JOEL TOWERS NAMED INTERIM DEAN OF PARSONS
Joel Towers has been appointed Interim Dean of Parsons The New School for Design. Previously, Towers served as Dean of Parsons’ School of Design Strategies, which houses Parsons’ programs in Integrated Design, Design and Management, and the Foundation year. Towers was appointed Dean after Tim Marshall, who held the post for the past three years, was appointed Interim Provost of The New School.
“Joel is a remarkable academic leader whose strengths have played out in several progressive roles at Parsons and The New School," said New School President Bob Kerrey.
For the past two years, Towers has led the formation of Parsons’ School of Design Strategies, which is developing new graduate programs in transdisciplinary design and design management, as well as collaborating on the university-wide initiatives in urban design and environmental studies.
"As incoming Dean of Parsons, I look forward to building upon the impressive work that Tim has accomplished as dean, by advancing key priorities and initiatives already underway as well as identifying new strategic opportunities," said Towers.
Towers came to The New School in 2004 in a new role as director of Sustainable Design and Urban Ecology. In 2006, he became the inaugural director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center and Associate Provost for Environmental Studies. He helped to design the new university-wide Environmental Studies degrees that are now jointly offered by Parsons and Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. This innovative undergraduate program goes beyond natural ecology and resource conservation, emphasizing urban ecosystems, sustainable design, and public policy.
Towers previously served as a professor in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation and co-founder of the architecture firm Sislian, Rothstein and Towers (SR+T Architects).
PARSONS FASHION BENEFIT A GREAT SUCCESS
The stars turned out last week for the Parsons Fashion Benefit honoring Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa and Tom Murry. Anna Wintour, Donna Karan, Eva Mendes, Marc Jacobs, Russell Simmons, Tracy Reese, Phillip Lim, Helena Christensen, and Molly Sims were among those who gathered on April 29 at Cipriani Wall Street to support scholarships and academic programs at Parsons.
Parsons also presented the Student Icon Award, which is given by the graduating class to a powerful voice in the fashion community that inspires their work, to New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn. Alumnus and fashion designer Peter Som introduced a film about life at Parsons and recounted his own time as a student at Parsons.
One highlight of the evening was a runway show featuring the collections of 18 Designer of the Year candidates, selected from over 170 graduating BFA Fashion Design students for their outstanding thesis collections. This year’s winners, announced at the benefit, are Julia Blum and Rob Fitzsimmons for womenswear, Edward Lorenz Tan for menswear, and Anika Gupta and Azumi Nishizawa for childrenswear.
Each year, the benefit celebrates visionaries who have significantly contributed to the field of fashion design. Francisco Costa, the Women’s Creative Director at Calvin Klein, and Tom Murry, the President and CEO of Calvin Klein, were honored for their accomplishments and dedication to nurturing new design talent. “Calvin Klein has a longstanding relationship with Parsons,” Costa said. “And we are always impressed with their students’ high level of talent.”
"This year's benefit was truly a team effort," said Simon Collins, Dean of Fashion at Parsons. "Talented students from across Parsons created the Parsons Fashion Film and worked on the lighting, set, and web design for the benefit show and the special static exhibition celebrating our collaborations with Henri Bendel, Cesare Paciotti, and Swarovski.”
12th Street, the literary journal of the Riggio Honors Program: Writing and Democracy, has won the Program Directors Prize for Undergraduate Lit Magazine in Design award for 2009 from the Association of Writers and Writing Program (AWP).
Instituted by the directors of AWP member creative writing programs, the prizes are awarded annually in the categories of content and design. Each winning magazine—one in content, one in design—receives a $500 cash award.
The first issue of 12th Street was published in April of last year. The journal features fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from undergraduates at The New School and is edited by students in the Riggio Honors Program under the guidance of Rene Steinke, Riggio faculty member, National Book Award finalist, and former editor-in-chief of the Literary Review. The Riggio Writing and Democracy Initiative at The New School is funded by Leonard and Louise Riggio.
Please join 12th Street at the Union Square Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th Street, on Monday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m., for the launch of the second issue. Readers include student contributors, the poet Dorothea Lasky and New School Writing Program faculty members Mark Bibbins, Douglas A. Martin, and Sigrid Nunez.
