Bard College at Simon's Rock Alumni

Alum Spotlight: Congratulations to Patricia McIlreavy '85 who was recently named a TIME 100 Philanthropy Trailblazer for 2026! McIlreavy is currently the President and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. For the full list of honorees, visit https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/

Photo Credit: TIME

Alumni News: Former Board of Overseers member and alum, Sally Unger '73, was involved in the production of the documentary, "HEIST," which was nominated for the 47th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, which will take place on Thursday, May 28 in New York City. The full documentary can be viewed at the following link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEWc4K3WoZM

Alum Ada Palmer '97 was recently featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education's article "Higher Ed is at a Turning Point. 11 Scholars Predict What's Next" with her piece, "Not Apocalypse Now." The full article is accessible at https://www.chronicle.com/article/higher-ed-is-at-a-turning-point-11-scholars-predict-whats-next

Ada Palmer is a cultural and intellectual historian focusing on radical thought and the recovery of the classics in the Italian Renaissance. She works on the history of science, religion, heresy, freethought, atheism, censorship, books, printing, and on patronage and the networks of power and money that enabled cultural creation in early modern Europe. She teaches in the History Department at the University of Chicago, her first book is Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance (2014), her second is Inventing the Renaissance: the Myth of a Golden Age (2025).

Today marks one month in office for new Holyoke City Council Member and Rocker extraordinaire Anne Thalheimer '91! To learn more about Anne and her politics and activism, check out the most recent episode of the Leading Q***r podcast, co-hosted by Simon's Rock Provost John B. Weinstein and Bard Q***r Leadership Project Director Carla Stephens. Check out the podcast at the link below:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anne-thalheimer-the-new-standard-for-local-politics/id1753381451?i=1000746003900

Simon's Rock alum, Ming Gong, now in his second year at Columbia University as apart of the Dual Degree Engineering 3/2 program, Ming Gong and Faculty in Physics, Mike Bergman, recently had their paper "An Experimental Ultrasonic Method to Determine a Scattering Quality Factor, with Application to Earth’s Inner Core," published in "Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors." Ming worked on this as an intern over his sophomore and junior years at Simon's Rock.

Happy holidays from the Simon's Rock community! Enjoy a restful break!

Join Faculty in Psychology, Anne O'Dwyer, for the launch party for her new book, "A Driving Anger," on Thursday, December 18 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Robbie's Community Market in Great Barrington, MA.

Books will be available for sale and signing by Anne.

RSVPs are appreciated: [email protected]

Books are also available for purchase online at bloomsbury.com/us/driving-anger-9798881800369/

Simon’s Rock alumna Margaret Dunlap ‘95 () was recently chosen to appear as a contestant on America’s favorite quiz show, JEOPARDY.

When asked about her time at Simon’s Rock, Margaret shared, “Attending Simon's Rock changed my life in a hundred ways both big and small. Taking playwriting with Gary Mitchell my first semester eventually led to my current career as a screenwriter. It all helped me build a perspective and a framework for interpreting the world around me, in a community that valued curiosity and both creative and critical thought.”

Margaret is a writer for small and smaller screens whose short fiction has previously appeared in "Shimmer," "The Deadlands," and as part of the writing team behind the Locus-nominated e-book and audio serial "Bookburners." Other credits include "Blade Runner: Black Lotus," "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries," "The Middleman," and the Emmy-winning Dark "Crystal: Age of Resistance."

You can catch Margaret’s episode which airs on NBC this Friday, Dec 5 at 7:30pm ET!