When Dr. Dwight McBride learned that he had been tapped to become the ninth president of The New School in New York City, he was ecstatic.
The institution’s reputation for tackling social justice issues and its focus on progressive education, seemed like a natural fit for the prominent literary scholar who had already established his bona fides in faculty and administrative posts at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University and Emory University, where he served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
But none of his previous experiences could have adequately prepared him for the monumental task of leading a private research institution, located in the heart of New York City, through the biggest challenge that higher education has ever had to face: COVID-19.
On the March day that he arrived by plane into New York City—several weeks ahead of his official first day at work—the city had completely gone dark.
“It was eerie,” McBride recalled in a recent interview with Diverse. “It was almost like the beginning of a horror movie. It was isolating, surreal, unbelievable, being in your new home that you’ve been excited about exploring and getting to know, but being locked down and in isolation.”
The first challenge was the immediate pivot to Zoom.
“I am a people person. I draw energy from being with people,” said McBride, who is the first Black president in the 101-year history of the institution. He is also openly gay. “I am a person that likes to show up to things, sometimes even unannounced. That mode of being has really been challenged in all candor, by this transition to Zoom and being remote.”
