Former UN General Assembly President Maria Espinosa, Fashion Designer and Sustainability Advocate Yeohlee Teng, Award Winning Movie Producer Christine Vachon, and Lawyer and Civil Rights Advocate William D. Zabel Named Honorary Degree Recipients by The New School
New School President Joel Towers will Preside Over the University’s 89th Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 16 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn
NEW YORK, May 1, 2025 — Politician, diplomat, and humanitarian advocate Maria Espinosa; fashion designer and sustainability advocate Yeohlee Teng; and award-winning film producer and The New School’s 2024 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Christine Vachon will receive honorary degrees during The New School’s 89th commencement exercises on Friday, May 16, 2025 at 3:30 pm EDT. The New School’s honorary degrees recognize individuals who exemplify the university’s principles of academic excellence, social justice, civic engagement, and creative experimentation.
Espinosa will deliver the keynote address during the ceremony. Graduating students Luis Ternera Losada, BBA ’25, Strategic Design and Management, and Ayan Huseynli, MA ’25, International Affairs will also give remarks to The New School’s Class of 2025, which includes more than 3,000 associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates in art and design, the social sciences, the humanities, management, and the performing arts.
New School President Joel Towers will preside over the ceremony which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “True to our university founders’ vision, The New School continues to evolve and advance the creation of new knowledge and its application to the most pressing issues of our time. We are thrilled to honor Maria Espinosa, Yeohlee Teng, and Christine Vachon, who, through their inspiring advocacy, creativity, and public service have worked to address profound challenges facing the world in ways that well represent the values of The New School.”
ABOUT THE HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS:
María Fernanda Espinosa, Diplomat and Human Rights Advocate
María Fernanda Espinosa is a politician, diplomat, and human rights advocate with more than 30 years experience in international relations, human rights, gender equality, sustainable development, among other issues of importance. She was the first woman from Latin America and the Caribbean to serve as the President of the United Nations General Assembly, from 2018-2019, and has served as Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of National Defense. She was recognized as one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women worldwide in 2019, and has received the “Eleanor Roosevelt Award” from the United Nations Association of the United States (2022), the Sir Brian Urquhart Award from the UN Association of the United Kingdom for her “Distinguished Service to the UN” (2021), the “5th Sun Award” for her “outstanding contribution to advance the agenda of the rights of Indigenous Peoples” (2021), and the Rehabilitation International Award for Outstanding Achievements in Innovation for her “innovative work advancing the rights of persons with disabilities globally” (2019). Currently, Espinosa is the President of the Cities Alliance, and Executive Director of Global Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion GWL Voices. Additionally, she is a member of several leading international organizations, including the Board of Trustees of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN Advisory Board on Human Security, and the International Crisis Group.
Yeohlee Teng, Fashion Designer
Yeohlee Teng is a Malaysian-born American fashion designer known for her innovative, sustainable, and functional approach to clothing. She founded YEOHLEE Inc. in 1981 and received the Smithsonian Institution Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design in 2004. Her work is featured in major institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and The Museum at FIT in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Teng studied at Parsons School of Design and has worked for her entire career in New York City’s Garment District, where she has designed, developed, and produced her timeless collections. In 2004, she received a National Design Award from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. A pioneer of zero-waste fashion, a movement emphasizing efficiency, sustainability, and versatility, she coined the term “urban nomad” in 1997 to describe a lifestyle that demands adaptable, seasonless clothing. In 2021, she was honored with the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Board of Directors’ Tribute, presented by Michael Kors. This accolade was given in recognition of her groundbreaking work in sustainable fashion and her commitment to the domestic manufacturing industry in the Garment District.
Christine Vachon, Film Producer
Christine Vachon is a film producer who founded Killer Films with Pamela Koffler in 1995. She was selected as The New School’s 2024 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence, which was created to honor esteemed filmmakers and promote excellence and education of the filmmaking arts at The New School. Over three decades, Vachon’s Killer Films has produced more than 100 films, including such celebrated independent features as Kids, I Shot Andy Warhol, Happiness, Boys Don’t Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Far from Heaven, One Hour Photo, Still Alice, Carol, Beatriz at Dinner, and Dark Waters. The company has received a number of accolades for its films, including two Independent Spirit Awards and two Gotham Awards. Vachon also executive-produced the Emmy and Golden Globe Award–winning miniseries Mildred Pierce for HBO and the Emmy Award–winning limited series Halston for Netflix. Recent film releases include Todd Haynes’ May December (Netflix), starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, and Celine Song’s Past Lives (A24), which earned Vachon her first Oscar nomination, in the Best Picture category.
William D. Zabel, Lawyer and Civil Rights Advocate
For more than 50 years, William D. Zabel has been an advocate for civil rights in the U.S. and abroad. Zabel currently serves as a member of The New School’s Board of Trustees and is the Founding Partner of Schulte Roth & Zabel. Among Zabel’s noted achievements, he authored the lead brief on behalf of the ACLU in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage, and also investigated the cases of those who disappeared in Chile during General Augusto Pinochet’s “Dirty War.” Zabel has received many awards and honors for his work, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Lawyer, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Human Rights Award, Brandeis University’s Distinguished Community Service Award, The New School’s Distinguished Service Award, the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights Extraordinary Leader Award, the Champion for Change Award from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, and the inaugural Robert F. Kennedy Justice Prize from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
ABOUT THE STUDENT SPEAKERS:
Ayan Huseynli, MA International Affairs ’25
Originally from Azerbaijan, Ayan Huseynli studies International Affairs at The New School with a focus on issues affecting women and children in displacement. Drawing from her personal background as a member of an internally displaced family from Karabakh, she brings a lived understanding of the complexities of humanitarian work. She has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and holds a certificate of active participation in COP29, issued by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After graduation, she plans to continue her journey as a humanitarian worker, committed to serving people through advocacy, policy, and direct action.
Luis Ternera Losada, BBA Strategic Design and Management ’25
Luis Ternera Losada, a creative strategist from Bogotá, Colombia, is studying Strategic Design and Management at The New School’s Parsons School of Design. His focus is on thoughtful storytelling, crafting narratives that not only engage audiences but shift perspectives across industries. Luis sees the world through a culture-first lens, drawing on his background in art history, world languages, and design to cultivate a human-centered approach to life.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Merrie Snead, Senior Manager of Communications
sneadm@newschool.edu