The New School’s leadership offered separation packages or early retirement to about 40% of full-time professors as part of a plan to close a reported $48 million budget shortfall, faculty members said. Recipients were warned that declining the offers could lead to involuntary reductions, prompting outrage among professors who say the process bypassed shared governance norms. President Joel Towers framed the moves as necessary to restore financial stability after years of enrollment decline; faculty called the approach abrupt and harmful to academic programs. The rapid, large-scale proposal highlights mounting fiscal pressures at arts and design-focused institutions and raises questions about governance, credit access, and program preservation.