Simon's Rock Closure: Loss And Opportunity
Bard College CFO Taun Toay responds to faculty and community concerns.
The Bard Collage at Simon's Rock campus in Great Barrington, MA
The announcement of Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s closure in Great Barrington and its programmatic relocation to Bard’s main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York next fall has elicited strong reactions throughout the southern Berkshire community. The termination of over 200 jobs has sparked criticism and a Change.org petition calling for employee contract renewals and relocation support. There are also concerns about the challenge of repurposing the large campus in a way that aligns with the town’s future plans.
In an exclusive interview with Rural Intelligence, Bard College CFO Taun Toay addressed the controversies and shed light on the financial challenges behind the decision as well as the measures being taken to support faculty and staff.
The underlying financial difficulties of Simon’s Rock have been years in the making. Provost John Weinstein noted in a recent virtual town hall that declining enrollment and increasing structural issues had placed the campus on an unsustainable path. Toay echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the inherent challenges of operating a small — shrinking — institution.
Bard College's newly purchased property, the Massena Campus, adjacent to the main New York campus, was formerly the home of the Unification Theological Seminary. Bard purchased the property in October of 2023 with $14 million from two anonymous donors. The purchase was made quickly to block the site's sale to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclave Kiryas Joel.
“It’s just impossible to sustain a standalone campus with less than 400 students, much less the 260 or 280 we’ve had,” Toay says. “What’s happened to facility costs, utility costs, personnel costs — you can’t make it work with the existing enrollment situation.”
Efforts to stabilize the college through fundraising and new program development over the years had limited success. While major donors stepped up during the pandemic, Toay explained that these contributions couldn’t offset the long-term financial pressures. “The philanthropic need of the existing campus is simply not sustainable in the community we have,” he said.
On December 3, Toay held a virtual meeting with stakeholders, including outgoing Great Barrington selectboard member and newly elected Massachusetts State Representative Leigh Davis. While Davis said it would be premature to discuss the content of the meeting, she’s optimistic about the future potential of the Simon’s Rock site.
“Simon’s Rock is just around the corner from where I live,” Davis says. “There are active groups working on solutions for those whose jobs are at risk. Moving forward, my role is to be a facilitator on a town and state level and to champion a plan that puts the property to the best use.”
Faculty and Staff in Limbo
The uncertainty facing Simon’s Rock 238 faculty and staff members, the majority of whom are not guaranteed positions at the Annandale-on-Hudson campus, has become a primary issue. Toay acknowledged the challenges of resizing the faculty to fit the new program model, describing it as a difficult but necessary process. “The math on 260 students to 230 employees will not work anywhere, ever,” he said. However, he added that Bard is committed to mitigating the impact on displaced employees.
“We’re going to do the best by the faculty that we can,” Toay says. “Beyond who we’re able to bring over with the dedicated programming, we’re making another consideration far beyond any concession that an institution would typically give. We’re going to help try to place the faculty that aren’t coming over into the broader early college networks.”
These efforts include connecting faculty with opportunities at Bard’s network of 12 early college programs across the country. While relocation may not be feasible for everyone, Toay expressed hope that these options would provide meaningful support. Currently there are 122 salaried full-time positions at Simon’s Rock, of which 46 are faculty and 21 are hourly full-time staff. there are 12 part time adjuncts, and 83 part time employees in other positions, like library monitors, facilities workers and others. Weinstein said those part time workers should, saddly, expect to be be laid off.
Toay said there are benefits to students of integrating Simon’s Rock into the larger Bard ecosystem at the main college campus, including access to more robust library and dining facilities and expanded academic opportunities. He framed the transition as an opportunity to “right-size” the program while maintaining its unique cohort-based experience for younger students.
“The students, by and large, were extremely excited by the news,” he said. “This move opens up opportunities for students to access more robust resources and facilities at Bard’s main campus.”
The Path Forward
Toay said the decision to announce the closure well in advance was a deliberate effort to give students, faculty, and staff ample time to plan their next steps. It also gives leaders at the campus’s publicly available Daniel Arts Center and Kilpatrick Athletic Center advance warning of a need to restructure.
The Daniel Arts Canter at Simon's Rock
“Instead of Simon’s Rock joining the 100 or so higher education institutions that have closed in recent history, the parent relationship we have [at the Bard main campus] gave us the opportunity to reinvent,” he said. “We chose this path, in part, to preserve some faculty relationships and, most importantly, to continue to give a great education to students.”
The financial implications of the move are substantial, with projected annual savings in the millions of dollars. By consolidating operations, Bard will reduce the costs associated with maintaining Simon’s Rock’s extensive infrastructure, which includes 56 buildings.
Looking ahead, the sale of the Great Barrington campus is expected to play a key role in funding the transition. Toay reported strong interest from potential buyers already but emphasized that Bard is committed to finding a buyer aligned with Great Barrington’s community values.
“There is sadness but there’s also opportunity,” Davis said, adding that conversations in the community have started about how the site can become a “hub for innovation,” a business incubator, a site for workforce housing and more. She also said there would be a focus on environmental responsibility and ecological protection.
Loss and Optimism
For many in Great Barrington, the closure of Simon’s Rock represents a profound loss, not only for its faculty and staff but also for its cultural and educational presence in the region. The transition of Simon’s Rock is emblematic of the broader challenges facing small colleges in the U.S.
“This is a lifeline,” Toay stated. “Without Bard, Simon’s Rock would simply be another campus closure. This move ensures that its legacy can continue in a sustainable way, even if it means reimagining what that legacy looks like. We’re doing everything we can to make this as humane and forward-looking as possible,”
Davis said she has already called the governor’s office and other pertinent state officials to keep them informed of the situation and the opportunities it presents. “I will work to see if we can find a way for the state to be involved in helping out. It will have a role to play,” she said, adding that in the long run the opening of the campus to new projects could be a blessing in disguise for Great Barrington.