The designer of the journal, Brian McMullen, is an artist and writer living in San Francisco. His work has appeared in The Believer, Cabinet, McSweeney's, and dot dot dot. A boxed set of 100 postcards he curated for McSweeney's, titled Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face, will be out in June.
12th Street accepts submissions from all undergraduate students at The New School. The journal is nationally distributed by Barnes & Noble. For more information about the Riggio program and the journal, please visit The New School Riggio website and the 12th Street Journal website.
THE NEW SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT TO BE HELD ON MAY 22
Dean of Yale Law School, expert on international law, and advocate for human and civil rights Harold Hongju Koh will deliver the address at the university’s commencement ceremony on Friday, May 22, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. President Bob Kerrey will address the graduates and confer honorary degrees on Koh, philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah; playwright, performer, and activist Eve Ensler; legendary opera singer Regina Resnik; and statesman and philanthropist John C. Whitehead.
SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2009
Service beyond the call of duty...outstanding performance...Always great...The best! Do these phrases remind you of a New School staff member? Every year the university awards the Service Excellence Award to recognize the contribution of a member of the administrative, clerical, facilities, or security staff of The New School community.
This years winners are:
- Tsuya Yee, Director of Academic Support, Office of Academic Affairs & Scholarships, The New School for Social Research
- Jessica Arnold, Director of Alumni Relations, Office of Development
- Daniel Nicasio, University Room Scheduler, Design, Construction and Facilities Management
- Laura Cosgrove, Administrative Operations Manager, Office of Finance and Business
- Anthony D'Ascoli, Cleaner, Facilities Management
NEWS FROM EUGENE LANG COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS
TOO MANY COOKS: LANG ARTS IN CONTEXT SENIOR SEMINAR SHOWCASE
The Lang Arts in Context graduating students will present a showcase on Thursday May 7, and Friday May 8, at 7:00 p.m., highlighting the culmination of their undergraduate academic experience.
The showcase will feature dance, acting, music, and visual art by the following Lang Students: Kathryn Bachman, Olof Benediktsdottir, Charles Bookman, Annie Feld, Aaron Frank, Erin Gallagher, Justine Harrison, Jenna Hoff, Cynthia Laplaige, Natasha Magariel, Nadia Mathys, Kaija Matiss, Annick Mayer, Fernando Jose, Neda Castro, Sophie Okulick, Adam Rejwan, Natalie Roy, Jessica Seeley, and Rhett Wheeler.
This free event will take place in Wollman Hall, Eugene Lang Building, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor.
STEM CELLS IN THE CITY: FILM SCREENING OF HOPE DEFERRED
On Tuesday May 5, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., a free screening of the documentary short film Hope Deferred, directed by the award-winning author and widely-acclaimed adman, Jimmy Siegel and produced by the Brook Ellison Project, will take place in the Theresa Lang Student and Community Center, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor.
The film is a personal plea to understanding the importance of stem cell research and an effort to provide information and clarify mistruths. It provides a refreshing look at the public’s perception of stem cell science and the legislation surrounding it, as well as commentary from leaders in the field of stem cell science.
Katayoun Chamany, associate professor of Biology, Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts will moderate a discussion following the screening. Speakers will include: Jimmy Siegel, director of Hope Deferred, and partner of a-political, an issue and advocacy marketing firm established in 2006; and Brooke Ellison, M.A., Stem Cell Advocate; founder and president of the Brooke Ellison Project; and member of the New York State Stem Cell Science Ethics Committee.
This event is sponsored by Eugene Lang College and the Project Pericles. For more details on the film visit the Brooke Ellison Project website. For more information of this series contact Katayoun Chamany.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR GENERAL STUDIES
CONSIDERING FORGIVENESS BOOK LAUNCH
On Monday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. The New School will celebrate the publication of Considering Forgiveness, the first Vera List Center book, edited by Aleksandra Wagner, faculty member at The New School for General Studies.
Wagner will be moderating a panel where contributors to the publication will gather for an intimate conversation on the political currency of forgiveness. Confirmed participants include filmmaker Anne Aghion; writer and filmmaker Gregg Bordowitz; artists Lin + Lam; scholar Jeffrey Olick; writer and radio talk show host Brian Price; writer and playwright Jane Taylor; and psychoanalyst and scholar Elisabeth Young-Bruehl.
