An Update on How We Are Supporting Our Community
A Message from Joel Towers, President and University Professor
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
I am writing today to inform you that four international New School students recently had their visas revoked. This action appears unrelated to any activity on our campus. The university had no prior knowledge of, or participation in these revocations. We learned about them through our regular daily review of international student visa status. Members of our International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) immediately reached out to the students whose visas had been revoked. Prior to our outreach, they were unaware of the change in their visa status. We have been providing the students regular counseling and support, connections to legal representation, pathways to complete the semester, and advocacy on their behalf at the federal level. We continue to hope their visas will be reinstated but are fully prepared to support them if they are not.
It is important to be very clear. The actions the federal government is taking against universities are unprecedented. They threaten values central to The New School’s mission, including the safety and security of our community members who are not U.S. citizens, academic freedom and freedom of expression and inquiry, research and financial aid, and our ability to cultivate a diverse and inclusive community. It remains unclear how federal directives on higher education will be implemented—especially as a number of those directives continue to face legal challenges. Each of us in university leadership is working with colleagues at other universities and beyond to ensure collaboration in the defense of higher education. Whatever the future presents, we will not retreat from the mission of higher education.
Because the government’s claims often include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, let me reiterate what I have said about that landmark legislation in my earliest messages to The New School. We have a deep and abiding commitment to a university free of discrimination, antisemitism, racism, or hate of any kind. They are intolerable and corrode the character of our learning environment. Title VI protections against discrimination and academic freedom reinforce each other. They each require care and understanding. Nothing less is sufficient to our charge.
Please know that wherever you are from, and whomever you love, we embrace who you are and are thankful that you are part of The New School community. Your experiences, contributions, voices, and perspectives enrich our campus immeasurably. To learn is to grow. It requires an expanding of your horizons not a narrowing. Sometimes that can be unsettling and hard. Education is not easy, but its rewards are everywhere in evidence. From a growing economy to the next generation of transformative talent, universities contribute to a vibrant democracy full of new ideas, knowledge, innovation, and creativity. Universities are critical to the future. Education and an abiding commitment to our shared humanity are what make our work possible.
Please read below for updates on how we are continuing to support our community.
—–
Supporting Our Community
Our Guiding Principles
- We will continue to hold paramount the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff.
- We will defend academic freedom and the rights of individuals to engage in research, creative pursuits, and the exploration and interrogation of new ideas and perspectives without fear of punishment or retribution.
- We will continue to foster a diverse and equitable community, recognizing that engaging with people who hold different ideas, identities, and backgrounds advances academic excellence, enriches our experiences, and broadens our perspectives.
How We Are Responding to Federal Directives
We are working on a number of fronts to anticipate, plan for, and react to federal actions in order to minimize disruption and harm to our community. On campus, those efforts include establishing a campus-wide working group to assess the recent federal actions, take steps to address potential impacts to our university, and support members of our community who are directly affected. This work includes informing students, faculty, and staff members of their rights in various situations—particularly when interacting with authorities, understanding digital privacy, or in legal matters—and sharing information on the university’s protocols for responding to law enforcement or immigration officials seeking information or access to campus.
We are also advocating for The New School and higher education more broadly and are in close contact with state and federal higher education associations and other advocacy groups. In addition, several of us have attended meetings in Washington, D.C. with other university leaders and federal lawmakers to discuss the impact of the actions and issues raised so far, advocate for our institutions and communities, and begin planning for what might come next.
Update on International Student Visa Revocations
Over the past several weeks, according to various news outlets, approximately 1500 international students on F-1 or J-1 status at universities across the nation have had their visas revoked and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) status terminated by the federal government. We always carefully monitor student visa records and have increased our regular scans to several times per day.
Recently we learned that the Federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has terminated the status of four New School students. Our Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) notified the impacted students immediately and has been working closely with them on many fronts.
ISSS staff are available to offer support and resources to F-1 and J-1 international students or faculty scholars who may have questions. We encourage you to immediately notify ISSS of any pressing concerns, and an advisor will reach out to set up a same-day appointment. Please visit the ISSS web page for important updates, current travel guidance, and other resources. We hope you will read our FAQ for answers to visa and travel questions.
Guidance for Faculty and Staff on Updated Federal Registration Requirements for Foreign Nationals
Effective April 11, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an Interim Final Rule that reinforces and updates the longstanding requirement for noncitizens to register with the federal government and carry proof of registration at all times. The rule also establishes new penalties for noncompliance. Our Human Resources team has shared guidance with faculty and staff who may be impacted by this change to make sure they are aware of the updated rule and can take any necessary steps to ensure compliance.
There are numerous resources on campus available to our faculty and staff, including free confidential legal consultations through the university’s Employee Assistance Program. If you have any questions about how this change might affect you or need additional guidance, please contact the HR team at HRHelp@newschool.edu.
Federal Research Funding
Many of you have raised concerns about how reliance on federal funding is affecting decision-making on our campus, as we learn about developments at other institutions. To the extent that is happening, the affected schools are almost exclusively large research universities, which are often heavily reliant on federal funding. In comparison, The New School has a diverse funding portfolio for research and other sponsored projects that is led by funding from private foundations, internal research funding, and then federal funding. While much of the research carried out at the university is not directly supported by federal research funding, some funding has been rescinded, and we are working to support that scholarship.
The university will continue to offer additional opportunities for research support such as The New School Student Research Award and the Faculty Research Fund; General Research Funds and Student Research Assistant Funds for full-time faculty; and several other college-based funds and initiatives for students, faculty, and staff. We will also continue to actively engage with private foundations and other sources of funding to support critical research at the university.
Moving Forward
This is an unsettling time and we wish we could offer more certainty as to how federal actions will affect The New School in the days and weeks ahead. Please be assured that we will continue to update the community as new information is available. In the meantime, count on our steadfast commitment to defending our academic mission and supporting members of our community.
We encourage you to take advantage of the support and resources offered by the university.