Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

. It is part of

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Annandale-on-Hudson is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States, located in the Hudson Valley town of Red Hook, New York, Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston, New York, Kingston. The hamlet consists main ...

. Throughout its short history, the college has gone through names such as Simon's Rock, Simon's Rock Early College, Simon's Rock of Bard College for a period after 1979, when it was acquired by

and Simon's Rock College of Bard. In August 2007, it changed to its current name, in an effort "to be more clear about identity" and "to be very clear about the Bard College system." The school is an "early college", designed for students to enroll immediately after completing the tenth or eleventh grade, rather than after graduating from high school. Simon's Rock is the only

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

four-year early college to date and still the only college or university to take this approach with all of its students. It is one of a number of early college entrance programs that provide opportunities for students to enter college one or more years ahead of their traditional high school graduation date. A majority of students transfer to larger institutions after receiving an Associate of Arts degree after two years, although many stay for four to receive a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. On November 19, 2024, Simon's Rock provost John B. Weinstein announced that Simon's Rock would relocate to Bard's newly purchased Massena Campus, a property in Barrytown, adjacent to the college's main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in Fall 2025.

History

The name "Simon's Rock" comes from a large rock, a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

, in the woods on the campus, a short walk from the main part of the campus. At the time that Simon's Rock earned its name, in the early 1920s, the woods that now surround it were part of the vast area of land called Great Pine Farm. The rock was a favorite spot for people who lived nearby, especially children. One neighborhood child, a little girl named Simon, claimed the rock as her own. The college's founder, Elizabeth Blodgett Hall, had formerly been headmistress at

Concord Academy Concord Academy (also known as CA) is a coeducational, Independent school, independent University-preparatory school, college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Concord, Massachusetts. CA educates approximately 400 students in ...

, a private girls' school. She concluded from her experience, and that of her colleagues, that for many students the latter two years of high school are wasted on repetitious and overly constrained work. Many young students, she thought, are ready to pursue college-level academic work some time before the usual system asks it of them. When envisioning the college in the early 1960s, Elizabeth Blodgett Hall deliberately named it nothing more than "Simon's Rock." Her reasoning for this was that even she did not know if it would be a high school, a college, or something else. Simon's Rock was officially founded in 1964. From 1964 to 1970, the buildings of the campus were built on Great Pine Farm, a farm that was owned by Hall's family. These buildings were the college center, the library, the classroom buildings, three dormitories (now dormitories primarily for first-year students: Crosby, Dolliver, and Kendrick) and the dining hall. Some of the farm's buildings, such as Hall's own home, were incorporated into the college campus as well. Hall was the president of the college at its founding. In 1966, the first class, all

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

, were admitted to Simon's Rock. These women, along with some of the other early classes, went through a four-year program that resulted in the

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

, at which point students desiring a further degree would have to transfer to another school. This differs from the current system, in which students receive an associate degree typically after two years, and a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

after four years of study. The year 1970 saw both the first commencement ceremonies at Simon's Rock as well as the first

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

entering class. Hall retired as Simon's Rock's president in 1972 after students organized a vote of no confidence, handing the post off to Baird W. Whitlock, whose presidency ended in 1977. Though only serving for five years, Whitlock was very influential to Simon's Rock's development. He oversaw a complete change in the associate's program, which was condensed into two years, eliminating the high school components. He also oversaw the beginning of the bachelor's degree program, which was accredited in 1974 by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC ) is an American educational organization that accredits private and public secondary schools (high schools and technical/career institutions), primarily in New England. It also ...

, and awarded the first BA degrees in 1976. Samuel McGill was Simon's Rock's president from 1977 to 1979. That year,

, based about 50 miles away in New York, took over Simon's Rock, which was having difficulty expanding enrollment due to what the school perceived as a failure to grow acceptance of its experimental model and the prospect of funding drying up from the Blodgett family's foundation. Leon Botstein, the president of Bard, oversaw the acquisition and became president of both institutions, a position he continues to hold as of 2025. In 1981, with the help of various donors, Simon's Rock purchased the Upper Campus, a former