This free event, which is copresented by D.A.P. (Distributed Art Publishers) and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School, will be held at the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor.
REALLY? JANE TAYLOR ON SINCERITY
On Wednesday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m., Jane Taylor a South African playwright and critic, and a contributor to the Vera List Center’s book Considering Forgiveness, will give a lecture examining “sincerity,” drawing from her work with visual artist William Kentridge and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Jane Taylor, Wits School of the Arts, Skye Chair of Dramatic Art, and Head of the Division of Dramatic Arts, has a PhD in English from Northwestern University. In 1996, she curated a series of cultural responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These events, called Fault Lines, included an art exhibition; a piece of theatre; a series of readings; a conference; and a workshop for journalists covering the commission.
This talk will take place at Wollman Hall, Lang Building, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor. Admission is $8, and free for all students as well as New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
FACULTY MEMBER PUBLISHES NEW BOOK ON REGIME CHANGE
Elzbieta Matynia, associate professor of Sociology and Liberal Studies at The New School for Social Research, and director of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, offers a fresh take on regime change in her recently published book, Performative Democracy.
Drawing upon both personal experience in her native Poland and concepts of J.L. Austin, Hannah Arendt, and Mikhail Bakhtin, she introduces a whole new way of both understanding and enacting nonviolent democratic change. By tracing the gradual emergence of a democratic public sphere within a totalitarian regime (starting with student theater), she reminds us that our geopolitical world did not suddenly change overnight with the fall of the Berlin Wall, and identifies some of the pre-conditions for the kinds of negotiation that without bloodshed brought down Communism in 1989 and apartheid in 1993. But in two chapters on the role of women she also underscores the ongoing challenge of sustaining authentic democratic process.
In translation, this richly empirical, historical, and theoretical work has won recently wide acclaim in Poland. The original is already out in hard cover from Paradigm Publishers, as part of its Yale Cultural Sociology Series, and the soft-cover edition will be out in August, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the peaceful dismantling of communism in East and Central Europe.
ANNUAL NSSR POLITICS GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE:
AGAINST THE CURRENT: POWER, ORDER, RESISTANCE
On Friday, May 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the annual New School for Social Research Politics Graduate Student Conference will be held.
This interdisciplinary conference which features a keynote address by Amy Allen and a brown bag lunch with political activist and author Victoria Law, seeks to problematize and contextualize the complex themes of resistance, power, and order within historical and contemporary political discourses. For a full conference schedule visit The New School for Social Research event calendar.
Amy Allen is associate professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies and chair of the Philosophy Department at Dartmouth College, where she has taught since 1997. Her research interests are in 20th century Continental Philosophy, with a particular emphasis on the intersection of critical social theory, poststructuralism, and feminist theory. She has published widely on the topics of power, subjectivity, agency, and autonomy in the work of Foucault, Habermas, Butler, and Arendt, including two books: The Power of Feminist Theory: Domination, Resistance, Solidarity (Westview, 1999) and The Politics of Our Selves: Power, Autonomy, and Gender in Contemporary Critical Theory (Columbia University Press, 2008).
This free event will take place at the New Wolff Conference Room, 6 East 16th Street, 9th floor.
NEWS FROM
THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
AND
EUGENE LANG COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS
FACULTY MEMBER AWARDED A HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP
Alice Crary, associate professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Studies, received a Humboldt Foundation Fellowship for Experienced Researchers and will spend the 2009-10 academic year at the University of Frankfurt to complete a book titled, Minding Our Fellow Creatures: Humans, Animals, Right and Wrong.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was established in Berlin 18 months after the death of Alexander von Humboldt in 1860. It provided support for German scientists setting off on research journeys to other countries. After losing its endowment capital in the inflation of 1923, it was re-founded in 1945. Its purpose was now to support foreign academics and doctoral candidates during their studies in Germany. After the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, the foundation ceased functioning. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established by the Federal Republic of Germany on December 10, 1953 at the behest of former Humboldt guest researchers. The headquarters were located in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, as they are today. Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 1,800 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The foundation maintains a network of some 23,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in 130 countries worldwide—including 40 Nobel Prize winners.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
NEW SCHOOL JAZZ FACULTY ON BASS WITH STREISAND
New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music faculty Jeff Carney (bass) appeared with music legend, Barbra Streisand on CBS TV on Saturday, April 25. The program, “Streisand: Live In Concert” featured standout performances from Streisand's record-breaking 2006 North American tour.
