Live stream of the University Town Hall Meeting – Thursday February 27 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm EST
University president David Van Zandt and provost Tim Marshall will discuss the university’s strategic planning and investments, among other topics, at the first town hall meeting of the semester this Thursday at noon in the Tishman Auditorium of the new University Center.
Several issues on the agenda are likely to draw debate, from past grudges with the Board of Trustees, to major decisions it will be making in the coming months about divesting its endowment from fossil fuel companies, which greatly contribute to climate change. The meeting will also allow time for public questions and comments.
Students groups have been pushing for more representation in university governance since former governor and senator Bob Kerrey served as president of The New School. After meeting with the Board of Trustees for the first time this February to present a report detailing the school’s investments and analyzing the financial feasibility of divestment from fossil fuels, the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR) and the University Student Senate (USS) are determined to push the proposals for student representation and divestment to a vote by the Board.
“We intend to update the student community about our meeting with the Board of Trustees on fossil fuel divestment, express both our continued commitment to the ACIR’s proposals and the severe concerns we have with certain board members’ responses to the demands of the students,” USS co-chair Benjamin Silverman told the Free Press. “This experience further reinforces our intention, which we will announce at the town hall, to gain some form of student representation on the Board of Trustees and end the current status quo of the Board existing as a separated off entity from The New School community.”
The USS has passed resolutions calling for The New School to pull its investments out of fossil fuel companies that perpetuate climate change. The New School’s Board of Trustees is set to vote on divestment in May.
The New School Free Press has also supported the call for student representation to the Board of Trustees in a fall 2013 editorial. The USS has not reached consensus on a similar resolution, but other student government bodies have, such as the Graduate Faculty Student Senate (GFSS).
Administrators have said little about what direction they are leaning on either issue, but affirmed a desire to listen to students.
“At the end of the day the Board has to make a decision because they have the fiduciary duty, but I want this to be open,” President Van Zandt said in a recent interview with the Free Press. “I’m sure people have strong feelings one way or the other, but I think it’s a great opportunity for the community to come together and learn and educate each other.”
Check back for live coverage of the Town Hall on Thursday at 12:00.
Shawn is a native of Queens majoring in Politics at The New School. He joined The Free Press in Fall 2013, and covers student life, academic affairs and activism on campus, bringing a critical investigative approach to journalism through social media, institutional research, and data-driven fact finding.
Shawn's work has appeared in Adbusters, The Nation, PolicyMic, Truthout, The Brooklyn Indypendent, and the Italian news magazine, Internazionale. He is also a research and analyst for the government and corporate transparency project, LittleSis.
Shawn likes only five things: black coffee, unfiltered cigarettes, smoky whiskey, dark Belgian beer, and the news. He speaks five languages and loves to travel. Shawn shares a birthday, April 4th, with Grumpy Cat.
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