Weighing the Risks of Divisional Integration
News Analysis
Monday, September 27th, 2010
Two weeks ago, David Van Zandt, the incoming president of the university, spoke to a room full of students from every division of the university. He stood, lanky, with his left leg resting on a chair and leaning with his right on a podium. In the middle of his talk, he briefly mentioned the initiative that could come to define his tenure at the university. He said that he’s eager to transform the eight separate divisions of The New School into a more closely integrated university.
“I want to make the whole a greater value than the parts,” he said. “We have to work together, across those divides.”
The process of integration is complicated. Done well, it could allow every student to tap into the vast resources the university has to offer. However, if done poorly, the eight distinct characters that make up The New School could be blended into a homogeneous academic mush.
The integration has been spearheaded by the provost’s office up to this point and Van Zandt seems eager to push the project forward.
Although there is no comprehensive plan as yet, initial steps have been taken.
Last year, the administration tied Milano and General Studies together into one division. In a statement about the division on the provost’s website, the provost said, “[The] goal is to foster a more permeable, boundary-crossing academic culture.”
The university has also founded several cross-divisional programs like environmental studies, global studies and gender studies. These programs draw on courses at multiple divisions. Each division contributes its specialty to create a multidisciplinary curriculum. Now, a student in one division can study at another division without having to fully enroll.
Problems often arise when schools try to partner up. If one school requires that students take classes at another school, the second school will hire more staff to meet the new demand. However, if the first school then removes the requirement and the students stop taking classes at the other school, the other school is overstaffed, which puts them in an awkward financial position. Small decisions in one division can have dramatic effects for another.
The provost said that each step in the process is being thoroughly considered in order to ensure that each division retains its unique character. For the first time, the administration has also created a special committee to coordinate cross divisional curricula.
“I want to make the whole a greater value than the parts,” he said. “We have to work together, across those divides.”
The process of integration is complicated. Done well, it could allow every student to tap into the vast resources the university has to offer. However, if done poorly, the eight distinct characters that make up The New School could be blended into a homogeneous academic mush.
The integration has been spearheaded by the provost’s office up to this point and Van Zandt seems eager to push the project forward.
Although there is no comprehensive plan as yet, initial steps have been taken.
Last year, the administration tied Milano and General Studies together into one division. In a statement about the division on the provost’s website, the provost said, “[The] goal is to foster a more permeable, boundary-crossing academic culture.”
The university has also founded several cross-divisional programs like environmental studies, global studies and gender studies. These programs draw on courses at multiple divisions. Each division contributes its specialty to create a multidisciplinary curriculum. Now, a student in one division can study at another division without having to fully enroll.
Problems often arise when schools try to partner up. If one school requires that students take classes at another school, the second school will hire more staff to meet the new demand. However, if the first school then removes the requirement and the students stop taking classes at the other school, the other school is overstaffed, which puts them in an awkward financial position. Small decisions in one division can have dramatic effects for another.
The provost said that each step in the process is being thoroughly considered in order to ensure that each division retains its unique character. For the first time, the administration has also created a special committee to coordinate cross divisional curricula.
More by this Author
Featured Articles
