Colleges and universities nationwide are reeling as newly released Justice Department files reveal extensive ties between Jeffrey Epstein and high-profile individuals within academia. It has forced administrators at schools from state universities to the Ivy League to launch investigations, face calls to rename buildings, and cut ties with powerful fundraisers.
President Leon Botstein of Bard College in New York was found to have maintained ties with Epstein up until 2017, even planning a trip to Epstein’s infamous island as late as 2012. According to The Hill, the school defended Botstein, stating, “The nature of President Botstein’s fundraising contact with Epstein never revealed how monstrous, cruel, and dangerous he turned out to be.”
