Much-protested New School president Bob Kerrey announced yesterday that he will step down from his role when his contract expires on June 1, 2011. The former Nebraska governor and senator, 65, told trustees of the decision in a private meeting, during which the group unanimously passed a resolution to reaffirm its support for their beleaguered colleague and help him assure a smooth transition. Despite variously violent protests in December of last year and April of this year, during which students calling for his resignation were met with police force, Kerrey says that it had been his intention since he took the position in 2001 to only stay for two five-year terms. “Orderly transition is very important to me and it’s not easy in any organization — for-profit and nonprofit,” said the man who received a no-confidence vote from his faculty this winter. “I want to make sure my successor is at least as good as I am.”
Kerrey Will Leave New School in 2011 [City Room/NYT]
Earlier: There Is All Kinds of Crazy Going on at the New School
New School Building Occupation Ends in Raid, Pepper Spray
Kerrey Has No Fears of No-Confidence Vote
Related: Bob Kerrey’s Ivory-Tower War [NYM]
