Serving for the last twelve months as President of New School University has been a life-changing experience for me. I have learned a great deal from the University's faculty, students, administrators, trustees and volunteer community. New School University, which could exist only in New York City, is a most distinguished and vital academic institution. I am proud to be its seventh President.

New School University's mission has always been tied to the unique nature of New York City. Elsewhere in this annual report, you will read about initiatives under way in the University's divisions to participate in rebuilding the city. We are working for the future while staying connected to the city's daily rhythms. These initiatives focus on understanding global terrorism, advising government officials on economic development in the aftermath of the disaster and advocating for urban environmental reforms.

Reinforcing our ties to New York City and playing a role in the decisions made in our community are just part of my vision for New School University. The Board of Trustees has given me a mission: unite the University's eight academic divisions. There is still confusion in the outside world about the identity of New School University and what sets it apart from other institutions of higher education. To focus our m›ssion and goals, I offer this clear definition. New School University is a New York City university. Three liberal arts colleges—the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, The New School and Eugene Lang College—form our foundation. Rising from this foundation are five professional schools—Parsons School of Design, Mannes College of Music, the Actors Studio Drama School, the Jazz & Contemporary Music Program and the Robert J. Milano School of Management and Urban Policy.

But New School University is much more than an organizational structure. The University has an 83-year-old mission that is essential for the success of liberal democracies: the education of traditional undergraduate students and the continuing education of men and women seeking further growth. At New School University, we do not just promise our students credits and degrees—we promise a life-changing education. We pride ourselves on rigorous academic standards, critical thinking, small class sizes and an enduring commitment to social justice.

Mindful of our history and our accomplishments, we know that we will not survive by standing still. We must constantly move forward in the pursuit of greatness.

Thus, we plan to launch a major effort to strengthen our liberal arts foundation by increasing the full-time faculty at Eugene Lang College, The New School and the Graduate Faculty.

We intend to invest heavily in Eugene Lang College, with the goal of bringing it to the highest levels of academic excellence.

We will invest in The New School so that it can enroll more working adults who are either returning to get a degree or continuing their education. And we intend to make New School Online University a leader in providing high quality, affordable education.

At the Graduate Faculty, we will continue the social research that informs us about our lives as free men and women. Our core purpose is advancing the cause of global social justice. Our core belief is that the study and understanding of philosophy, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology and psychology are indispensable for human beings who want truth to guide their actions.

We will commit equal effort to our professional schools. We intend to strengthen Parsons School of Design by recognizing that inspired design is not a luxury; it is a much-needed solution to a human problem. Inspired design enables us to expand our reach, to realize our dreams and to connect to a higher purpose. Parsons will equip our students to engage in these all-important problem-solving efforts.

We intend to strengthen Mannes College of Music, where young men and women train to perform in the world's symphony orchestras and operas. Teaching music to gifted students has always been and always will be expensive. But what a richer world we have as a consequence.

We will continue to prepare those who write, direct and perform the stories of our lives in dramatic ways. The newest member of our University, the Actors Studio Drama School, has been a spectacular success.

We intend to build our Jazz & Contemporary Music Program. This music is at the heart of urban life, and the students who dedicate themselves to keeping this uniquely American tradition alive are vital to our community.

We plan to make the Robert J. Milano School of Management and Urban Policy an even more important part of the problem solving that goes on every day in New York City. And we will follow its lead to make certain that New School University is involved in a major way in helping our political leaders build a stronger city, state and nation.

Above all, we will continue to look for opportunities to do things differently and to do different things. The animating spirit of New School University must always be individual and institutional renewal. We cannot be the New School if we take for granted that everything we are doing now is good enough.

Improving quality within each school and across the board in—the liberal arts, academic programs, student services, faculty, the libraries, technology, facilities, the budget—will directly benefit all divisions and take New School University to the next level of excellence. To accomplish this objective, the Board of Trustees and I have asked each dean to set quality goals in academic programs and to develop a five-year aspirational plan for reaching them. We also have asked each officer of an administrative unit to conduct an operational quality review. Next year, I will report on the University's progress and results.

