Standing Together as a Community
A Message from Joel Towers, President and University Professor; and Renée T. White, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
We want to follow up on the statement of commitment sent to you earlier this week.
We are grateful to the students, faculty, and staff who reached out to share their thoughts. Some let us know that we were not direct enough in expressing support for those in our community who are transgender, non-binary, or identify as LGBTQ+.
We want to share our unequivocal assurances that The New School stands firm in support of the rich and beautiful diversity of opinion and people on our campus, and our commitment to the pursuit of knowledge, protection of academic freedom, and the university’s teaching and learning mission.
At The New School, we draw strength from our extraordinary diversity—of backgrounds, viewpoints, orientations, experiences and identities—and many in our community feel especially vulnerable. Our country is experiencing a new level of discord, and it seems that almost every day there is a new development that threatens the core values of inclusion and openness exemplified by The New School. This includes directives by the Trump administration that directly target transgender and non-binary individuals. It’s also clear that we must prepare for the possibility that future directives and policies may target other members of our community.
We must remain attuned to this and support those who are hurting and frightened. It is crucial that we continue to assert our commitment to nurturing a diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment and embrace efforts to create positive change. No matter what may happen in the days and weeks ahead, we must stand together because no one should ever be unsafe, unheard, or disempowered because of who they are or who they love.
The university has been engaged in an ongoing review and update of our policies and practices encompassing our pedagogy, scholarship, culture, and engagement with the outside world. Out of these conversations, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen our efforts to ensure that all members of our community—regardless of their identity or beliefs—feel valued, respected, and appreciated. These include enhanced gender affirming care benefits for faculty and staff and expanded gender affirming benefits for students through the university’s Student Health Insurance Plan. You can learn more about our LGBTQ+ community, resources, and support on our website. Looking ahead, the university will convene open forums to explore how new federal policies related to gender identity, immigration, and other key issues impact our community; hold trainings and table top exercises to prepare the community on how to respond to emergent challenges; and look to further build out our existing scholarship and support structures.
Our university thrives because of our diversity—we see the humanity and dignity in every member of our community. Your experiences, contributions, voices, and perspectives enrich our campus in immeasurable ways. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to the values that infuse our legacy and inform our work today.