Job Description

The Chang Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life at Bard College is seeking a Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator reports to the Associate Director and combines event support, new program development, and communications work. This role supports the Administrative Coordinator on the Center's established large-scale events while independently leading the design and implementation of new programming — including student and alumni initiatives connected to Bard's core curriculum and the Center’s national network of high school humanities programs, Knowledge for Freedom.

This role carries independent judgment and decision-making authority in designing and implementing new student and alumni programming, in collaboration with faculty and the Associate Director.

As the Center secures additional grant funding, we expect the program development portion of this role to grow, with the event-support and website portions shrinking proportionally.

This is a full-time, in-person role with some flexibility for remote work.

Our Center

The Chang Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life is launching in the fall of 2026 with the aim of restoring liberal education to the heart of the undergraduate curriculum nationwide. We promote small, conversation-based classes in which students discuss foundational texts and grapple with questions of enduring human significance. The Center pursues this mission by developing scholarship on the value of liberal education, organizing institutes and seminars for faculty from around the country, and sustaining and developing student-focused programming for underserved communities.

Responsibilities

Event Support and New Program Coordination (30%)

• Support coordination of the Center's main faculty events, including summer and winter faculty institutes, conferences, and teacher workshops
• Lead planning and on-site logistics for a partner university program's high school student cohort visit to Bard, including coordinating with appropriate Bard offices to ensure safety and duty-of-care practices for programming involving minors on campus
• Lead planning and logistics for new events tied to emerging student or alumni programming

Student And Alumni Program Development (35% with room to grow as grant funding expands)

• Develop new campus-based student and alumni programming that extends and enhances Bard's existing first-year core curriculum offerings, working with faculty and the Associate Director to identify gaps and design pilot programs
• Collaborate with the Director of Research and Communications to reinvent and relaunch an existing summer writing fellowship for Knowledge for Freedom alumni in a stronger format
• Pilot new alumni-facing offerings for the Knowledge for Freedom network, such as college and career mentorships, and opportunities to volunteer, read, write about, and discuss core texts
• Support preparation of grant applications for student-engagement programming, in collaboration with the Associate Director and Director of Research and Communications

Communications (35%, expected to decrease as program development grows)

• Write and prepare long-term editorial content for the Center's websites, including profiles of strong liberal education programs at other institutions, and interviews with alumni of the Center's programs
• Support program evaluation efforts and distribution of the Center's published materials, including its national college guide and evaluation reports, to partner institutions and other audiences
• Manage the Center's social media presence, under the direction of the Director of Research
• Potential to supervise work-study students supporting website and communications work, as staffing allows

Performs related duties and responsibilities as assigned or requested.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent
• Experience coordinating programs, events, or fellowships, ideally in higher education or a nonprofit setting
• Demonstrated experience designing new programs or initiatives
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple concurrent deadlines and high participant volume
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with faculty-facing programming (institutes, workshops, fellowships)
• Experience with grant compliance or restricted-fund purchasing
• Experience with event logistics involving housing, catering, and travel coordination
• Experience writing content for websites or newsletters
• Familiarity with Airtable

Application Instructions

Please provide a cover letter, resume, and the contact information for three professional references to Interfolio by following this link: https://apply.interfolio.com/193991.

Compensation: $62,400 to $70,000 annually

This salary range reflects the College's good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for the position at the time of the job posting. Salary decisions are dependent on several factors including but not limited to market and organizational considerations, experience, and qualifications of a selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.

Benefits Overview

We are pleased to offer our full-time employees an excellent benefit package which includes multiple health insurance options; TIAA retirement plans; generous vacation, sick, and personal time; and more. To learn more about employee benefits and eligibility at Bard College, please visit https://www.bard.edu/humanresources/benefits/.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Bard College is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from those who contribute to our diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental, or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information.

Bard is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.