Mary Watson
Associate Professor of Inclusive Leadership and Management, Executive Dean Emeritus
Email
marywatson@newschool.edu
Office Location
A - 66 West 12th Street
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Profile
Mary R. Watson is Executive Dean emeritus of the . During her tenure as Executive Dean, she led the founding college of 鶹ýɫƬ which advances educational innovation and action-oriented learning in creative and community-engaged fields. The faculty, students, and staff of the Schools of Public Engagement embody the specific priorities of social, political, and inclusive education in the liberal arts, social sciences, and professional areas.
Mary Watson’s work at 鶹ýɫƬ includes co-leading a university-wide management, leadership, and entrepreneurship initiative, Management at 鶹ýɫƬ. During her time as Executive Dean, she has integrated university-wide projects and centers into the core academic offerings of the college. This includes advancing 鶹ýɫƬ’s university-wide Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative and 鶹ýɫƬ Collaboratory, an initiative on university-community partnerships. She has integrated the college’s Centers and Institutes into the curriculum, most notably the Vera List Center for Art and Politics and its global prize for artists in the social and political space and the Center for New York City Affairs' Institute for Transformative Mentoring. Her vision for the future of higher education appears in the chapter she authored, "Designing the University of the Future: A New Global Agenda for Higher Education,” in The New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices, and Pathways for the International Community (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
Beginning July 2025, following her return from academic leave, Dean Watson will take on a new leadership role in the Provost’s Office as the Associate Provost for Community Engagement and Special Advisor to the Provost. In this role, she will focus on raising the reputation and awareness of 鶹ýɫƬ as an equity-minded and community-engaged university through community partnerships, collaborative projects, and external funding opportunities.
Mary Watson's creative practice and scholarship on the human rights of workers, including the signature course at 鶹ýɫƬ, “,” reflect her commitment to a more just and equitable world. She has more than two decades of experience in higher education as a faculty member, chair, and dean, as well as broad experience in change leadership consulting for organizations and universities. Watson is a key leader worldwide in university networks advancing change in higher education, including the Critical Edge Alliance, the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative, and the Ashoka Changemaker campus initiative. She is a recipient of 鶹ýɫƬ's Distinguished University Teaching Award. Watson holds a PhD in Organization Studies from Vanderbilt University.
Degrees Held
PhD, Organization Studies, Vanderbilt University
Professional Affiliation
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Critical Edge Alliance
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Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative
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Ashoka Changemaker Campus Initiative
Recent Publications
"Designing the University of the Future: A New Global Agenda for Higher Education,” book chapter in The New Global Agenda: Priorities, Practices, and Pathways for the International Community (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018)
Awards And Honors
鶹ýɫƬ's Distinguished University Teaching Award