 |
 |
 |
Dear President Kerrey,
As alumnae/i of the Actors Studio Drama School of New School University, we are saddened and alarmed by the recent turbulence our alma mater has endured.
Beginning with the brief tenure of Sam Schacht as Dean, it appears that the curriculum and defining core values of the School have been subjected to a constant, seemingly calculated erosion. In recent months, the aggressive changes made to the School’s faculty and course offerings by the Special Advisor to the Provost, Evangeline Morphos, not to mention the secretive and hurried way in which she made them, have amplified this erosion to the point that the University’s contract with current first-year students has apparently been broken.
Now we have learned that the negotiations between New School University and the Actors Studio to renew the agreement that gives the School life have stalled and are in danger of failing. It appears that The Actors Studio Drama School – a program that took many years of collaborative effort to build – has, in a few short months, been made a house divided, seemingly destined to fall.
As degree holding alumnae/i from an institution on the verge of non-existence, we ask that you agree, on behalf of the University, to a mediation process with the goal of resolving the contract negotiations with the Actors Studio. We have made an identical request to the Board of The Actors Studio and are eagerly awaiting their reply.
By agreeing to a mediation process, a clear message will be sent to current, former and prospective students that New School University recognizes its legal and moral obligations to these parties and is committing, in good faith, to resolve its differences with the Actors Studio and reach a compromise that will allow the Actors Studio Drama School to continue to exist. We are hopeful the Board of the Actors Studio will also recognize its obligations and make this same commitment.
The stakes are too high for both the University and the Actors Studio to let this partnership die. Although we’d all agree that the School, like any new graduate program refining its performance, could benefit from curriculum evaluation and changes in cohort size, there are also many attributes that make the School not only successful, but unique. To dismantle what was fruitful, the results of so much love and labor, would be not only a public embarrassment to both the University and the Actors Studio, but would also create a ghost of mistrust which would haunt both institutions, righteously, for years to come.
In honor of the commitment we and so many others made to the Actors Studio Drama School and New School University, we hope you will commit to a mediation process and protect the legacy of our degrees.
We look forward to your timely response. |
 |
|
(fields marked with * are required)
|
|
|
|
Alumni and Supporters of the Actors Studio Drama School of New School Univesity. |
|
The views expressed in this petition are solely those of the petition's
sponsor and do not in any way reflect the views of iPetitions.
iPetitions is solely a provider of technical services to the petition
sponsor and cannot be held liable for any damages or injury or other
harm arising from this petition. In the event no adequate sponsor is
named, iPetitions will consider the individual account holder with which
the petition was created as the lawful sponsor.
|
|
|