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

three-quarters of a mile uphill from the original Simon's Rock campus. This added a gymnasium, chapel and various forms of housing to Simon's Rock's assets. In 1989, an arts and humanities building was built directly across Alford Road, near the college's other arts buildings. In the same year, the student union was established in the lower level of the dining hall. On December 14, 1992, a mass shooting occurred at Simon's Rock College. At around 10:30 pm, Wayne Lo, a student at the school, shot and killed one student and one professor, and wounded three students and a security guard. His SKS rifle soon jammed and Lo later surrendered to authorities without further incident. The people killed in the shooting were 18-year-old Galen Gibson and 37-year-old Ñacuñán Saez. In 1993, the then-unused chapel from upper campus was relocated to the main part of campus and renovated, becoming the college's music building. That same year, a number of the campus's arts and dormitory buildings were also renovated. Since then, many buildings have been built or renovated. These include the Fisher Science and Academic Center (completed 1998), the Kilpatrick Athletic Center (completed 1999), the Daniel Arts Center (completed 2005), an apartment-like dormitory for upperclassmen (Pibly House, completed 2000), the Livingston Hall Student Union (completed 2006), and others. In 2000, Simon's Rock became the first college in the United States to officially recognize

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...

. In 2001, Simon's Rock was instrumental in the founding of Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) in Manhattan. There are now seven Bard Early College programs located in New York, Newark, Cleveland, Baltimore, and New Orleans. On April 11, 2006, part of Carriage House, a residence in upper campus, burned in an electrical fire in the early morning. No one was hurt in the incident, but some student possessions were partially or entirely destroyed. The remnants of the building were burnt down by the Great Barrington Fire Department in January 2009 in a training exercise. In 2015, Simon's Rock founded Bard Academy at Simon's Rock, a two-year high school program leading into the Lower College program. On November 19, 2024, Provost John B. Weinstein announced that Simon's Rock would be relocated to Bard's newly purchased Massena Campus in Barrytown, New York at the site of the former site of the

Unification Theological Seminary HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership is a private Unification Church-affiliated graduate seminary headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was known as Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) from ...

beginning in Fall 2025. In an announcement on the website of Simon's Rock, Weinstein cited declining enrollment revenue and a "competitive market" of early-college offerings as reasoning for the relocation. The final commencement at the Massachusetts campus was held on May 17, 2025.

Location

Massachusetts (1966–2025)

Until a planned fall 2025 relocation, Simon's Rock is located on a 275-acre (1.1-km²) campus in Great Barrington, a small town (pop. 7,500) in the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

region of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

New York (planned fall 2025)

Following the planned 2025 relocation, the campus of Simon’s Rock will be the former site of the

in Barrytown, dubbed the Massena Campus.

Academics

Faculty at Bard College at Simon's Rock are primarily appointed to one of the following four academic divisions: the Division of the Arts, the Division of Languages and Literature, the Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing, and the Division of Social Studies. Students may also hold one of several concentrations available under Interdivisional Studies. Over 40 concentrations are available, including art history, Asian studies, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and theater. The school offers study abroad and independent study opportunities, as well as a 3/2 dual-degree program with

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

for those who wish to pursue engineering. Simon's Rock also has an articulation agreement with Lincoln College at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. While many students receive associate degrees after two years and transfer to other institutions, around half stay and moderate into the Simon's Rock B.A. program. Those who wish to remain eligible for a bachelor's degree must complete senior theses, which become professionally printed, archived, and remain available to the public in the Alumni Library. Classes are discussion-oriented, with lecture based offerings. The system is predicated on the idea that the students bring as much value to the class as the professors. In fact, orientation for incoming students is a mandatory week-long writing and thinking workshop, designed to readjust students to pedagogical, cooperative bidirectional learning. It is a school policy that teachers and administrators are referred to on a first-name basis. Professors never receive tenure as a matter of policy. There are only about 400 students (though due to its small size, large fluctuations in class enrollment and admissions are common), resulting in a very low student-to-faculty ratio, around 8:1. Few classes have more than 15 students; none have more than 30. Some classes have as few as three students, and independent study or tutorial courses in which one student works closely with a professor are common.

