Start of the New Semester
The spring semester has begun! Welcome back, faculty and students, and a special welcome to all of the new students who are just starting at The New School. I am confident you will find it to be a wonderful match for your intellectual and creative ambitions and that you will find a highly collaborative and supportive community here to help you to succeed and contribute to the world.
This semester begins on the heels of several amazing days. On Friday, we experienced the ceremonial, peaceful transition of power that is a hallmark of our democratic system. And, on Saturday, we experienced an historic event that reflects another tenet of our democracy: record-setting protests by people across the country. The Women’s March was notable not only for its scale but also for its passion and its peacefulness. (Note that New School alumna Vanessa Wruble, MA Psychology ’08, was a co-organizer of the march in Washington.)
Now we turn our attention to classes and the arc of the semester’s work, recommitted to our core values and focus on knowledge and skills that are ever more relevant and necessary. I encourage you to take advantage of intellectual and creative opportunities across the university. Read some of the excellent writing on the Public Seminar; attend some of the Post-Election America university lectures; or mine the events calendar and New School News blog for even more ideas.
Whatever your interests or your political or personal beliefs—and I stress that at TheNew School, we are open to all—I encourage you to be engaged. Stay creative and find opportunities to collaborate. Remain focused on articulating your positions clearly and listening carefully to opposing views. Keep a clear-eyed focus on facts, as well as a compassionate openness to the human needs, expressions, and responses that are all around you. Above all, keep meeting a high bar for integrity and commitment and believe in your own capacity to make a positive difference.
As The New School’s president, I will work hard to ensure that the newadministration understands the importance and value of higher education in our country and, in particular, the contributions that our students from outside the United States make. I will continue to work to preserve and enhance the cultural diversity that makes our academic communities so vital and relevant, and to work toward excellence and equity, in all its forms, at The New School and in higher education more broadly.
I am proud of our university and am continually impressed and inspired by the people who choose to be here. Please continue to share your energy and ideas, research, projects, and achievements.
Have a wonderful semester!
David E. Van Zandt, President