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News and Events
INAUGURAL YEAR FOR CLEMENTE COURSE IN PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY
Bard's first Course in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, held graduation in May of 2006. This was supported by a "We the People" grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and was offered in collaboration with the Jewish Renaissance Foundation. Adapting the model of the Clemente Course in the Humanities, students examined through classes in history, literature, art history, and philosophy the idea of "freedom" as it has developed in the United States of America. The course included also a trip to the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In 2007 the Perth Amboy course will operate again, while a second program will open in Camden, New Jersey.
TERENCE BERTRAND- DEWSNAP APPOINTED NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE BARD CLEMENTE COURSE
Ted Bertrand - Dewsnap |
Bard is pleased to announce that Terence (Ted) Bertrand-Dewsnap has been appointed National Director of the Bard Clemente Course in the Humanities. Ted Dewsnap, an alumnus of Bard College, has served since 1997 as Assistant Director and then Associate Director of the Clemente Course. He received his Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia University. Martin Kempner, who previously ran the program, is developing a new initiative, the Bard College Access and Preparedness Program (BCAPP), for low-income and other at-risk secondary-school students.
National Humanities Medal Awarded to Clemente Course Founder
On December 20, 2000 at the D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, President and Mrs. Clinton awarded the National Humanities Medal to Earl Shorris, founder of the Clemente Course in the Humanities. This honor, the highest recognition for the humanities in the nation, is awarded each year to a select few whose work and vision have contributed to the cultural vitality of the country. Shorris was cited for his "candid and bold depiction of the follies of modern society. Using the humanities to inspire intellectual freedom and political power, through his books, essays, and lectures, he moves people to think critically, act ethically, and live freely." Among his important contributions is his bold experiment in providing access to the humanities for the poorest members of society, an experiment that has now grown into a respected national program known as the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities. In addition to the Bard program, Shorris has established Clemente Courses in Indian communities in Mexico and with American Indian/Alaska Native groups in Oklahoma and Alaska. These courses, conducted in native languages, incorporate indigenous high culture into the curriculum and include community elders among the instructors.
"Every week we come committed, trying to find our voice. We all take risks beyond what is imaginable. For several hours each week, we put aside our daily lives and are encouraged to reach deep down inside and build on what we already possess."
Bard College Offers a Sequel to the Clemente Course
New York City Bridge Course, Roberto Clemente Center, Bard College Dean and Professor Stuart Stritzler-Levine and students Carlos Rosello, Mario Heredia, and Alberto Dobles, 2001 |
Based on its experience with the Clemente Course, Bard has continued to play a leadership role in finding innovative ways of bringing positive postsecondary educational experiences to low-income communities. Bard has now established in New York City a community based two-semester, eight credit sequel to the Clemente Course for its graduates who are unable to matriculate immediately into college but desire to continue their education. The first semester of the course is based on the college's First Year Seminar, a class mandatory for all first year students at Bard. It is taught by Stuart Levine, Dean of the College, and designed to help students learn to read college level material in a close and careful way. The second semester is an exploration of man's quest for meaning through the sciences and the arts. The success of this sequel to the Clemente Course in New York has led to plans to establish similar sequel courses for Clemente graduates in other communities under Bard's auspices.
Grant Awarded to Bard College for Dissemination Project
In 2000 Bard College was awarded a grant of $544,000 from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) for a project entitled "Disseminating a Humanities Course for Underserved Students." Through this project, Bard collaborated with five colleges and universities to help them establish community humanities courses based on the Clemente Course model. Participating institutions included Bloomfield College, Northeastern University, Reed College, Trinity College, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Drawing on its experience in establishing and administering courses, national Clemente Course staff served as mentors, offering information and expertise as the partners designed their own adaptations to fit their unique circumstances. The three-year project culminated with a conference where project participants shared innovations and effective strategies among themselves and with the broader educational community.
"I like the group, I like the teachers, but most of all I like the discussions about different topics where everyone is free to voice their opinions and I also feel comfortable in voicing mine."
Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright addresses New York City graduates, 2002 |
A New Partnership in Harlem
The Bard College Clemente Course entered into a significant partnership with the Harlem Community Development Corporation (Harlem CDC) to establish a course under its auspices. Clemente Course class meetings are held in the Harlem CDC's boardroom in the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building on 125th Street. The Harlem CDC is a subsidiary of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, and its mission is to promote comprehensive community development from the area of 96th to 178th Streets, river to river. The organization is committed to the idea that education is a vital aspect of community development and believes that the Bard College Clemente Course will help the Harlem CDC to take a major step in that direction. Its prestigious board includes elected officials such as Charles Rangel and Keith Wright, state senators such as Olga Mendez and Denny Patterson, and influential board members from the private sector such as the Reverend Calvin Butts. With the further assistance of this organization, Bard plans to establish several Clemente Courses in Harlem within the next several years.
