File photo: Bard College President Leon Botstein speaks on the “Changing the Landscape: From the Digital Classroom to the Global Campus” panel at the TIME Higher Education Summit on October 18, 2012 in New York City.
Countess Jemal | Getty Images
Bard College President Leon Botstein announced Friday that he is retiring, months after Justice Department documents revealed details about his contacts with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The New York Times reported.
Mr. Botstein has been president of Bird since 1975.
Earlier this year, Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, hired the law firm WilmerHale to investigate the relationship between Mr. Botstein and Mr. Epstein.
Botstein has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The paper noted that Justice Department files released under a new law requiring disclosure of investigative documents related to Epstein show that “Dr. Botstein exchanged messages and met with Mr. Epstein for years, including after Mr. Epstein’s conviction for soliciting the prostitution of a minor.”
“In a 2013 memo, Dr. Botstein concluded, ‘I miss you,'” the Times reported. “He spoke of his cherished ‘new friendship’ with the investor and wished him well after news articles detailing his abuse were published.”
A woman who answered the phone at Botstein’s home referred a CNBC reporter to Byrd’s media relations office, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bird’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
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