Mass layoffs to hit New York City’s New School next month

The New School in New York City plans to lay off up to 20% of its full-time workforce in March, affecting faculty and staff across departments to address a $48 million budget deficit. The university announced the cuts after a buy-out offer to faculty saw only 7% acceptance, with 400-460 positions set to be eliminated by fall. The restructuring includes merging Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and the New School for Social Research into a single unit, while Parsons School of Design and other schools will form a secondary cluster. The university cited rising operational costs, federal funding cuts, and declining enrollment as reasons for the deficit. However, faculty and staff have criticized opaque accounting, noting that President James Trowels earns $1 million annually and resides in a university-owned Greenwich Village townhouse estimated to rent for $20,000-$30,000 monthly. The Faculty Senate has demanded an independent audit and a moratorium on layoffs. The restructuring will eliminate over 23 majors and 16 minors, particularly in low-enrollment programs like Journalism + Design, Global Studies, and foreign language tracks at Eugene Lang. Nearly 90% of faculty are part-time, and these cuts will disproportionately affect them. Additionally, the university has paused new admissions for nearly all doctoral programs starting in 2026-2027, including sociology, philosophy, economics, and politics. The changes mark a shift from The New School’s historical identity as a progressive institution founded in 1919 by scholars expelled from Columbia University for opposing U.S. involvement in World War I. Critics argue the restructuring aligns with broader trends of suppressing intellectual dissent in U.S. universities, citing Columbia University’s recent concessions to government censorship demands as a precedent.