Kristin O'Connell, Assistant Director, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, addresses graduates of Holyoke Clemente Course, 2005 |
Partnerships with State Humanities Councils
In 1998, the first Clemente Course outside of the New York area was established in Seattle through a partnership between Bard College and Washington Commission for the Humanities, forging the beginnings of the Clemente Course as a national program. In the ensuing years, state humanities councils have proven to be strong partners in the expansion of courses throughout the country. Councils in Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington State, and Alaska have funded and refunded local Clemente Courses. Going beyond financial support, councils in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington State have become affiliates of the national Clemente Course program and have taken a lead role in establishing and expanding the program within their states by adopting the course as one of its programs, devoting a significant amount of staff time to develop and coordinate the administration of the course, actively raising funds through its development department, and promoting the program throughout the state. Humanities councils are uniquely suited to serve as outreach arms for the national Clemente Course program because they provide local connections on a regional basis and have a mission to make the humanities available to all citizens within their regions. In partnership with Bard College, the current affiliated councils have demonstrated their ability to sustain courses from year to year as well as to add new courses each year.
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2005 (left to right), LeRonn Brooks, Professor of Art History, Katherine Talalas, student, Martin Kempner, Professor of Philosophy, Omar Ali, New Brunswick Academic Director, and Kara Donaldson from the New Jersey Council for the Humanites |
Malcolm Mills Memorial Library for the Humanities Established
Clemente Course students and alumni in New Brunswick, NJ will now be able to benefit from a humanities library at the Middlesex County Economic Opportunities Corporation, the agency that hosts the course. The library is dedicated to the memory of Malcolm Mills, the victim of a robbery who was tragically killed at the age of 21. Mills was the son of a former Clemente student in the New Brunswick course. Ironically, Mills, who was pursuing his education, had dedicated himself to anti violence activities in his community. Friends, family, and the local Clemente Course community gathered on the night of December 19 for a moving dedication ceremony. In his remarks at the dedication, Martin Kempner, National Director of the Bard College Clemente Course said, "There are things that happen in this world that should not happen, and when they do, they defy understanding. When a young person with so much potential and possibility as Malcolm Mills is senselessly killed, one feels great pain and despair. We owe it to Malcolm not to give in to these feelings, but to turn those feelings into something positive. The library that is being launched tonight in his memory is such a positive act. Every time someone comes here and reaches for a book and not a gun, Malcolm is honored. Every time someone in this community reads one of the great humanities classics in this library and thereby increases his or her understanding of the world we all share, Malcolm is being remembered. Every time someone in this community is helped to realize their potential and promise through the use of this library and the Clemente Course, Malcolm will have played a role. This is a very fitting and proper way to honor a young man who had already shown that he had so much to give us."
"I am a little amazed when I go into cafes to read books because I feel that people are looking at me with respect, like they never suspected that I would be capable of not being a loser."
The Honorable David N. Dinkins, former Mayor of New York City, addressing New York City graduates, 1999 |
Humanities in the Community Conference
The Bard College Clemente Course sponsored a conference in August 2003 in New York City with the theme of Humanities in the Community: Bringing It All Together. This one-day conference celebrated the conclusion of the three-year Clemente Course Dissemination Project, supported by a grant from the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education. The event brought together, for the first time, leaders in the community humanities course movement (based on the Bard Clemente Course model) to share ideas and strategies. Participants represented courses in 17 states or provinces and 33 cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Philosopher Colin McGinn gave the keynote address, and Michael Hayden, New York Clemente Course graduate and Bard College senior, also addressed the gathering.
New Brunswick, New Jersey, class of 2015 |
Bard Welcomes Clemente Grads
By embracing the concept of the Clemente Course and developing it into a national program, Bard College has acted on its belief in the transformative power of a humanities education and its commitment to the democratic ideals of our society. It has also carried through on the great promise the program holds for its participants by welcoming Clemente Course graduates to its campus. Numerous Clemente grads have gone on to attend Bard College, all of whom entered Bard with the assistance of the New York State Higher Education Opportunities Program, which provides both financial and academic support to educationally and economically disadvantaged students. Several Clemente alums have already graduated from the college and have continued their educations in graduate schools: David and Susana Iskhakova, brother and sister who were part of the original Clemente Course founded in 1995, both went to the dental school at SUNY Stony Brook. Marcos Tejeda was accepted into the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Sociology graduate school with a full scholarship. Diego's Redard was awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend the Latin/Greek Institute at City University of New York. And in Spring of 2005, Rong Huang and Michael Hayden graduated from Bard with
bachelors' degrees. Both plan to continue to graduate studies.
"The course has provided me with new skills to critically analyze my world...I have been empowered to question and look beyond the face value of life situations."
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