The New School’s restructuring has moved from planning to execution, with layoff notices now reaching roughly 15 percent of the university’s employees.
The New York institution is cutting 19 full-time faculty members, 10 of them tenured, after months of voluntary retirement and severance offers. Thirty other faculty members were reassigned from discontinued programs to other departments. The changes also include a reduction from four colleges to two, the discontinuation of more than a dozen academic programs, and a pause on most doctoral admissions.
Among the programs being eliminated is the master’s in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship. Liberal arts programs at the School of Public Engagement and Eugene Lang College will be merged as part of the reorganization. The scale of the cuts has sharpened criticism from faculty and labor representatives, who say the process has been abrupt and opaque.
Provost Richard Kessler defended the move as a response to financial strain, saying the university has been operating with a $50 million annual deficit and $160 million in accumulated deficit. He said the school also has 20 percent fewer students than it did at its 2021 peak, leaving it with a workforce larger than current enrollment can support.
Kessler also pointed to broader pressure on higher education, especially the uncertainty surrounding international students. According to a New York Times analysis, international students made up 40 percent of The New School’s student body in 2023, one of the highest shares among four-year colleges and universities in the United States.
The university has framed the restructuring as a painful but necessary correction. Faculty and union critics, however, continue to question both the scope of the cuts and the way they were carried out, suggesting the conflict is likely to remain central as the institution tries to stabilize its finances and redefine its academic footprint.
