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Dr. Dwight A. McBride takes reins of The New School as ninth president

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Photo via Twitter/New School Alumni

BY BETH DEDMAN

The New School officially announced April 16 that Dr. Dwight A. McBride began his term as the ninth president of the university with a pledge of $100,000 to the Student Emergency Assistance program. 

“I am honored and excited to join The New School’s extraordinary community of scholars, artists, designers and thought leaders,” McBride said. “The New School has redrawn and redefined the boundaries of intellectual and creative thought as a preeminent academic center, offering some of the nation’s most respected degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, design, and the performing arts. One of my immediate goals is to bring the university community together during this difficult time and signal our primary commitment to our talented and dedicated students.”

McBride, formerly the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emory University, is immediately responding to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on The New School with a personal pledge to support the program that provides short-term financial support to students with specific urgent needs during the crisis.  

McBride also joins The New School faculty as a professor. During his time at Emory University he was the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of African American Studies, Distinguished Affiliated Professor of English, and Associated Faculty in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. 

McBride also served at Northwestern University as Dean of The Graduate School, Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Daniel Hale Williams Professor of African American Studies, English and Performance Studies. He was also Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and served on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. 

“I can think of no one better suited than Dwight McBride to lead The New School forward, as we chart a course of inspired scholarship and creativity for the university’s next 100 years,” said Linda E. Rappaport, Chair of The New School’s Board of Trustees. “President McBride’s deep experience as a scholar and higher education leader embodies a commitment to all aspects of academic excellence. I am delighted to welcome him to our storied and progressive university.”

McBride has published award-winning books, essays, articles and edited volumes that examine connections between race theory, Black studies and identity politics. He is co-founder and co-editor of the James Baldwin Review. He received his bachelor’s in English with a certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University, and both his masters and PhD in English from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Plans for President McBride’s official inauguration ceremony will be announced and updated as the COVID-19 situation evolves.