Bard College Finalizes Purchase of Montgomery Place

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY– Bard College has finalized the purchase of Montgomery Place, a 380-acre estate adjacent to the Bard campus, with significant historic and cultural assets. The property is contiguous with the campus from River Road to the Hudson River in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.The estate consists of a historic mansion, a farm, and some 20 smaller buildings. The College purchased the property from Historic Hudson Valley, the historical preservation organization that has owned Montgomery Place since the late 1980s.Bard will begin creating a master plan to guide the integration of the two campuses and utilize the new facilities in a manner consistent with the College’s commitment to historic preservation, public access, and the environment. “This is a historic moment for Bard,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein. “The integration of the current campus with the Montgomery Place property will create a unified 1,000-acre campus.” The College intends to maintain public access to Montgomery Place, preserve its landscape, and maintain the farm. Botstein added that new curricular and programmatic opportunities will emerge from this transformative purchase of Montgomery Place.Founded in 1860, Bard College is a highly selective independent, nonsectarian, coeducational, four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences, offering the bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in nearly 50 academic programs in four divisions—Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies—and Interdivisional Programs and Concentrations. Bard also offers several dual-degree, graduate, and international programs.The original campus of Bard College, which was founded in 1860 as St. Stephen’s College, was a gift from John Bard, who donated part of his riverside estate for its establishment. A number of significant buildings from the estate and that era are still in use. Over the past 155 years, the campus and its facilities have grown to accommodate Bard’s academic programs and its mission to offer programs for the community. Bard’s largely open campus has welcomed members of the community and visitors from around the globe to enjoy its beauty and participate in its many academic and cultural programs. The Bard campus has been widely hailed as one of the most beautiful in the United States —a status that will be strengthened and maintained with the addition of this important new property.Founded in 1951, the Pocantico Hills-based Historic Hudson Valley, a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit education and cultural organization, owns and operates a network of historic sites. HHV educates more than 20,000 schoolchildren each year in New York State curriculum-based programs and welcomes more than 250,000 visitors to its sites and special events.# # #1/12/16

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