Leadership

Presidents

# Elizabeth Blodgett Hall (1966–1972) # Baird W. Whitlock (1972–1977) # Samuel McGill (1977–1979) # Leon Botstein (1979–present)

Provost (or Dean) and Vice President

#U Ba Win (1979–1987) #Bernard F. Rodgers, Jr. (1987–2004) #Mary Marcy (2004–2011) # Peter Laipson (2011–2015) # Ian Bickford (2016–2020) # Dimitri Papadimitriou (2019, acting) # John Weinstein (2020–present)

Student life

Athletics

The

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

is the mascot of Bard College at Simon's Rock, due to the proximity of the college

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

fields to Seekonk Veterinary Hospital, a veterinary clinic that, at one time, had a llama pasture. Interscholastic sports offered at the school include soccer, basketball, and swimming. All students at Simon's Rock are required to fulfill athletic requirements through the Active Community Engagement (ACE) Program. ACE courses include traditional gym classes, such as martial arts, swimming lessons, weight training, and so on, but extend to things like

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...

, hackeysack, gardening, and scuba diving.

Extracurriculars

Simon Rock's student newspaper, the Llama Ledge, moved to an online format in 2001, and continued publishing until at least 2014.

Housing

The vast majority of students at Simon's Rock live on-campus, and all students (except those with local families) are required to live on-campus during their first two years, with some exceptions. Nine

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

are currently used to house students. * Crosby House is a women's dormitory. * Dolliver House is a men's dormitory. * Kendrick House is a coeducational dormitory. Crosby, Dolliver and Kendrick are known as the "Tri- Dorms." They are predominantly for first-year students. * Hill House is a coeducational dormitory for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. A portion of Hill house is used to home the students of Bard Academy. Pibly House, Carriage House, and The Cottage are on Upper Campus, a portion of the campus that is about uphill from the main section of the campus. Other buildings on Upper Campus include the provost's house and the Annex (a small building that houses staff). * Carriage House is a relatively new dormitory, built in 2009 on the site where the former Carriage House stood. The majority of Carriage House was destroyed in a fire in 2005, and the remains stood until 2009. The remnants of the building were burnt down by the Great Barrington

Fire Department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

as a training exercise. The new dormitory is primarily used for sophomores and some upperclassmen. * Pibly House is a coeducational dormitory, consisting of eight two- or three-bedroom apartments for juniors and seniors. *The Annex has a single coeducational four-bedroom apartment for juniors and seniors. It was used as student housing in 2008-2009 and opened to students again starting in 2015. * The Owl's Nest, formerly a gathering space for students belonging to minority identity groups or organizations, came into use to house students in the Fall 2016 semester due to high housing demand. * The Cottage has been used as coeducational housing for three to five non-first-year students since 2007. Before 2007, it was mainly used for staff members. Several dormitories are no longer in use as student housing, and Simon's Rock has used many other buildings as student housing over the years. * The Foster Houses (colloquially known as "The Mods") are a set of 12 townhouses, each built to house four non-first-year students. After the 2010–2011 academic year the Foster Houses were closed for long-term renovation, The Mods reopened for students housing in the fall of 2017. * The Orchard Houses can each house five to seven non-first-years. Of the three that were built, two currently house staff members and their families. Orchard 3, is currently used to house upperclassmen students. * Red Brick House and Checker Chance are two dorms that housed small numbers of non-first year students in house style during 2008–2009. They are located across the street from the main section of campus, on Hurlburt road. Use of these houses was discontinued during the 2009–2010 school year. * During the Fall 2008 semester the College also provided overflow student housing at the nearby Days Inn hotel.

Notable alumni and faculty

Alumni

* Henry Alford, writer * Loren AliKhan, attorney, judge on the District Court for the District of Columbia *

Solange Ashby Solange Ashby is an African studies, Africanist and Archaeology, archaeologist whose expertise focuses on language, religion and the role of women in ancient Egypt and Nubia. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languag ...

, egyptologist * Amanda Baggs, activist *

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her Graphic novel, graphic memoir ''Fun ...

