Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year

It is my pleasure to welcome new and returning students, faculty, and staff to the 2018-2019 academic year! The Tishman Environment and Design Center is your hub for campus sustainability and for research and practice in environmental justice, sustainable design, and urban policy. The entire team here at the Tishman Center looks forward to working with the New School community and our external community partners in support of our mission to foster the integration of bold design, policy, and social justice approaches to environmental issues to advance just and sustainable outcomes in collaboration with communities.Over the last three years, under the dedicated leadership of Michelle DePass, the Tishman Center has brought a new level of social justice-driven awareness of and action on environmental issues to The New School. As the founding Director of the Tishman Center, it is my pleasure now to step back into an active leadership role at the Center to continue and expand this work. Through the hard work of the Associate Directors Ana Baptista, Brian McGrath, and Timo Rissanen along with managing staff Adrienne Perovich and Molly Craft Johnson, the Tishman Center has launched collaborative research projects focused on zero waste and the circular economy, climate change mitigation, and supporting leaders of the environmental justice movement. We have begun the process of integrating sustainability and environmental justice into the curriculum across the university, and we have collaborated with other departments at The New School to support a culture of sustainability through programs like our annual Earth Week celebrations and the Good As New materials recovery initiative.At this moment in time, when federal leadership on the environment is lacking and the impacts of climate change are becoming ever more apparent and require urgent action, I invite you to get involved in our work however you can. Join us on September 12th for our Welcome (Back) Mixer, and mark your calendar with the dates of other events coming up this semester. Find our team at the Block Party or the On-Campus Job Fair to learn about other opportunities to get involved and to work with us. If you have an idea for a great environmental justice or sustainability-themed event or activity, email tedc@newschool.edu to learn about sponsorship opportunities. Take The New School’s Sustainability Pledge to learn about small actions you can take every day to help reduce waste, cut carbon emissions, and support environmental justice. Be sure to join our organization on the new Narwhal Nation platform in order to stay up-to-date on all things sustainable at The New School.On behalf of the team at the Tishman Center, I wish you a great start to the semester.  We all look forward to working together with you throughout the year.

Best,

Joel Towers
Director, Tishman Environment and Design Center
Dean, Parsons School of Design
University Professor