1993
1998
BFA Architecture and
MFA Design and Technology
Environmental Design
1994
• The School of Drama is established. • The New School launches an interactive distance
1998
learning program, enabling students to take
Built for Good: The Design Workshop,
courses and pursue a bachelor’s degree online.
Parson’s signature design-build program, is launched with a student project to
1993–1996
renovate New School interiors. The
The New School opens the Environmental
program, still in operation, partners with
Simulation Center, which employs advanced
organizations on a pro bono basis to
imaging techniques in research on urban
develop innovative community facilities.
climate change. Milano establishes urban
1991
1996
In honor of its centennial, Parsons establishes the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Archives Center (later renamed the New School Archives). Below: Anna-Maria Kellen visits the archives
Design Museum
Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian
Entering the Digital Age: As New York City recovers from an economic downturn in the 1990s, Parsons and The New School evolve together, embracing global perspectives, digitalization, and the growth of design as an economic force. As Cold War attitudes recede, immigration policy is loosened, resulting in a more geographically diverse student body at the university. Meanwhile, increasing access to the Internet and digital tools further collapses distances and radically alters communication, design practice, and labor. Parsons and The New School respond by offering new programs and experimenting with online education. Interdisciplinary, collaborative, and project-based learning methods underpin curricula in both institutions—laying the groundwork for closer integration of Parsons and the rest of The New School.
— Andrea Lipps, MA History of Design and Curatorial Studies ’08,
1991–2009
“ At Parsons, I learned to see design everywhere and to understand it as an interface with the world.”
studies as a discipline (1996).
1995
1997
Parsons promotes diversity in design education by establishing
18
1991–1993 Above: Vera List Courtyard (1997), Martin Puryear and Michael Van Valkenburgh
Parsons Scholars, a three-year
Fighting Censorship: In the early 1990s, The
program that provides NYC high
New School engages with complex cultural
schoolers with college prep and
and national issues. The university, under
creative skills.
the leadership of President Jonathan Fanton, becomes the first institution to challenge the NEA’s anti-obscenity clause (1991). Two years later, the Vera List Center opens, providing a space for public discourse on the intersection of art and politics (1993).
1995
Fine artist Kiki Smith joins Parsons as an artist-in-residence.
1996
Alumnus Robert Tonner donates dolls dressed by celebrated designers from the Parsons community and auctions them at the Parsons Fashion Critics Awards Benefit, a scholarship fundraiser.