A Message from Academic Leadership
A Message from Christoph Cox, Dean, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts; Richard Kessler, Executive Dean, College of Performing Arts; Florence Leclerc, Dean, Parsons Paris; William Milberg, Dean, New School for Social Research; Mary Watson, Executive Dean, Schools of Public Engagement; Yvonne Watson, Interim Executive Dean, Parsons School of Design; and Renée T. White, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dear Colleagues,
We write to you to follow up on the community messages announcing the presidential transition. As members of academic leadership, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to President McBride for his leadership and vision in guiding the university throughout his tenure at The New School.
As Board Chair Linda Rappaport shared with us recently, work is moving forward to appoint an interim president who will provide important continuity while we prepare to search for a permanent replacement for President McBride.
In the meantime, the academic leadership of the university is ensuring that important initiatives – including the Middle States Accreditation and Self Study, as well as routine operations – continue with minimal disruptions. Throughout the summer months, we will continue to explore solutions to our significant budget deficit, alongside the work of the Expanded University Budget Committee. As the Strategic Planning Steering Committee considers how its work can be reoriented, we look forward to future updates on the path forward from our co-chairs Professor Lara Penin and Provost White.
Our aim as academic leaders, as always, is focused on the success of our students. We are very excited about the upcoming fall semester, including our classes, public programs, exhibitions, and performances, all of which demonstrate the breadth of our offerings across the university. We thank everyone for their ongoing efforts over the summer to recruit, retain, and support students.
Please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions or concerns. In the meantime, we extend our gratitude to each of you for sharing our commitment to the university, and wish you a restful and productive summer.