, creator of the comic '' Dykes To Watch Out For'' and graphic novel '' Fun Home'' * Veronica Chambers, writer * Joel and Ethan Coen, Academy Award-winning filmmakers * Brenda Cullerton, writer * Martin Dosh, musician * Mike Doughty, singer/songwriter, founder of the band

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They developed a devout fa ...

* Daisy Eagan, actress *

Ronan Farrow Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow (born December 19, 1987) is an American journalist. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, he is known for his investigative reporting on sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Wei ...

, journalist (son of

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

and

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

) * Henry Ferrini, documentary filmmaker * Annie Finch, poet *

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

, fashion designer, filmmaker * Abby Franquemont, writer, revivalist of the art of

hand spinning Spinning is an ancient textile art in which plant, animal or synthetic fibres are drawn out and twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fibre was spun by hand using simple tools, the spindle and distaff. After the introduction o ...

with the spindle * Nat Gertler, writer *

Maria Giese Maria Giese is an American feature film director and screenwriter. A member of the Directors Guild of America, and an activist for parity for women directors in Hollywood, she writes and lectures about the under-representation of women filmmaker ...

, film director and screenwriter * Ben Goertzel, artificial intelligence researcher * Meg Hutchinson, singer-songwriter * Julie Introcaso née Johnson, NH Circuit Court Judge * Tokata Iron Eyes, Native American activist * Jasmine Krotkov, retired postal worker and member of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

*Michael S. Kurth, better known as

Curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

* Mark Leiter, Chief Strategy Officer at Nielsen * Jah Levi, musician * Roman Mars, radio producer of the podcast

99% Invisible ''99% Invisible'' is a radio show and podcast produced and created by Roman Mars that focuses on design. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Franc ...

* Zachary Mason, writer, known for his debut work '' The Lost Books of the Odyssey''. *

John McWhorter John Hamilton McWhorter V (; born October 6, 1965) is an American linguist. He is an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, where he also teaches American studies and music history. He has authored a number of books on race ...

, linguist and social commentator * Raj Mukherji, NJ state legislator and technology entrepreneur *

Ada Palmer Ada Palmer (born June 9, 1981) is an American historian and writer and winner of the 2017 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her first novel, ''Too Like the Lightning'', was published in May 2016. T ...

, novelist, historian and

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

professor *

Eli Pariser Eli Pariser (born December 17, 1980) is an author, activist, and entrepreneur. He has stated that his focus is "how to make technology and media serve democracy". He became executive director of MoveOn, MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer ...

, executive director, MoveOn.org Political Action * Susan May Pratt, actress *

Ann Reid Ann Reid is an American scientist. Since 2014, she is the executive director of the National Center for Science Education. Education Reid graduated from Bard College at Simon's Rock in environmental science, obtained a master's degree in internat ...

, scientist and science education advocate. * Claire Rosen, artist *

Jan Staller Jan Staller is an American photographer who captures imagery of urban landscapes that focus on patterns of highway graveyards, unfinished buildings, and ongoing construction sites. Biography With technical refinement and vivid clarity, Jan Stal ...

, photographer * Lee Stranahan, writer for Russian state media * Kazys Varnelis, historian of architecture

Faculty

* Karen Allen, adjunct Faculty in the Arts, actress * Nancy Bonvillain, professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, specializes in Native American cultures and languages * Edgar Chamorro, former Professor of Spanish and Latin, former leader of the

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Contras In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...

Emmanuel Dongala Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala (born 1941) is a Congolese chemist and novelist. He was born in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in 1941. He was Richard B. Fisher Chair in Natural Sciences at Bard College at Simon's Rock until 2014. As a chemist, hi ...

, professor of Chemistry and Richard B. Fisher Chair in Natural Sciences, novelist * Peter Filkins, literary translator and poet *

David LaBerge David LaBerge (born 1929) is a neuropsychologist specializing in the attention process and the role of apical dendrites in cognition and consciousness. Early life and education David LaBerge was born in St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri ...

, former adjunct faculty in psychology and biology * Okey Ndibe, novelist * David Spadafora, former professor of history

References

External links

Bard College at Simon's Rock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College 01 Liberal arts colleges in Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Gifted education Great Barrington, Massachusetts Universities and colleges established in 1964 1964 establishments in Massachusetts Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts