Each year Dr. Botstein has the last word to the graduating class at Simon's Rock. This was recorded at the 2006 commencement ceremony.
Biotic, WBCR-LP
Leon Botstein From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leon Botstein (1946 - ) is the President and Leon Levy Professor in the Arts and Humanities of Bard College, New York, since 1975, and is generally credited with elevating the academic and cultural reputation of the college to its current standing.
Botstein is a well-known conductor. He currently serves as the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, a record of Botstein conducting the London Symphony Orchestra was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Orchestral Performance. Botstein is also a leading advocate of progressive education. In 1979 he oversaw Bard's takeover of what is now known as Simon's Rock College of Bard, the oldest and most highly regarded early college entrance program in the country. His written work includes Jefferson's Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture (New York, 1977, ISBN 0385475551), as well as other books on musicology and education.
From 1970 to 1975 he served as the president of the now-defunct Franconia College, where he became the youngest (at age 23) college president in the history of the country.