History

Why house this initiative at the New School?

The Consortium builds upon The New School’s legacy as the original University in Exile. Created in 1933 by The New School’s first President, Alvin Johnson, to provide a safe intellectual home for scholars fleeing the growing threat of Nazism in Europe. Johnson brought endangered scholars to The New School in New York City where they became the University in Exile and then in 1934, became the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science. He also helped many other threatened scholars to obtain positions at other universities in the U.S. In total, 184 scholars found new academic homes. The New School, with President Johnson at the helm, stood as a beacon against brutal policies that undermined the independence of thought and research upon and for which universities are founded. Eighty-five years later, the Consortium was launched to address the challenges of the present day.