New School Eliminating Adjunct Jobs at Parsons

Arts groups and educators are protesting recent notices sent to a dozen fine arts instructors at Parsons the New School for Design, telling them that they will not be teaching next semester, The New York Times reported. Because Parsons relies on part-time instructors for fine arts courses, some see the move as destroying any sense of job security at the institution. Further, the move comes at a time of faculty and student anger over management of the New School, of which Parsons is a part. The arts faculty at Parsons sent a statement to New School leaders saying in part: “To not rehire faculty in this economic climate is both cruel and socially irresponsible. We therefore insist upon an immediate reversal of aforementioned summary firings.” New School officials said that nothing unusual was going on. “This is not a disciplinary action — no one’s been fired,” Tim Marshall, the interim provost, told the Times. “As you update the curriculum, you have to look at the best fit.”