Centers, Institutes, and Initiatives
The Institute for Retired Professionals
Michael I. Markowitz, Director
www.newschool.edu/irp/
The Institute for Retired Professionals was created in 1962 to provide a university-based learning community for the retired and semi-retired. In intellectual and collaborative environment, students design the curriculum themselves and utilize their life experience to enrich classroom materials. Students also explore the broad range of educational choices offered by The New School and participate in other aspects of university life. Find out more about the program or membership.
The Vera List Center for Art and Politics
Carin Kuoni, Director
www.newschool.edu/vlc/
The Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School is dedicated to exploring the role of the arts in developing a civic culture of tolerance and pluralism in the United States. Its public programs and forums are designed to respond to social and political issues of our time as they are being articulated by visual and performing artists. The center engages the university community, the people of New York, and national and international audiences in an exploration of new possibilities for civic engagement.
Center for New York City Affairs
Andrew White, Director
www.newschool.edu/milano/nycaffairs/
The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School is an applied policy research institute that drives innovation in social policy and seeks to improve the effectiveness of government and other organizations in their work with low-income urban communities. We focus on the moments where people’s lives intersect with government and community organizations in order to illuminate the impact of public policies on ordinary people. We are committed to constant collaboration with government and non-profit organizations, residents, advocates, researchers and journalists. The Center is widely recognized for its role as a non-partisan broker of information and analysis. Our projects include Child Welfare Watch, Feet in Two Worlds, Insideschools, College Ready Communities, public forums, and the politics and advocacy specialization at Milano.
The Community Development Finance Lab
Blaise Rastello, Director
www.newschool.edu/milano/community-development-finance-project
The Community Development Finance Project (CDFP) seeks to connect the private, public and philanthropic capital markets with the dynamic fields of community development, social innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability management, and design. Its core mission is to teach an array of board-based community development skills and in-depth knowledge of finance through its signature course, the Community Development Finance Lab, which engages students over two semesters in an innovative curriculum grounded in client-based work and sustained through networks with practicing professionals in the field. Additionally, CDFP is committed to building and expanding the field and practice of community development and nonprofit finance through the replication of its curriculum and practicum-based learning approach to other universities, as well to sharing of knowledge through applied research and community engagement.
The Observatory on Latin America
Michael Cohen, Director
www.observatorylatinamerica.org
The Observatory on Latin America (OLA) of the New School University was created in 2006 with the aim of generating new opportunities for multiple narratives and public debate about reform and the process of change occurring in the hemisphere. The broad theme of the OLA is "Social Democracy in a globalized world: anticipating the future in Latin America." Its main goal is to improve academic and public understanding by observing and studying the political and economic change in the region. The OLA is equally concerned with generating a public dialogue between the United States and Latin America on the challenges in building a social democracy in a globalized world. The Observatory also provides the opportunity for Latin American leaders to express their views directly to an audience in this country.
The Social Innovation Initiative
Steering Committee: Michele Kahane, Cynthia Lawson, Judy Mejia, Mary Watson, Tony Whitfield
www.newschool.edu/social-innovation/
Social innovation aims to enhance the capacity of individuals, communities, and organizations to devise effective, just, and sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems. The New School's Social Innovation Initiative is a cross divisional partnership between The New School for Public Engagement, Parsons and Lang designed to provide students with skills to become versatile changemakers able to lead change across diverse career pathways and within diverse sectors. The Initiative offers curricular and extracurricular educational experiences to enable students to address contemporary social and environmental challenges. The New School community of faculty and students are developing a foundation of knowledge about social innovation, a body of applied research and creative and professional practice, and methods of experiential teaching and learning. The initiative was catalyzed by the invitation from Ashoka U for The New School to join its Changemaker Campus Initiative in 2009.
View all university institutes and centers.