Welcome to the New School Year
A Message from Richard Kessler, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Yogi Berra once said: “It gets late early out there,” referring to the outfield in the old Yankee Stadium, where the shadows could play tricks on you in the late afternoon sunlight. For our students, faculty, and staff, summer here turns to fall “early out there,” as we return to campus while many others are still on the beach, finishing an internship, traveling with their friends and families, savoring late summer, or reading a book, while we begin the collective writing of our story of a new semester and academic year.
For those new to The New School, the start of the school year can be startlingly new. Many are coming from outside of Manhattan, some from very far away. There are those from small towns who may need some time to take in the monumental nature of New York City. Others are leaving their families for the first time. Some have never had a roommate. Still others are gaining comfort with the English language. And there are faculty and staff working to become accustomed to a new professional home.
This is a moment that has been played and replayed since The New School’s first classes in 1919, Mannes’s first classes in 1916, and Parsons’s very first classes, when it was called the Chase School back in 1896. Today, just as it was then, new students are making their way through orientation as well as those returning from their spring semester, hoping to make good friends, get that sought after class, enjoy good times, and eager to get to work on the reasons they came here to begin with. It was that way for Donna Karan, John Cage, Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte, Anna Sui, Bill Evans, and so many others across time.
It is impossible to write a welcome message at this moment without recognizing the challenges of our world today. It makes my head spin and so often breaks my heart. There is just so very much taking place at the same time, demanding of us every minute of every day to lose our focus. While at this moment, we may be experiencing change that is faster, less predictable, and unquestionably deeply upsetting at times, each generation before us has had to ask themselves how they will live their lives, accomplish their work, and do their best, amid societal upheaval.
Let us not be lost among the static and the noise. This is a beautiful community and great institution of higher learning. I believe in my heart that recommitting to why we are here at The New School is an important counterbalance to all that static and all that noise, and that good and great things will be in store for our students, faculty, and staff as we engage in the artistry, scholarship, and research; participate in the crits, performances, fashion shows, exhibitions, colloquia, and lectures; and learn, teach, and grow together as individuals who form the collective we call The New School.
Good luck with everything and welcome to the 2025-26 academic year. I look forward to seeing you all around campus.