Joel Towers became The New School’s tenth president on August 1, 2024. An architect by training, an educator at heart, and a passionate advocate for design-based solutions to climate change, he has served at The New School for more than 20 years, including a decade as executive dean of Parsons School of Design. In that role and others, he has strengthened the university’s capacities in education, research, and creative practice integrating design, policy, and collaborative approaches to advancing social and ecological resilience. He is also University Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design.
President Towers joined Parsons in 2004 as a member of the full-time faculty and the school’s first director of Sustainable Design and Urban Ecology. In 2006, he was named associate provost for Environmental Studies and founded the university’s Tishman Environment and Design Center, which promotes the integration of bold design, policy, and social justice approaches to environmental issues. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the founding dean of the School of Design Strategies and as associate dean of Parsons.