Jeff Carney has accompanied Stan Getz, Art Farmer, John Abercrombie, Bobby McFerrin, Dewey Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, and Clifford Jordan, as well as Sting, James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Elton John. Principal bassist with the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Carney has played with the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Broadway orchestras for Secret Garden and Beauty and the Beast, and on film soundtracks including Lethal Weapon III, Prelude to a Kiss, Interview with a Vampire, and Pocahontas. He holds a BM from San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
MIGUEL ZENON AT NEW SCHOOL JAZZ
On April 28, acclaimed jazz alto saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenon was a guest artist at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, hosted by faculty member Rory Stuart in Stuart's advanced Rhythmic Analysis class. In this setting, Zenon worked in open session with students at various levels from several rhythm classes. He focused on four of his original compositions, chosen to highlight the rhythmic concepts in and challenges of his music. Participants had the unique opportunity to prepare several compositions provided to them directly by Zenon, (by his own quartet and by the innovative San Francisco Jazz Collective, of which he is a founding member), and to perform for Zenon's feedback.
Winner of numerous grants and awards, including a recent Guggenheim Fellowship and prestigious MacArthur Grant, Zenon composes, records, and tours extensively across continents with his quartet, SFJC, and other major artists. Hailed by The MacArthur Foundation as "reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century," Zenon also makes teaching a priority, and in 2003 was part of the Kennedy Center's Jazz Ambassador's Program.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA
DRAMA ANNOUNCES FINAL DRAFT 2009 PLAYWRIGHT SHOWCASE
The New School for Drama presents FINAL DRAFT 2009, its annual playwright showcase, Monday through Wednesday, May 11-13.
This year’s presentation of new play readings features stimulating and provocative work from Drama’s MFA Playwriting class of 2009. The program’s faculty includes Laura Maria Censabella, Jon Robin Baitz, Christopher Shinn, Frank Pugliese, Nicole Burdette, and Michael Weller, under the direction of Chair Pippin Parker. All readings are professionally directed and feature Drama students along side professional actors.
Monday, May 11
- 5:00 p.m., Funny by Gabe McKinley, directed by Pippin Parker
- 7:30 p.m., The Word by Zay Amsbury, directed by TBA
Tuesday, May 12
- 5:00 p.m., Green River by Rachel White, directed by TBA
- 7:30 p.m., George Washington Performs “Cato” for his Troops at Valley Forge; by Paul David Young, directed by Diana Basmajian
Wednesday, May 13
- 5:00 p.m., Weird Abundance by Rebecca Stokes, directed by Web Begole
- 7:30 p.m., The House on Kenfield Road by Diana Polansky, directed by Heidi Carlsen
Readings are free and open to the public. For reservations, please call 212.229.5859 x2628. Presentations are at The New School for Drama Theater, 151 Bank Street, 3rd floor.
Visit the drama website for descriptions of the plays and to read excerpts.
DRAMA LEAGUE PARTNERS WITH THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DIRECTORS’ SYMPOSIUM
On Saturday, May 16, The Drama League in conjunction with The New School for Drama will present the 2009 Directors’ Project Symposium Directing Today—and the next 25 Years, as part of the Project’s 25th anniversary alumni weekend. The symposium begins at 10:00 a.m. at The New School for Drama, 151 Bank Street, with a presentation and keynote speech by Oskar Eustis, artistic director for The Public Theater.
A full series of panel discussions will continue throughout the day, featuring a variety of accomplished industry professionals, including director Diane Paulus (Hair), Ginny Louloudis (executive director of ART/NY), Carl Forsman (artistic director of the Keen Company), Morgan Jenness (Abrams Artists Agency), Kristin Marting (artistic director of HERE), and Alex Timbers (artistic director of Les Freres Corbusier). Panel topics include: "Directing and Producing Theatre in the New Economy", "The Director / Playwright Relationship", "The Business of Show: Promoting and Marketing Yourself", and "Articulating and Sustaining Your Artistic Mission."
