader with the vision and unwavering commitment that has shaped Bard into the world-class educational institution it is today.”