File photo: Bard College President Leon Botstein speaking during the panel “Changing Landscapes: From the Digital Classroom to the Global Campus” during the TIME Summit on Higher Education in New York City on October 18, 2012.
Jemal Countess getty images
Bard College President Leon Botstein announced Friday that he will retire, months after details about contacts with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public in Justice Department documents. The New York Times reported.
Botstein has served as President of Bard since 1975.
Bard, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, retained law firm WilmerHale earlier this year to review Botstein’s relationship with Epstein.
Botstein has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The Times noted that the DOJ files, which were released pursuant to a new law requiring disclosure of investigative documents about Epstein, revealed that “Dr. Botstein had exchanged messages and visits with Mr. Epstein for years, including after Mr. Epstein’s conviction on solicitation of a minor for prostitution.”
“In a 2013 note, Dr. Botstein signed off with ‘Miss You,'” The Times noted. “She spoke about her cherished ‘new friendship’ with the financier, and wished him well after a news story was published detailing his abuse.”
A woman who answered the phone at Botstein’s home referred a CNBC reporter to Bard’s media affairs office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bard’s media office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
