Anne Gaines Named Executive Dean of Parsons School of Design
A Message from Joel Towers, President and University Professor
I’m delighted to share that Professor Anne Gaines, who is currently serving as the Interim Dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons, has been appointed Executive Dean of Parsons School of Design. She will begin on August 18, 2025 at the conclusion of Executive Dean Yvonne Watson’s term.
Many of you already know Anne, who joined the Parsons faculty in 2000. After an international search, Anne has been chosen from a group of outstanding candidates. She brings an exceptional record of shaping and leading important innovations for Parsons to this role and has served throughout her tenure as an innovative and dedicated leader, administrator, and mentor to our students, faculty, and staff. A talented scholar and respected professor with extensive and thoughtful work in pedagogy, cultural critique, and multidisciplinary artistic practices, Anne has taken on many leadership roles during her years on our campus, including serving as Associate Director of Parsons First Year Program, Director of Parsons Scholars Program, and Dean of Parsons School of Art, Media, and Technology from 2012 through 2020. She embraces a model of integrative education that deliberately seeks to cultivate a new generation of artists and designers—one capable of seamlessly weaving innovation and new technology, entrepreneurship, and creative citizenship with contemporary approaches to art, design, and media.
As a member of our distinguished faculty, Anne has taught design and studio arts at all levels—from pre-college and first year through graduate studies and continuing education programming—and has brought a consistent focus on academic excellence and successful student outcomes to her work. As a studio practitioner, educator, and Parsons alumna, she appreciates Parsons’ broad perspective on what it means to be an artist. She is particularly interested in the role of community and culture in a large urban center like New York City.
My thanks go out to everyone who was engaged in the search process, especially the members of the Search Committee—a group of faculty, staff, students, and board members listed at the conclusion of this email who devoted an extraordinary amount of time and effort to ensure that the search process was far-reaching, highly participatory, and rigorous. Each and every member of the committee served with distinction. They were exceptionally well led by the committee co-chairs, Richard Kessler and Luciana Scrutchen.
I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Executive Dean Yvonne Watson, who has served with distinction for the past three years. During her tenure, Yvonne has been a passionate voice for the college, seeking to elevate our distinctive education and creating new ways to bring our students, faculty, and staff into purposeful engagement. In leading Parsons, she has explored its past and present, and imagined its future, opening the way for continued dialogue about the role of art and design at The New School and throughout society. The Provost and I will be writing shortly to describe her next leadership role for the university.
I am excited for the vision, energy, and heart Anne will bring to the deanship and hope you will join me in congratulating her on this exciting next step. On behalf of Provost Kessler and the senior academic and administrative leadership team, we are deeply honored to welcome Anne to her new role.
Parsons Executive Dean Search Committee
Richard Kessler, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Co-Chair
Luciana Scrutchen, Associate Professor of Fashion Design, School of Fashion, Co-Chair
Nadine Bourgeois, Senior Director for Academic Planning, Provost’s Office
Koray Caliskan, Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management, School of Design Strategies
Caroline Dionne, Associate Professor of History and Theory of Design Practice and Curatorial Studies, School of Art and Design History and Theory
Michael Donovan, Chair, Parsons Board of Governors
Lacie Garnes, Director, Faculty and Media Resources, Making Center
Maria-Elena Grant, Senior Director, Democracy and Culture, Office of University Initiatives and Co-Chair, University Staff Senate
Joe Gromek, Trustee, The New School and Board Member, Parsons Board of Governors
Kuhu Juneja, Senior Parsons BFA Student, Communication Design
Meg Kaufmann, Senior Vice President of Development and Alumni Engagement
Emily Li, Senior Parsons BA/BFA Student, BFA in Communication Design and BA in Politics
John Roach, Associate Professor of Fine Arts, School of Design Strategies and Associate Dean of First Year, School of Art and Design History and Theory
PhaFa Roy, Assistant Dean, Academic Operations and Community Engagement
Harpreet Sareen, Assistant Professor, Interaction and Media Design and Co-Chair, Parsons Faculty Council
Aviva Shulem, Part-time Associate Teaching Professor, School of Constructed Environments
Zalika Taylor, Manager of Advising for Parsons