This annual report highlights many of the University's recent achievements, as well as future plans and initiatives. Let me mention here just a few of our latest successes.

• Recognizing that new technology can enhance learning, we have implemented a wireless network to provide World Wide Web access in the dormitories, lounges, cafeterias and classrooms.
  
• Work is progressing on University Hall, an 18,000 square foot facility with a 200-seat cultural center for lectures and performances, two murals by Sol LeWitt, a beautiful art gallery and student gathering spaces.
  
• In fall 2001, we opened a new dormitory at 84 William Street, housing over 400 students. In fact, for the first time, the University is housing all new undergraduates who have requested a dorm room.
  
• The University added ten new full-time faculty members this past fall, including Alice Rivlin, who was appointed the Henry Cohen Professor at the Milano Graduate School.
  
• We have increased student scholarships, in particular for underrepresented groups, and we have added new programs, including a master's degree in international affairs at The New School that enrolled its first class last fall.
  
• Of course, the financial health of a university is an important measure of its performance, and I am delighted to report that this year the University earned the highest marks all around on this score. Executive Vice President Jim Murtha reports on this achievement in his introduction to the 2001 and 2000 financial statements.
  

New School University's commitment to high academic standards and quality is widely known and respected and has helped to make us a world university. In my first year as President, we have renewed our commitment to maintaining and building on our past achievements, our high standards and our quality, and to enhancing the cohesiveness and interrelation of our schools. I do not see a university brand eclipsing the individual strengths of the divisions. Rather, I see a collaboration in which the divisions help brand the University. The University is the glue—intellectual, financial and administrative—that holds these divisions together.

Our unity of purpose is strengthened by our commitment to New School University as an ethical enterprise—a 21st-century ethical enterprise. Our history is a story of brave Americans who founded a new school in 1919 because they refused to conform to written litmus tests of national loyalty. They were also unwilling to define this school by the conventions of other universities. And so we became a refuge for 180 European intellectuals whose lives were at risk after the Nazis came to power in 1933. We also became a place where adults could continue their learning as the circumstances and needs of their lives changed. We cannot and should not separate ourselves from our storied past. Our conception of the University as a 21st-century ethical enterprise will honor and enhance our historical mission.

Our commitment is reflected in the values we embrace: an expansive intellectual life that crosses standard disciplinary boundaries and that emphasizes global democracy and human rights in a civil society. We champion free speech and independent thinking within our campus and beyond. We are open to new ideas and willing to engage in new challenges. We understand and engage in international matters. We advocate an emphasis on education and economic opportunity as key initiatives in the United States' war on terrorism. American and foreign students alike need to gain an appreciation for the democratic values and skills necessary for active participation in self-government. When some of our elected representatives considered restricting student immigration in response to the events of September 11, I wrote in an op-ed for the Daily News that "the welcoming of foreign students contributes to the cause of freedom and democracy. For American and foreign students alike, our universities are the training grounds for democracy. Foreign students attending classes in the U.S. are witnesses to a free and tolerant society. They not only observe freedom, they participate in its democratic process. In our classrooms and dorms, students openly share views with fellow students from all over the world. Together they study and debate. Through the words of Plato, Lincoln and Gandhi, they learn an appreciation for one another and humanity—an appreciation wanting in many parts of the world."

One of the bedrock strengths of New York City and New School University is that we welcome all people on this earth, drawing intellectual and cultural vitality from their diversity. New York City is home or host to people from every nation, every ethnic group, every tribe, every sect on earth. In a world where nations and regions are dissolving in ethnic violence, New York City and New School University are beacons of hope.

New School University needs to be united in its selection of projects. These projects should include understanding global terrorism and world religions, advocating on crucial issues like the environment, promoting social and economic justice and serving educated citizens at home and abroad. Related to public and private issues and focused on New York City, these projects can unite our eight distinct schools and programs while serving the city that is so vital to the University.

I am very optimistic about the future of New School University and about the city and the world its graduates will live in and shape. The vision presented in my essay is challenging, but I know that together we can take New School University to the next level of success.

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