Facilities & Capital Improvements Overview
The Facilities team is responsible for maintaining and operating the buildings on campus, enforcing fire safety protocols, and providing fire safety training to the campus community. Our team is dedicated to excellent customer service in all aspects of its operations.
We invite feedback and suggestions from all members of the university community that will help us make the New School campus beautiful, safe, and sustainable. Reach out to the our team anytime at facilitiesmanagement@newschool.edu.
Recent Changes & Updates
The Facilities & Capital Improvements team is thoughtfully designed to provide comprehensive oversight and support for our physical campus operations, maintenance, and design & construction project leadership.
New for 2026-2027:
University Housing under Brenda Cruz has recently taken on management of Dining & Meal Plan Operations in partnership with the Operations team within Business & Operations.
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Follow (🔔) our Facilities & Capital Improvements News Feed card to receive email updates whenever we share new information and reminders throughout the year.
Organizational Structure
View the org chart in a separate window.
Division Units & Functions
Division Lead: Thomas Whalen, Vice President for Facilities & Capital Improvements
Email: whalent@newschool.edu
Department | Responsibilities |
Design & Construction | The Design & Construction team supervises and carries out design and construction work, retains consultants and contractors, implements infrastructure upgrades and ensure compliance and regulatory approvals. |
Facilities & Life Safety | The Facilities Management team is responsible for maintaining and operating the buildings on campus, enforcing fire safety protocols, and providing fire safety training to the campus community. For information contact facilitiesmanagement@newschool.edu. |
Maintenance and Engineering (Physical Plant) | Maintenance and Engineering is responsible for the upkeep and cleaning of campus buildings and dorms, and responds to work orders submitted through the online work order system including room and event set-up within buildings. |
Environmental Health & Safety | The New School's Environmental Health and Safety office is responsible for regulatory compliance for worker safety and environmental protection. The office's responsibilities include chemical safety, EPA-regulated waste management practices, ergonomic guidelines, and safety awareness campaigns. |
Energy Management & Sustainability | The New School is committed to sustainability in all aspects of building operations, especially reduction of water and energy consumption and increased efforts in recycling and composting solid waste. Our architects, engineers, and facility staff are addressing climate change in a variety of ways — working with the university’s vast talent pool and the Tishman Center on key initiatives to develop ways to reduce our footprint and carry the mission of global environmental responsibility beyond NYC. For information, contact Ashley Kossakowski, Director, Energy Management and Sustainability at kossakoa@newschool.edu |
University Housing & Dining | University Housing & Dining is responsible for logistics and operations related to university residence halls and meal plans. The team oversees room selection, updates to housing rates and deadlines, residential mail services, and manages the housing application process including first-year housing exemption requests and appeals. For information contact universityhousing@newschool.edu or Brenda Cruz, Director of Housing Operations, cruzb@newschool.edu |
Mail Services | The New School's Mail Services, managed in partnership with Ricoh, handles all incoming and outgoing mail and packages for faculty, staff, and students through designated mailrooms and package lockers, with alerts and digital notifications for recipients. Services include mail delivery, package pickup, large delivery coordination, and shipping via USPS, FedEx, and UPS, with customer support available via email or phone. For information, contact mailservices@newschool.edu. |
For additional questions regarding who to contact or which office manages specific workflows or processes, submit a request using this form and we will assist you as soon as an answer is available.
Key Contacts
Use this section to help faculty and staff quickly identify the right point of contact or team for specific tasks and processes. You can list the contacts or use the table template below.
General Contact Information
- Division Email: facilitiesmanagement@newschool.edu
- Division Phone: 212-229-5456
Division Contacts by Business Function
Topic / Business Function | What We Handle | Primary Contact | Title | Contact Info |
Facilities Maintenance | Maintenance issues, repairs, event planning &-set up, extended building hours | Monika Jackowski | Assistant Director of Facilities Operations | facilitiesmanagement@newschool.edu |
Capital Projects | Capital project requests | Thomas Whalen | VP, Facilities & Capital Infrastructure | |
Mail Services | Digital mail, outgoing mail, incoming and outgoing packages, large packages | Anthony Hernandez | Mail Services Manager | c-hernandeza@newschool.edu |
Sustainability | Sustainability initiatives, Demand Response Program | Ashley Kossakowski | Director of Energy Management and Sustainability | |
University Housing & Dining | Housing assignments and accommodations, residence hall operational questions, dining & meal plan issues | Brenda Cruz | Director of Housing, Dining and Auxiliary Operations | cruzb@newschool.edu |
Environmental Health & Safety | Safety training, hazardous waste management, OSHA compliance | Patrick Moran | Assistant Director of Environmental Health & Safety |
For additional questions regarding who to contact or which office manages specific workflows or processes, submit a request using this form and we will assist you as soon as an answer is available.