Presidents of the College
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Creation Date
1945
Description
Appointed early in 1940, Charles Harold Gray, the college's 10th president, was a Rhodes scholar and former professor at Bennington College. Under Gray, students engaged in issues of campus governance, reflected seriously on the purpose of a Bard education, and on the nature of progressive education in general. Fraternities and intercollegiate athletics were phased out during his administration. Pearl Harbor and America's subsequent entry into WWII necessitated the hosting of a unit of the Army Specialized Training Program at the college, which Dr. Gray oversaw with care. With the closure of that program after the War, Bard College decided to accept women as students in 1944 to increase enrollment. This necessitated breaking from Columbia University, and Gray changed his title to president. President Gray resigned in the fall of 1946.
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