An Update on the University’s Response to Covid-19
To the members of The New School community,
As we move into the last few days of this unprecedented semester, I want to take a moment to thank you for your fortitude, care, flexibility, and resilience – and for keeping The New School such an extraordinary, vibrant place, despite our physical separation. I am truly grateful for the welcome you have given me, the insights so many have provided, and the seriousness, urgency, and creativity you have devoted to addressing both the challenges and opportunities ahead.
I also want to say a heartfelt word of congratulations to the graduating class of 2020. We are immensely proud of your accomplishments and of the incredible resilience you have demonstrated, especially over this past semester as the pandemic forced us all to adapt in ways we could scarcely have imagined. We could not be more thrilled to welcome you later this week into the distinguished ranks of New School alumni.
Today, I am writing to provide updates on a few important issues.
We Will Be Open This Fall for Teaching, Learning, and Research – Details to Come Later This Month
First and foremost, despite the swirl of uncertainty facing higher education, I want to be very clear about one thing: The New School will be open and operating this fall with a robust, vibrant range of academic offerings and opportunities for research, creative practice, and collaboration. While instructional formats and specific plans for our return to campus still need to be determined, we will continue our vital mission safely and responsibly, and with nothing less than the quality, values, and commitment our students, faculty, and staff expect and deserve.
A team from across the university, led by Provost Tim Marshall, is working tirelessly on this academic plan, which we will announce by the end of this month. I deeply appreciate the meticulous planning, careful consultation, and thoughtful deliberation that are going into these decisions.
Strategic Planning to Continue through the Summer
At the direction of our Board of Trustees, we are also conducting detailed scenario planning to address our immediate pandemic-related challenges and think even more boldly about the future of The New School. Together, with input from faculty, staff, and students, as well as experts from outside the university, we will identify the additional steps needed now to:
- Ensure a safe and effective return to campus;
- Address the financial and operational headwinds we are certain to face as a result of the pandemic; and
- Keep The New School at the strong and sustainable leading edge of higher education, now and for the long-term.
This vital planning will be completed over the summer with recommendations expected to go to our Board of Trustees in September. On Tuesday, Provost Tim Marshall and Executive Vice President Tokumbo Shobowale will provide to the university’s faculty and staff a more detailed overview of the planning process and the collaborative work to support and inform it.
Your Input Is Essential
Meetings over the past three weeks with faculty, staff, and students from across the university have provided incredibly helpful insights. I look forward to additional conversations before Commencement this week and to wider discussions with our community over the summer.
To this end, I have asked the President’s Leadership Team and the university deans to set up a series of focused, virtual town halls beginning in June to share updates on this strategic planning and hear your thoughts and suggestions. We will be working with the deans of each college and division, and with faculty, staff, and student representatives to ensure that we have as wide a platform for community engagement as possible.
While I appreciate that summer break is not usually a time for these types of meetings, I hope many will be able to participate. Details on these meetings and other channels for providing input will be shared later this month.
Driven By Our Mission, Values, and Long-Term Interests
I want to recognize that decisions of the type that we are now called to consider would typically be discussed and planned in our community over a longer period. That is my preferred style of academic leadership. Our situation, however, is unprecedented, and so are its immediate consequences for the university. This is why we will be fostering and depending on input from every part of The New School community over these next few months of planning.
We are all stewards of this great institution. I am confident that our university will not only navigate through this pandemic but will continue to thrive well beyond it. The responsibility for our bright future rests with each of us, with our commitment to our mission and values, and to always doing what is best for the university’s long-term interests. Guided by careful planning and forethought, and the deep love for The New School that I have already witnessed in my time here, I know that, together, we will step up and step through to an even stronger future for this remarkably proud and special place.
Onward and upward!