Celebrating 100 Years of New
One hundred years ago, The New School opened its doors with the ambitious goal of creating a new kind of academic institution that would bring together scholars, creative practitioners, and citizens interested in questioning and debating the most important issues of the day, and pushing cultural boundaries in bold and innovative ways.
Today, we mark the beginning of The New School’s Centennial year—a milestone of courageous academic leadership, public engagement, and creative experimentation. We celebrate the prospects and potential of what a New School education can mean. We applaud the thousands of talented New Schoolers who call our campus home—this year, and in the years to come. And we express our enormous gratitude to our many faculty, staff, and friends who have made this historic moment possible. To learn more about the university’s history and our year-long commemoration beginning today, 1/9/19—a nod to our founding year of 1919—we encourage everyone to visit newschool.edu/100.
The founders envisioned that The New School “would become the center of the best thought in America, would lead in emancipating learning, and would be a spiritual adventure of the utmost significance.” Our Centennial is a moment to reflect on what has come before and to imagine what we can accomplish in the next 100 years. We have set ambitious fundraising goals for the upcoming year and beyond, launching the public phase of The New Century Campaign, a $250 million university-wide fundraising effort, to ensure that our academic mission remains strong for future generations.
In the coming months, the university will host a wide-ranging schedule of programming celebrating our Centennial. Among the many events planned are a two-day forum examining Liberalism and Democracy: Past, Present, Prospects; a conference hosted by The Zolberg Institute honoring the 30th anniversary of Aristide Zolberg’s book, Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World; and a screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, about the life of James Baldwin, directed by 2019 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Raoul Peck. Just last week, we welcomed our new partnership between the Philip Glass Ensemble and The New School with a concert of the great composer’s music on January 6th. Later this fall, our celebration will culminate with The Festival of NEW, a week-long exploration of our past, present, and future featuring workshops, lectures, performances, exhibitions, and other academic events conceived and designed by The New School community.
The Centennial also marks a moment to engage in a thoughtful process about The New School’s next 100 years and the kind of institution we want to pass on to future generations. In the months ahead, the Provost’s Office is leading a far-reaching project to imagine a renewed vision for The New School’s future. We hope all members of our community will participate in this transformational endeavor. More information about how you can get involved in the Centennial Project will be available soon.
A century on, The New School’s academic vision is more vital and relevant than ever. Thank you for being part of this extraordinary community and for the contributions that you make to it. We look forward to spending time with all of you throughout this exciting year.