The Drama League Directors Project is the nation's leading career development program for early and mid-career theatre directors. Founded by former Drama League President Julia Hansen and run by Roger T. Danforth since 1995, the Directors Project is aimed at identifying and helping young, talented directors bridge the gap between academic training and professional success. Through its partnerships with professional theatres across the United States and its commitment to ongoing career development, the Directors Project uniquely supports aspiring theatre artists in America.
"The 25th anniversary of the Directors Project is a wonderful opportunity to bring new attention to the mission and work of the Drama League," said Roger T. Danforth, artistic director of the Directors Project, "and particularly, to the opportunity the Directors Project provides to young talent, to the accomplishment of our alumni, and to its lasting impact on the American Theatre and the entire entertainment industry.”
Admission to the 2009 Directors Project Symposium is free, but seats are limited. To reserve a seat for any of the panels, please email symposium@dramaleague.org.
For a complete schedule of panels and participants, please visit the Drama League website.
NEWS FROM
MANNES COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MUSIC
THE MANNES OPERA PRESENTS VERDI’S LA TRAVIATA
The Mannes Opera of Mannes College The New School for Music, conducted by Joseph Colaneri, will present a fully staged production of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, featuring two international casts of singers from The Mannes Opera accompanied by The Mannes Orchestra. Regina Resnik, master artist-in-residence at Mannes, coached the student performers in vocal technique and style, along with other aspects of operatic performance during a four-week period of intensive rehearsals in the spring. Performances will take place on Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 10, 3:00 p.m. at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68th Street (between Park & Lexington Avenues).
"La Traviata is one of the masterpieces of Giuseppe Verdi's middle period—a time when Verdi explored intimate relationships in great detail. Verdi's genius is that he can express the deepest human emotions in completely musical terms and it is exciting for the students of the Mannes Opera to have the opportunity to encounter this great genius," observed Colaneri.
Verdi’s La Traviata is one of the most popular operas ever composed. Premiering in March 1853 at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the opera is based on the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title “La Traviata” means literally “the woman who strayed” or “the fallen one.”
Tickets are required: $30 for general admission; $10 for seniors and students with valid ID. Tickets are available at the Kaye Playhouse Box Office, East 68th Street (between Park & Lexington Avenues). Call 212.772.4448 for more information.
MANNES FACULTY COMPOSITIONS TO BE PERFORMED IN VILNIUS, LITHUANIA
Mannes faculty member Faye-Ellen Silverman has been invited to Vilnius, Lithuania, to be a guest of the US Embassy in connection with a presentation of her compositions, as part of a month long celebration, Opening Windows into a Different America. Throughout Lithuania, the American Center has organized events with various cultural partners to offer a glimpse of America's open and inventive character.
On Thursday, May 14 and Friday May 15, in an evening titled, “The Wings of Night: A Celebration of the Millennium of Lithuania,” will feature Silverman’s composition for choir and classical guitar, receiving its world premiere. The piece features guitarist Volkmar Zimmermann (Denmark); the Jauna Muzika Choir; and conductor Roland Haraldson (Denmark), in cooperation with the Danish Cultural Institute.
Silverman is a founding member of Music Under Construction and the International Women’s Brass Conference. She is the recipient of many awards and commissions and her music has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic, among many other orchestras and chamber ensembles.
NEWS FROM PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
On May 4 and 5, Parsons will present two lectures by international sustainable design expert Ezio Manzini, professor of Industrial Design at Milan Polytechnic and director of CIRIS (the Interdepartmental Centre for Research on Innovation for Sustainability).
On May 4 at 6:00 p.m., Manzini will take part in Design at the Edge—Redesigning Our Lives in an Era of Radical Change, a lecture series organized by Bruce Nussbaum, visiting professor of Innovation and Design at Parsons, as part of his spring course exploring the forces of demographic technological, cultural, economic, and political change that are disrupting our social organizations and personal lives. The lecture will be held in the Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, and is free and open to the public.
