Eugene lang college awarded $800,000 Grant from Mellon Foundation for curricular innovation

Students participate in a lecture course, "Feminist Avant-Garde Poetics," at the Center for Book Arts. (Photo courtesy of The New School.)

NEW YORK, April 29, 2015 —The Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School has received an $800,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a new initiative to strengthen diversity and civic engagement in the arts and humanities over the next two years.

This initiative, Diversity, Engagement and Liberal Arts: A New Model for Curriculum and Partnership, furthers the strategic vision of Lang as a college where diversity and community engagement are embedded in the curriculum. The grant will significantly build upon past investments from the Mellon Foundation to deepen relationships between the college and external arts and humanities organizations.

“An excellent 21^st century liberal arts education must include diverse, engaged learning experiences,” said Eugene Lang College Dean Stephanie Browner. “This generous grant from the Mellon Foundation is an important step toward deeply integrating these experiences into our educational model, while also building meaningful relationships with community-based organizations.”

Two years ago, a $500,000 grant from Mellon helped Eugene Lang College establish a distinctive curricular initiative that invites visiting fellows from notable cultural organizations like The New York Times, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New Directions Publishing and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance to teach courses in collaboration with Eugene Lang College faculty and faculty-chosen student fellows. These collaborative classes create opportunities for both faculty and students to engage with New York City and the world through projects, research, performances, publications and more.

The courses have generated widespread faculty interest, spanning disciplines from philosophy, art history, cultural studies and literature to music, theater and dance. Equally important, they have created a palpable shift in diversity at Eugene Lang College: the visiting fellows come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and approximately 50% of the student fellowships (selected by merit) have been awarded to students of color.

Building upon this successful curricular model, the new Diversity, Engagement and Liberal Arts initiative will support new courses and also launch the Mellon Research Residency Fellowships. The new fellowship program will deepen and sustain connections between The New School and its community partners by enabling faculty, visiting fellows and student fellows to pursue research on ideas and topics that are central to the courses they are leading.

To learn more about the courses and partners associated with the program, visit http://www.newschool.edu/lang/civic-arts-and-humanities/.

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts is a seminar-style liberal arts college located in New York City that was established in 1985. Remaining faithful to its founding philosophy, Eugene Lang College grew out of a highly progressive freshman-year program developed at The New School in 1973. Lang offers intensive liberal arts study as well as a faculty committed to teaching undergraduates in an interdisciplinary context. Areas of study include religious studies, urban studies, social inquiry, interdisciplinary science, culture and media, literary studies, the arts, philosophy, psychology, economics, and environmental studies. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu/lang.

Founded in 1919, The New School was born out of principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Committed to social engagement, The New School today remains in the vanguard of innovation in higher education, with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students challenging the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The New School welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and calendar of lectures, screenings, readings, and concerts. Through its online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence. Learn more at www.newschool.edu.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

79 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
www.newschool.edu

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Kasia Broussalian,
The New School
212-229-5667 x. 3990
[email protected]