From the program of the 125th Anniversary Convocation, at which the Bertelsmanns were presented with the Bard Medal, September 18th, 1985.

Elizabeth Bertelsmann
Born Elizabeth Colman in Munich, Germany, Mrs. Bertelsmann was forced to leave Nazi Germany on the eve of completing her Ph.D. dissertation in journalism at the University of Munich. Having studied photography in Switzerland, she came to New York as a professional photographer and published two books, Portugal, Wharf of Europe and Chinatown, USA, in the 1940s. She participated in the "100 Years of Portrait Photography" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

For years she taught continuing education courses in German and in photography at Bard while continuing to exhibit her work jointly with her husband. In 1981 she and Heinz Bertelsmann published The Eye of the Beholder, a splendid book of abstract color photographs taken during their many travels around America.

Affectionately known as "Lilo," Elizabeth Bertelsmann has played a vital role in the artistic and cultural life of the Bard community as teacher, artist and friend.

Heinz Bertelsmann
Heinz Bertelsmann came to the United States from his native Germany in 1928 to learn American business methods. He had planned to take over the family's factory in Germany. His aspirations soon turned to scholarship. He received the B.A. and M.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, and the Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Professor Bertelsmann began teaching political science at Bard in 1947. Soon he pioneered courses in international relations, comparative government, theory of revolution, and other emerging fields, including a unique interdisciplinary course that set the stage for later collaboration among the social and natural sciences in pursuit of knowledge unhampered by departmental constraints. Later in his career, Professor Bertelsmann developed a keen interest in environmental issues.

A man of Renaissance talents, renowned for the care of his teaching, particularly in tutorial format, Professor Bertelsmann has gained distinction as an abstract color photographer through joint exhibition and publication with Elizabeth Bertelsmann. He continued to teach even after his retirement in 1977, guiding many of Bard's finest senior projects. In his almost forty years as a faculty member at Bard, Professor Bertelsmann served as chairman of his division and on key committees in the college's history. To this day he shares with us his wisdom and innovative spirit.

"To honor Heinz and Lilo Bertelsmann is to honor ourselves. We believe that Bard stands for the highest standard of intellectual inquiry. Heinz Bertelsmann, as a teacher, held himself to the most rigorous standards of scholarship and analysis. He fostered among his students the often painful recognition that no stone must be left unturned, no question left unasked, and no answer left unchallenged.

"We at Bard College believe that we stand for a commitment to questioning and curiosity. In over three decades of service, Heinz Bertelsmann opened new fields of teaching and developed new courses ranging from international relations to environmental policy.

"We at Bard believe that an education is best obtained through the close working relationship between teacher and student. Few tutorials were as well-planned and far reaching as those conducted by Heinz Bertelsmann.

"We at Bard believe that being a faculty member demands responsibility to the community as a whole. Heinz Bertelsmann's energetic service (the envy of some and the bane of others) as divisional chairman and long-time member of practically all the many committees of this college became legendary.

"We at Bard believe that to learn to teach one must love what one does. Few have displayed such unflagging affection for the life of the mind.

"Last but not least, we at Bard believe that the arts are an essential part of the university. It is safe to say that no professional political scientist has ever produced such beautiful works of art as those produced by Heinz Bertelsmann.

"Lilo Bertelsmann was a full partner in these accomplishments. Their book, The Eye of the Beholder, is a lasting example of her artistic gift. For thirty-five years, she has helped to maintain the quality of life at Bard though her teaching, her generosity to colleagues, her art, and her unstinting devotion to generations of students. She made our own rhetoric of community come alive. In a day and age when the virtues of American's residential liberal arts institutions are being challenged, the example of Elizabeth Bertelsmann demands celebration. The loyalty and admiration of colleagues and students match the quality of learning and personal support she helped to provide. In giving the Bard Medal to this special duo, the college expresses only a fraction of its gratitude and affection."

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