On May 5, Manzini will join Arjun Appadurai for “Cultural Change and Urban Resilience,”the annual Stephan Weiss Memorial Lecture, which commemorates the life of artist Stephan Weiss, the late husband of fashion designer Donna Karan. The discussion is also the inaugural event of Design Strategies Dialogue, a new panel series hosted by the School of Design Strategies at Parsons that brings together leading thinkers to discuss contemporary design issues. The discussion will take place from 6-8 p.m. in the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 West 12th Street. The event is free but seating is limited; interested parties should RSVP to designstrategies@newschool.edu.
Manzini’s work focuses on innovative processes in the system of production and consumption and the relationship between product strategies and environmental policies. His most recent book, Sustainable Everyday, envisions what life might be like in a sustainable society, putting forth possible scenarios and workable alternatives. He is also a member of SlowLab, a laboratory for slow design thinking.
PARSONS PROFESSOR PUBLISHES BOOK ON CHICAGO SKYSCRAPERS
The University of Chicago Press has just published Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City, written by Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, assistant professor of architectural history at Parsons. The book explores the significance of Chicago’s great first skyscrapers, which projected the city’s modernity around the world, to the people who built them, worked in them, and gazed up at them.
Chicago 1890 reveals that early skyscrapers offered hotly debated solutions to the city’s toughest problems, and in the process, fostered an urban culture that spread across the country. In the book, Merwood-Salisbury sheds new light on many of Chicago’s defining events—including the violent building trade strikes of the 1880s, the Haymarket bombing, the World’s Columbian Exposition, and Burnham’s Plan of Chicago—by situating the Masonic Temple, the Monadnock, and the Reliance Building at the center of the city’s cultural and political crosscurrents.
While architects and property owners saw these pioneering structures as manifestations of a robust American identity, immigrant laborers and social reformers viewed them as symbols of capitalism’s inequity. Illuminated by rich material from the period’s popular press and professional journals, Chicago 1890 reveals that the skyscraper’s vaunted status was never as inevitable as today’s skylines suggest.
For more information or to purchase Chicago 1890, please visit the University of Chicago press website.
RESULTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE ELECTIONS ARE IN
Voting for the University Student Senate for the 2009-10 academic year has ended. Thirty-four candidates ran for 17 seats, (Mannes will elect its rep in the fall), and a record number of students (1,268) participated in this year’s election.
Listed below are the 17 students who were elected and the schools they represent:
- Tushar Gogi — Milano
- Rachel Scharf — Milano
- Chris Crews — The New School for Social Research
- Eric Eingold — The New School for Social Research
- Alfonso Cuaycong — Parsons
- Nate Kleinman — Parsons
- Sindy Varela — Parsons
- Christopher Walsh — Parsons
- Helen Weselcouch — Parsons
- Jonathan Ziese — Drama
- Rebecca Mimiaga — Jazz
- Daniela Capistrano — The New School for General Studies
- Peter Ian Cummings — The New School for General Studies
- Taylor Janes — The New School for General Studies
- Pat Korte — Lang
- Dan Schulman — Lang
- Helene Wasserman — Lang
4TH ANNUAL STUDENT SOCIAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE BUILDS BALANCE AT THE NEW SCHOOL
For the fourth year, the Student Social Justice Conference was a resounding success, drawing over 100 participants from The New School and the greater New York City community. The conference organized by New School students with support from Student Services' Office of Student Development and Activities, was held the weekend of April 18 and 19 and featured workshops, performances, and keynote speakers that addressed the theme of building balance while pursuing social justice. The workshops provided a forum for students and community members to learn how to be healthy activists, to organize local communities effectively, and to embrace activism that fully engages today’s problems from a sustainable, anti-racist, and LGBTQ-friendly standpoint.
Rosa Clemente and the Baltimore Algebra Project members were the keynote speakers for the weekend, and captivated conference participants by making distinct, but related cases for expanding peer education and developing youth advocacy skills in order to combat racism in our education system and society at large.
The conference was also host to a Saturday night Artivism showcase that transformed the Theresa Lang Center into a beautiful, art-filled space that provided a provoking backdrop to the spoken and sung performances of the night.
The Artivism showcase featured: Bryonn Bain, an innovative public school educator, documentarian, and spoken word artist; student performances by S.O.L and Ra Ruiz; and visual artist exhibitions by Olatunji Ojaore, Steve Ferri, Anoush Evans, and Erin Robinson.
