Executive Dean

The Parsons School of Design (“Parsons”) at the New School (“TNS”) seeks a creative and collaborative leader to serve as Parsons’ next Executive Dean. For more than a century, Parsons' groundbreaking approach to art and design education and change-making community has transformed creative practice, cultural production and analysis. Parsons' unparalleled reputation as one of the world’s leading art and design schools is in part thanks to its creative and forward-thinking community of faculty, staff, students, and alums that have positively influenced art, media, fashion, design, and many other industries. 

Since its founding in 1896, Parsons has continuously redefined the role of art and design by combining innovative pedagogy with a commitment to addressing critical global challenges. By empowering students to merge creative practice with civic engagement and interdisciplinary inquiry, Parsons prepares the next generation of designers, thinkers, and leaders to make a lasting impact on the world. The Executive Dean will be instrumental in shaping the future of Parsons, leveraging its rich history while driving innovation and collaboration within the institution. With an entrepreneurial mindset, the Executive Dean will play a pivotal role in advancing the Parsons and New School missions through community engagement, fundraising, organizational management, and strategic visioning.

Parsons offers students the opportunity to work across disciplines and collaborate with university peers in fields like creative writing, liberal arts, and the performing arts thanks to its position within The New School—a private research university founded in 1919 and dedicated to fostering innovation in the arts, design, humanities, public policy, and the social sciences—and its New York City location. Having joined The New School in 1970, Parsons is one of the University’s five colleges (the others are The College of Performing Arts, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School for Social Research, and the Schools of Public Engagement). Together with these colleges and with the University’s offerings in distributed and continuing education, as well as its branch campus in Paris (Parsons Paris), Parsons advances the University’s mission to make “the world a better and more just place” and equipping a diverse student body for success in a rapidly changing society. The next Executive Dean will build on prior success and lead Parsons to new levels of distinction and prominence.  

The Executive Dean reports to the Provost and collaborates with TNS leadership to articulate strategies that support the increasingly inter- and trans-disciplinary and networked approaches to learning, creative practices, and research being advanced at the University. Within Parsons, the Executive Dean serves as the head of the Deans Council, working collaboratively with the Dean of Academic Planning and the School Deans of the five schools within Parsons (Art and Design History and Theory; Art, Media, and Technology; Constructed Environments; Design Strategies; and Fashion) to manage curriculum, faculty, staff, students, facilities, and financial resources. The Executive Dean is the chief academic officer of Parsons.

Parsons stands at a pivotal moment in its history as one of the world's leading art and design institutions. As Parsons continues to be recognized for its academic excellence, innovative pedagogy, and influence across creative industries, the next Executive Dean will lead strategic decision-making and promote coalescence around strategic priorities; demonstrate a deep commitment to student, faculty, and staff well-being; help develop enrollment and retention strategies, champion Parsons mission and values; spearhead the development of the next generation of creative-based programs, including those across the arts, help guide exciting structural changes across the university, and be a tireless champion of Parsons across campus and in the community, growing philanthropic support.

Ben Tobin is leading this search with Becky Piper, Quizayra Gonzalez, and Alaine Small. 

The New School is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that promises diversity and tolerance in all areas of employment, education, and access to its educational, artistic, or cultural programs and activities. The New School does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, creed, sex or gender (including actual or perceived gender identity or expression or transgender status), sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, pregnancy, religion, religious practices, mental or physical disability, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, veteran status, marital or partnership status, or any other legally protected status.