House Professors: Deirdre d’Albertis and Dinaw Mengestu
Deirdre, Dinaw, and their families are eager to welcome students to Coulter House for dinners and conversations over tea, as well as music, theater, and museum outings throughout the year.
Deirdre, Dinaw, and their families are eager to welcome students to Coulter House for dinners and conversations over tea, as well as music, theater, and museum outings throughout the year.
About Coulter House
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Deirdre d’AlbertisDeirdre d’Albertis is vice president and dean of the College.Born and raised in Minnesota, Deirdre d’Albertis journeyed east to attend Barnard College and complete her MA and PhD in English literature at Harvard. She is a scholar of 19th- and 20th-century British women’s writing, women’s literary history, and 19th-century feminist transnational networks. She’s looking forward to organizing music, theater, and museum outings for house residents throughout the year.
Her husband, Wimbledon native Peter Gadsby, studied ancient and modern languages at Oxford University before making his home in America. He is Bard’s Registrar. D’Albertis and Gadsby raised two children on campus and enjoy sharing good meals and conversation, Scandinavian noir thrillers, and obscure English comedy with Bardians past, present, and future.
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Dinaw MengestuDinaw Mengestu is John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of the Humanities and director of the Written Arts Program.
Dinaw Mengestu was born in Ethiopia and raised in Illinois, first in Peoria and then in the suburbs of Chicago, which “felt like they were part of a small town.” As a result, he feels “deeply rooted” in the rural Midwest. He holds a BA from Georgetown University and MFA from Columbia University.
Mengestu has written three novels; as a journalist, he has covered strife in Darfur, northern Uganda, and eastern Congo. He was chosen for the 5 under 35 Award by the National Book Foundation and the New Yorker’s “20 under 40” list. He and his wife, Anne-Emmanuelle, are eager to welcome students to Coulter House for dinners, readings, Sunday crepes, and conversations over tea and coffee with some of their favorite artists and writers.
Did You Know?
Coulter House is named for Bard alumnus George Coulter ’51.
George Coulter (1929–2016) was a lifelong resident of Pawling, New York, and faithfully served every year on his class reunion committee. In an earlier version of today’s 3+2 program options, he completed his degree in combination with studies at Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery. He then served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps. After the Navy, Coulter had a dental practice in the Pawling area until his retirement in 1998. He was an active community volunteer and served in many leadership roles. Coulter’s legacy includes his unfailing loyalty to the College through his unrestricted support of the Bard College Fund, and his example of a life in community service as a volunteer as well as a medical professional.