Hundreds Rally Outside the New School to Protest Faculty and Program Cuts
Today, December 10, a crowd of around 300 students, staff, and supporters gathered outside the New School in Manhattan to protest against proposed faculty and program cuts. The demonstrators expressed their concerns about the potential impact of these cuts on the institution’s progressive social research mission.
The New School, known for its Parsons School of Design and College of Performing Arts, is currently facing a $48 million budget deficit. Administrators attribute this deficit to rising costs, federal funding cuts, and declining enrollment, with only 8,900 students enrolled this fall, the lowest in a decade.
Critics of the administration claim that financial mismanagement is the real cause of the shortfall and argue that faculty members are being unfairly burdened with the consequences. According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), approximately 40% of full-time faculty members have received buyout or early retirement offers.
Protesters at the rally highlighted the New School’s legacy as an institution founded in 1919 to challenge traditional educational norms and address real-world issues. They voiced concerns that the proposed cutbacks would undermine the school’s fundamental mission.
New School President Joel Towers recently announced cost-cutting measures, including a freeze on PhD admissions for the upcoming academic year, salary reductions, and the discontinuation of programs with low demand. The AAUP has criticized these measures as extreme and warned of the potential consequences for programs in social sciences and humanities.
Despite the administration’s reassurances that the restructuring plan aims to align the university’s finances with its mission, faculty and students remain skeptical. The plan includes merging several colleges into two academic units and discontinuing programs with low enrollment.
Similar financial challenges have been faced by other private universities, such as the California Institute of the Arts and the School of Visual Arts, which have also implemented staff reductions in response to budget deficits.
Students and faculty at the New School are calling for a reconsideration of the proposed measures, including rescinding buyout offers and implementing salary caps. With the end of the fall semester approaching, concerns about the future of faculty members and programs remain high.
One Parsons School of Design professor expressed her anxiety about the situation, highlighting the uncertainty facing her colleagues. Students have also shared stories of emotional reactions from professors who received buyout notices, raising concerns about the impact on program quality and faculty workload.
