The New School Announces New Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and New Dean of Mannes School of Music
New York, September 11, 2025—The New School today announced two senior appointments at the university’s College of Performing Arts: Stephen Brown-Fried, Vice Dean for Curriculum and Learning of the College of Performing Arts, has been named Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts; and Bill Gustafson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Mannes School of Music, has been appointed Dean of Mannes School of Music and Associate Dean of the College of Performing Arts. Brown-Fried and Gustafson begin in their new roles immediately.
As Executive Dean, Brown-Fried will serve as the College of Performing Arts’ principal academic and strategic leader, overseeing an innovative curriculum, financial and resource management, fundraising and partnerships, and administration and culture.
As Dean of Mannes, Gustafson will provide academic, artistic, and administrative leadership to Mannes students, faculty, and staff. He will also be instrumental in leading the College of Performing Arts as a member of the college Deans Council and Associate Dean of the college, representing Mannes, Jazz, and Drama.
Brown-Fried and Gustafson succeed Richard Kessler, who was recently named The New School’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and previously held the dual appointment of Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
In announcing the appointments, Provost Kessler said: “Leadership transitions are profoundly important moments in the life of any institution. Communities wonder about what such transitions will augur for the future and can worry about what it will mean for the students, faculty, and staff. That future for the College of Performing Arts and Mannes could not be in better hands. Both Steve and Bill are steeped in all things necessary for success and each of them represents a continuation of a long tradition of gifted artist-administrator-leaders, going all the way back to David, Clara, and Leopold Mannes.”
An award-winning director, educator, and arts leader, Brown-Fried has been part of the College of Performing Arts since 2008. He has served as a guest director, part time faculty member, Co-Chair of Directing, Associate Dean of the School of Drama, and for the past four years as College Vice Dean for Curriculum and Learning. During his time at the College of Performing Arts, he has taught in the BFA and MFA programs at the School of Drama as well as in the MA program in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship, and has directed numerous productions for the School of Drama and Mannes Sounds Festival, including the 2025 production of Ofer Ben-Amots’s chamber opera, The Dybbuk; or Between Two Worlds.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve The College of Performing Arts and its constituent schools—The School of Drama, Mannes School of Music, and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, which have been my home for over fifteen years,” said Brown-Fried. “Our faculty, staff, and students are some of the most inspiring artists and educators I have ever met, and I could not be more thrilled to serve as an advocate for their exquisite artistry and groundbreaking work to develop the next generation of arts leaders.”
Gustafson is an award-winning producer, director, teacher, and administrator, who began his tenure as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Mannes School of Music in 2014. Upon his appointment, Gustafson played an immediate and vital role in the implementation of Mannes in a New Key, the strategic plan for Mannes authored in 2013 and in the eventual integration of Mannes into the College of Performing Arts formed in 2015. Over the course of his nearly twelve year tenure at Mannes, he has led successful efforts related to curricular development and assessment, enrollment management and student retention, new faculty appointments, and the expansion of curricular offerings and performance opportunities for students at both the undergraduate and graduate degree levels.
“It is an honor to be named Dean of Mannes School of Music, and I deeply appreciate the opportunity to steward one of the world’s most celebrated music conservatories into the future,” said Gustafson. “I’m excited to further my work with the talented students, faculty, and staff at Mannes, as well as my colleagues throughout the College of Performing Arts, to ensure that our school has a bright and important future.”
Brown-Fried holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Drama from Stanford University, where he graduated with honors, and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the Yale School of Drama, where he was the recipient of the Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize in Directing. In addition to his work at The New School, he has served on the faculties of the Yale School of Drama, Marymount Manhattan College, the National Theatre Institute, and the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, and has guest directed productions at Julliard, NYU Graduate Acting, The Yale School of Drama, and SMU Meadows School of the Arts, among others.
Gustafson holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts and a Master of Music Degree from the University of Michigan, a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University, and a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Connecticut. Prior to his work at Mannes, Gustafson served as an Associate Provost at Long Island University, as an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music, and as the Director of Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory. In addition to his academic appointments, Gustafson has guest directed operatic productions at the Central City Opera Company, Sarasota Opera, Opera Birmingham, Handel and Haydn Society, and Boston Baroque among other companies. He also produced and directed the critically acclaimed 2017 production of Robert Ashley’s “Dust,” at Mannes.
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.