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In 1919, a group of visionaries designed a new kind of university, one where creativity could be world changing. Today The New School’s leadership carries forward that mission with the charge of supporting a university where collaboration, discovery, rigorous scholarship, inclusivity, excellence, and creativity infuse everything we do.
The President’s Leadership Team works in alignment with the President to oversee institutional planning, policy, and decision making in service of The New School’s academic mission and operational resilience. As the officers of the university, this group sets a tone of innovation, integrity, excellence, and service across all university work.
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Stephanie P. Browner, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Stephanie P. Browner was named Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The New School in October 2020. With more than 20 years of experience working in higher education, she joined the university in 2011 as the dean of the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. Stephanie came to The New School from Berea College in Kentucky, an institution nationally acclaimed for providing tuition-free liberal arts education to low-income students. During her tenure as academic vice president at Berea, Stephanie secured funding for academic innovation, increased faculty diversity, and led a campus-wide scenario planning process designed to ensure the college's continued excellence and economic viability. As a dean at The New School, Stephanie has raised more than twenty five million dollars to support faculty, curriculum and student scholarships. Stephanie's scholarly research in 19th-century American and African-American literature, the history of American medicine, and digital humanities has appeared in leading journals, and she is the author of two books. She is the founder and editor of the Charles Chesnutt Digital Archive, and the General Editor of the Complete Writings of Charles W. Chesnutt multi-volume series (forthcoming with Oxford University Press). Both have received major NEH grants. Recently Stephanie received a related grant from the National Historical Publications & Records Commission (NHPRC) for her work on the project The Complete Correspondence of Charles W. Chesnutt. Her early experience includes work as a medical volunteer in Central America, as a high school English and Spanish teacher, and as a professional modern dancer. She has a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA and PhD in American Literature and American Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington.
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Tokumbo Shobowale, Executive Vice President for Business and Operations
Tokumbo Shobowale joined The New School in November 2013. In this role, Tokumbo oversees the management of The New School’s financial resources and physical infrastructure, working closely with colleagues to strengthen the university’s financial position and operating efficiency in support of its mission. He has facilitated a collaborative process to develop a university climate action plan and divest the endowment of fossil fuel holdings, overseen implementation of a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, and worked to acquire and finance a building that will increase by 15 percent the amount of academic space owned by the university while reducing long-term operating costs. Previously Tokumbo was the director of infrastructure and the built environment for New York City’s Initiative on Rebuilding and Resiliency, a response to Hurricane Sandy. He also served as chief of staff to the deputy mayor for economic development, overseeing more than a dozen agencies, and as chief operating officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. In both roles, he facilitated the city’s economic diversification, particularly through the Applied Sciences Initiative, which attracted Cornell Tech to New York City and supported NYU-Poly’s creation of the Center for Urban Science and Progress. Tokumbo holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an MA from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and an AB from Stanford University.
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Anne Adriance, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Business Development
Anne Adriance joined The New School in October 2013, charged with elevating the university's public profile. Today, in addition to leading all marketing and communication university-wide, she oversees new ventures including executive and online education, corporate partnerships, and licensing. To enhance university recognition and understanding, she launched a celebrated new brand identity system, with a distinctive algorithm-based font, that graphically integrates the university and its’ colleges. Awarded the American Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year, she led our team to create the comprehensive and integrated marketing campaign that is recognized as breakthrough in higher education, and to establish new enterprises that have expanded The New School’s ability to bring its differentiated academic offering to new audiences, including executives, online learners, and partners across a wide range of organizations. Throughout her tenure, Anne’s focus is on advancing the story of The New School’s distinctive vision, forward-looking educational approach and remarkable contributions to the world.
She brings to her job more than 25 years of experience in marketing communication and strategic brand design in commercial, nonprofit, government, and media settings, for companies and organizations such as General Mills, CNN, Cartoon Network, BusinessWeek, Kodak, Procter & Gamble, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Of special note is her work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to launch the nation's largest and most successful public-health media campaign and the first national effort to prevent childhood obesity. Anne has held senior executive positions at the Burns Group, a brand consultancy and innovation agency she cofounded; Saatchi & Saatchi, as executive vice president leading the largest account in the company's New York office; Time Warner, as the senior vice president for Turner Broadcasting's licensing and merchandising and global brand management; and Guideposts, as senior vice president for consumer marketing at the country's largest publisher of inspirational publications and digital content. Anne has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University. -
Jerry Cutler, Senior Vice President for Human Resources and General Counsel
Jerry Cutler serves as senior vice president for human resources and general counsel for The New School. He joined the university in March 2017 following a distinguished career in senior legal and human resources positions in higher education, public service, and in private practice. Jerry has served as lead counsel in federal labor and employment law cases, in matters before the National Labor Relations Board and EEOC, and in labor negotiations and arbitration. A past recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Trial Practice, Jerry is co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, Employment & Labor Relations Law Committee. Jerry has written for Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg BNA, Warren, Gorham & Lamont, and West Publishing for publications such as the “Legal Guide to Human Resources,” “International Human Resources Guide,” “Employee Benefits Law,” The Fair Labor Standards Act,” “The Family and Medical Leave Act,” “Discipline and Discharge in Arbitration,” and “How Arbitration Works.” Jerry has a BA from the Pennsylvania State University, and a JD degree with honor from the University of Maryland School of Law.
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Melanie Hart, Senior Vice President for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice and Chief Diversity Officer
As Senior Vice President for Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, Melanie Hart focuses on elevating the strategies, values, and practices of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice across The New School. Melanie brings to this work a deep connection to the university and deep experience in social justice-based institutional management and change. Melanie is an alum of the university’s MA program in Public and Urban Policy at the Milano School, where she is presently completing her PhD. She received her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney before returning to public service in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors and with city agencies. Most recently, she served as the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development at the New York City Department of Small Business Services. Before that, she was the Executive Vice President of Community Programs and Development at the New York City Housing Authority.
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Jennifer E. Hobbs, Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief of Staff
Jennifer E. Hobbs joined The New School in April 2020 as Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief of Staff. In this role, she works in collaboration with institutional leaders, colleagues across the university, and constituents to plan, coordinate, and advance the university’s vision and academic mission. She has been in higher education administration for more than ten years, working to remove impediments to institutional advancement and to develop efficient, data-driven, humanistic approaches to institutional decision making, processes, and policies. Before coming to The New School, she served as Chief of Staff and Vice Provost in the Office of the Provost at Emory University. She obtained her BS in Biology from Loyola University Chicago and her PhD from Northwestern University through the Driskill Graduate Program in the Life Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Patricia P. Jackson, Interim Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement
Patricia (Trish) Jackson serves as Interim Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement. Trish brings to her role extensive experience in every facet of fundraising for higher education, and she has led development and alumni affairs efforts at Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Smith College. Trish has distinguished herself as a builder of strong collaborative teams committed to increasing volunteerism and philanthropy to support institutional priorities. She has managed multifaceted growth initiatives and cross-functional teams, including leading international development offices at Smith and Brown. Passionate about higher education, Trish has written books and contributed chapters on the challenges of and opportunities for fundraising in higher education. She is a member of the Scripps College Board of Trustees and also serves on the board of Every Woman Treaty, a coalition of women’s rights activists advancing a global treaty to end violence against women and girls. Trish earned her MBA from Claremont Graduate University and her BA from Scripps College.
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Stephanie P. Browner, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs