I doubt if there’s any college president in the United States better at
lining up sleazy millionaires for a Board of Trustees than Bard
College’s Leon Botstein. From the arch-Zionist publisher of New Republic
Martin Peretz to erstwhile corporate raider Asher Edelman (fictionalized
as Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street”), he has assembled a
rogue’s gallery second to none.
Yesterday I discovered a new rogue quite by accident. As I read the
excellent piece by Daniel Wolff on Counterpunch about how charter
schools have become a kind of hobby for narcissistic hedge fund
managers, I seemed to recall that Bard College had spawned one or two of
these as part of Botstein’s empire-building strategy. Sure enough, a
Google search revealed the following:
The Paramount Bard Academy is a collaborative effort of the Resnick
Foundation, the Paramount Agricultural Companies, Bard College, and
community members of Delano, California. The Academy is a unique
initiative that raises expectations for students while providing a model
that can contribute to significant growth in student achievement in the
region. This charter school reaches out to Delano and other neighboring
communities with the goal of educating a group of students that
represent a demographic cross-section of the local districts. The
participation of the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
Program allows the creation of a school in which the students and
faculty of a graduate teacher education program are participating
members of the teaching and learning community.
As you may be aware, Delano is in the heart of California’s agribusiness
region and was the locale of some of the most militant struggles of the
UFW in the 1970s. The Resnick Foundation and the Paramount Agricultural
Companies are owned and controlled by Stewart and Lynda Resnick, a
capitalist husband and wife team involved with liberal philanthropy.
Paramount is one of the world’s largest pistachio nut growers but the
couple has built a number of other businesses as well. Their first
enterprise was the Franklin Mint, an outfit that sold tacky goods
through late night television ads, including replicas of Princess Di’s
pearl necklace. (The Royal Family sued the Resnicks unsuccessfully.)
read full article:
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/bard-colleges-lumpen-bourgeoisie/
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