New School students interested in planning next year’s Student Social Justice Conference should email newschoolsocialjustice@gmail.com for more information.
STUDENT LEADERS RECOGNIZED AT AWARDS CEREMONY
Student leaders from across the University were recognized for their achievements at the 7th Annual Student Leadership Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 26. The event, which featured a Sunday brunch followed by a formal awards ceremony was organized by the Student Services’ Office of Student Development and Activities (OSDA). This year, as in past years, individual students and recognized student organizations were nominated by fellow students, faculty, and staff for their outstanding commitment to serving The New School community through programming, civic engagement, and community service.
Students, faculty and staff nominated students in 10 categories. Finalists were selected by an awards selection panel comprised of staff from five divisions. Student leadership awards were also presented to students residing in Student Housing’s residence halls where they demonstrated a commitment to build community among residents and to provide intellectually and artistically provocative programs.
“This is always a wonderful time of the year when we recognize our student leaders”, said Guinevere Molina, director of OSDA, “when we come together as a community at this culminating event to recognize and celebrate all the great work that students and student organizations have done throughout the year.”
The recipients of the 7th Annual Student Leadership Awards are:
- Bridge Building Award - Individual or Group: Conversation Partners
- Outstanding Advisor to a Student Organization: Eric Garrison
- Outstanding Student Organization or Group: OPEN
- Outstanding New Student Organization of the Year: The New Futurists
- Outstanding Student Program of the Year: Marlton Mural (Su Beyazit) and “Any One of Us: Words from Prison”
- Senior Vice President for Student Services Alma Mater Awards: Christopher Burick, Takako Nagayama, Lucas Brooks, Anthony Szczurek, and Ben Loftis.
- Emerging Leader Awards: Melissa Marcial, Jazmin Soto, and Zachary Walter
- Community Service and Civic Engagement Award: Renew School
- Outstanding Student Leader of the Year: Dan Schulman
- Outstanding International Leadership: Ekaterine Paresashvili
- Resident Advisor of the Year: Jackie Delsandro
- Residence Hall Programmer of the Year: Sarah Charles
- Residence Hall Program of the Year: Josh Levy
Lucas Brooks, a Lang student graduating this May and one of the award recipients, has been a student leader for four years with OPEN (Out, Proud Environment at New School) as well as being involved with productions of the Vagina Monologues for the past two years. In response to being asked to reflect on his time at The New School, Lucas said “I believe that the various forms of involvement I've had on this campus are really what make 'the college experience'. I don't know how anyone gets through four years at this school without joining a student organization or helping to create a campus event. Some people are surprised when they learn about all the things I do, because I'm a theater major, and most of my projects won't carry over into my line of work. But I think it's important to have several areas of interest. Life is so tedious otherwise.”
JOIN THE NEW SCHOOL AND THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE AIDS WALKS NEW YORK CAMPAIGN!
Did you know that between 40,000 to 60,000 people are newly infected with HIV in the United States every year? That 50 percent of those newly infected are under the age of 24? That 25 percent of those newly infected do not know it? That New York accounts for approximately 18 percent of all HIV cases in the United States? For a second year, The New School will form its team to support the AIDS Walk New York campaign, helping people in our community struggling with HIV and AIDS.
Please join The New School AIDS Walk team (#1463) on Sunday, May 17, at 9:00 a.m. in Central Park. To register to walk or to donate online, go to Aids Walk website. If you would like to volunteer, contact any of the following New School AIDS Walk NY Committee members: Laura Cosgrove, Office of Finance and Business; Katie Scheidt, Office of Information Technology; Sheila Slaughter, Office of Human Resources; and Craig Szalai, Office of Human Resources.
Help The New School demonstrate our commitment to ending AIDS and promoting awareness and show our support for family members, friends, and neighbors who are facing the reality of AIDS every day.
USE YOUR FREE ADMISSION TO DROP IN ON MOMA’S AFTER HOUR MONDAY NIGHTS
Monday, December 8, 2008, marks the first of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA’s) Monday Nights, a series of Monday evenings over the next six months when the Museum will remain open until 8:45 p.m. We encourage New School students and employees to drop in after work and enjoy access to the entire Museum. In order to receive your free admission, go to the lobby information desk and show them your valid New School ID. Students, faculty, and staff receive one free admission for themselves. Faculty and staff may also obtain an additional two tickets for their guests.
