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Chronogram Covers Bard Community Science Lab’s New Hudson Valley Community Air Network

“We didn’t want community data to be controlled by private people or entities.”

Chronogram Covers Bard Community Science Lab’s New Hudson Valley Community Air Network

<em>Chronogram</em> Covers Bard Community Science Lab’s New Hudson Valley Community Air Network

Desirée Lyle installing an air quality monitor. Photo by Julia Beeman

Hudson Valley Community Air Network, led by Bard College’s Community Sciences Lab at the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities, was featured by Chronogram magazine in an article about the ongoing efforts to track and trace pollution in the air of the Hudson Valley region. The article notes that for decades, the area’s environmental consciousness has been organized around water, whereas air was not tracked closely until initiatives led by Bard’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. The establishment of the Kingston Air Quality Initiative, and the Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition in 2021, paved the way for this year’s efforts by Bard and Ulster County to install 17 new street-level sensors across the county. These newest sensors are strategically placed in public areas where people gather and learn, like libraries, town halls, and community centers, to collect data that can be accessed freely by the surrounding communities. “We didn’t want community data to be controlled by private people or entities,” says Desiree Lyle, program director of Bard College’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities.

The Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities puts Bard’s dedication to the environment, science, and social change into practice to support the fair management of our shared natural resources. The center conducts quantitative research in the natural and social sciences, crafts communication, participates in policy making, and bridges academic inquiry with community needs. The data and insights collected through CESH related projects are applied directly back to communities, with the end goal of addressing and solving environmental problems in real time.

Bard College MBA in Sustainability Receives Top Rankings

In recent weeks, Bard’s MBA in Sustainability has received recognition by several prominent ranking and ratings systems.

Bard College Partners with Ulster County on Ground‑Level Air Quality Monitoring Network

The sensors will provide the community with real‑time information about local air pollution and offer free alerts through JustAir, a platform that notifies users when air quality becomes unhealthy and again when conditions improve.

Bard College Partners with Ulster County on Ground‑Level Air Quality Monitoring Network

a woman installs a paneled device on top of a building

Desirée Lyle installs an air quality monitor for the Poughkeepsie Regional Air Quality Station at Adriance Memorial Library. Photo by Julia Beeman

Bard College’s Hudson Valley Community Air Network (HVCAN) is partnering with Ulster County to install 17 new ground‑level air quality sensors at libraries, town halls, and community centers across the county. The sensors will provide the community with real‑time information about local air pollution and offer free alerts through JustAir, a platform that notifies users when air quality becomes unhealthy and again when conditions improve. The sensors measure fine particulate matter, or tiny particles from sources like soot, smoke, and vehicle exhaust that are small enough to be inhaled and cause serious health impacts. Because the sensors are installed roughly six feet off the ground, they capture the air residents actually breathe, which can differ significantly from rooftop or elevated monitors. “HVCAN demonstrates that science does not belong only in laboratories or universities; it belongs in communities, where people can use knowledge to support healthier futures together,” said Desirée Lyle, program director at Bard’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. “The data we create encourages curiosity, dialogue, and shared responsibility for environmental health, while offering a model for how science and community engagement can grow together.”

The Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities puts Bard’s dedication to the environment, science, and social change into practice to support the fair management of our shared natural resources. The center conducts quantitative research in the natural and social sciences, crafts communication, participates in policy making, and bridges academic inquiry with community needs. The data and insights collected through CESH related projects are applied directly back to communities, with the end goal of addressing and solving environmental problems in real time.

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Post Date: 06-18-2026

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July 2026

07-28-2026

Read More in Chronogram

Photo: Desirée Lyle installing an air quality monitor. Photo by Julia Beeman
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities (CESH),Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability,Faculty |

07-22-2026

Bard College MBA in Sustainability Receives Top Rankings

In recent weeks, Bard’s MBA in Sustainability has received recognition by several prominent ranking and ratings systems. The program has, for the sixth consecutive year, been named the #1 Green MBA by The Princeton Review in the publication’s 2027 business school rankings, and has also earned #1 MBA for Nonprofits ranking by the Review for the third consecutive year, placing Bard ahead of institutions including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, Berkeley, and Northwestern. Additionally, CEO awarded Bard an AAA rating in its Green MBA Index, which assesses how thoroughly sustainability is integrated into an MBA program’s curriculum, hands-on learning opportunities, research, institutional strategy, and graduate outcomes.

Unlike many business school rankings, The Princeton Review evaluations are based on student experience, and the top Green MBA ranking reflects how well students believe their MBA prepares them to address environmental, sustainability, and social responsibility issues throughout their careers. The top MBA for Nonprofits ranking recognizes programs that prepare graduates for mission-driven leadership.

“As sustainability becomes increasingly central to business success, organizations need leaders who can connect financial performance with environmental and social outcomes,” said Dr. Eban Goodstein, director of the Bard MBA in Sustainability. “That's exactly what our students learn to do.”

Rather than offering sustainability as an elective or concentration, Bard’s MBA in Sustainability weaves it throughout the curriculum. Every course—from finance and accounting to marketing, operations, leadership, and strategy—helps students understand how business decisions create both financial and environmental outcomes.

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Photo: Photo by Rachel L. Crittenden
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |

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