The Fisher Center at Bard College performing arts staff have published an open letter to the College’s Board of Trustees and Transition Committee demanding that the College not rehire ousted President and Epstein associate Leon Botstein.

In the letter the staff members expressed their “deep concern regarding leadership decisions at Bard College that have had a significant impact on our community–which encompasses the students and visiting artists who consider the Fisher Center an artistic and educational home–and to respectfully request your action in addressing them.”

Additionally it noted that “The publicly reported details regarding President Leon Botstein’s past association with Jeffrey Epstein, along with the findings and aftermath of the independent investigation conducted by WilmerHale, have generated ongoing unease among our community, and instilled a broad sense of distrust in Botstein’s ability to be an effective, transparent leader in any capacity at the College.”

The letter also said, “These concerns are not abstract for us. Unlike many other areas of the College, our community is personally and directly impacted by Botstein’s leadership roles with the SummerScape Opera, the Bard Music Festival, The Orchestra Now, the Bard Conservatory, and other related programs. As one of the most public-facing institutions within Bard College, we have been subject to repeated inquiries to cancel ticket orders to events featuring Botstein and demands for public statements in response to his behavior – the latter of which we have, to this point, responded to with silence at the College’s direction. In the last four months, we have had staff decline to continue working with us, citing Botstein’s role as a factor in their departure. We refuse to perpetuate, endorse, or repeat the choices that Botstein made to implicate Bard and specifically the Fisher Center in the facilitation of abuse and human trafficking. Botstein’s relationship with and cultivation of Epstein as a donor contributed to the legitimization of Epstein in the eyes of his victims and the public. We will not, in turn, continue to legitimize Botstein after it has been made clear–through public opinion, our community’s response, the WilmerHale memorandum, Representative Jamie Raskin’s open letter to the Board, and the Board’s own choice to not renew Botstein’s presidential contract–that he is unfit to serve in a position of leadership over the young people on this campus.”

According to the staff the Board of Trustees did not renew Botstein’s contract as President but he intends to continue working as music director of several Fisher Center-hosted programs and faculty while living on campus.

The open letter comes months after it was discovered that Botstein and Epstein exchanged emails for years. According to a search from OperaWire, Botstein appeared in thousands of emails regarding meetings with Epstein that trace back to 2012, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to one count of “Felony Solicitation of Prostitution” and one count of “Procuring Person under 18 for Prostitution” and was already a registered as a Sexual Offender. The two met on a number of occasions as Botstein allegedly sought donations for the college.

In May following an independent review, Botstein announced he was stepping down as president as the review found that the Bard president made about 25 visits to Epstein’s townhouse as well as a two-day visit to Epstein’s Little St James Island.

You can read the entire letter here.

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