There will be live entertainment as well as drinks and cocktails available for purchase. MoMA is located at 11 West 53rd Street, New York City. Enjoy!
TIME OUT NEW YORK DISCOUNT OFFER
Start your year off being in the know about things free or fancy. Time Out New York is offering all students, faculty, and staff at The New School a full year's subscription for just $20! That's 51 issues for the entire year and only 39c an issue. Steal this deal for yourself or a gift to another.
THE BEST DEAL FOR AFFORDABLE THEATER, Dance, and concert TICKETS:
THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND
An exciting spring theater, music and dance season is under way: Why pay $100 or more, when you can pay $20-$36 for Broadway shows and Off-Broadway shows, dance performances and concerts? An inexpensive way to enjoy the best of New York culture is to join Theatre Development Fund (TDF).
To be eligible, you must be a full-time student or teacher, senior citizen (62+), civil servant, union member, staff member of a not-for-profit organization, performing arts professional, or member of the clergy or armed forces. Annual membership fee is $27.50, and you can join online.
A small sampling of performances recently available to TDF Members for $20-36 per ticket include: 33 Variations, The 39 Steps, Altar Boyz, American Ballet Theatre, The American Plan, August: Osage County, Avenue Q, Ballet NY, Beast, Big Apple Circus, Blithe Spirit, Christopher Cross at B.B. King's, Distracted, Enter Laughing, Exit the King, The Fantasticks, Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab, Fueerzabruta, Gypsy, Hedda Gabler, Impressionism, Irena's Vow, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, London Philharmonic at Lincoln Center; The Marvelous Wonderettes, Mourning Becomes Electra, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, Next to Normal, Pal Joey, Patti Austin at Brooklyn Center; Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Phantom of the Opera, Reasons to be Pretty, Rock of Ages, Ruined, Shrek: The Musical; Speed the Plow, Spring Awakening and Uncle Vanya.
So don't miss this great opportunity to see great theater at great prices.
The New York Times is offering a 60 percent discount ($.40/per day Monday-Saturday, $2.50 on Sunday) for home or office subscriptions to all faculty, staff, and students.
Here's how it works. Unlike traditional subscriptions, the education rate can be set up by semester or in a combination that best reflects your schedules for both delivery and billing. New School faculty, staff, and students can have a subscription Monday-Friday, Sunday only, weekends only, or any combination.
To take advantage of the special discount to the Times or to change a current subscription, students, faculty (full-time and part-time), and staff should contact the customer service center at 888.NYT.COLL, to order a single subscription or a classroom subscription of up to eight copies for required reading in the classroom.
To order a classroom subscription of eight or more copies for required reading in the classroom, contact the education program's customer service center at 800.631.1222.
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY ON ENTERTAINMENT?
As a member of The New School, you have access to exclusive entertainment benefits through Plum Benefits! From theater and dance to sports and comedy, you can use this benefit to save time and money when ordering tickets for great seats to the hottest events in town! Log on 24/7 to enjoy:
Exclusive offers for premiere entertainment
Discounts of up to 50% off
Access to hard-to-get seats
Cost-free service
No ticket-ordering obligations
Easy ticket ordering
Helpful Customer Service at www.plumbenefits.com, 212.660.1888, or contact@plumbenefits.com
Already Signed Up to View Your Entertainment Benefits Online?
Log in now at www.plumbenefits.com to view this month's entertainment offers.
Not Yet Signed Up to View Your Entertainment Benefits Online?
Simply visit www.plumbenefits.com, click the "Sign-Up Now" button and follow the on-site instructions to create your profile and password. Registration is free and takes just a few moments-all you need is your groupwise email address.
The Weekly Observer, The New School online publication, is sent to everyone with a University email account. It is also available on the University web site. To add an external address to the email list, please send a message from the account you wish to add to majordomo@listserv.newschool.edu. In the message, on a line by itself, type "subscribe observer".
To submit at item for publication in The Observer, please email observer@newschool.edu.
Submissions deadline for the Observer:
Submissions for the Observer must be received by Wednesday afternoon to appear in the following issue.
