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US Politics and New School

• In 2007, New School trustee and long-time Clinton fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested after being found to have skipped out on a felony theft conviction. In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to three years prison for defrauding millions of dollars of investors' money in an intricate Ponzi scheme. In response, the Hillary Clinton campaign returned $850,000 of his campaign contributions.

• Leo Strauss, the philosopher considered to be the founding figure of neoconservatism, once taught in New School of Social Research.

• Leo Hindery, a New School trustee, had donated nearly $270,000 to the John Edwards campaign by late 2007. Other politically involved New School trustees include Howard Gittis, who was a "bundler" for the John McCain campaign, and George Haywood, who was part of Senator Barack Obama's inner fund-raising circle. Fred P. Hochberg, former Dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, was a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and liaison to the gay community.

• The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States held its eleventh public hearing May 18–19, 2004, at New School University in New York City. The two-day hearing examined the response of local and federal emergency response departments on September 11, 2001, and considered how to improve these critical functions in the event of future terrorist attacks. The Commission heard from the current and former top-level officials in the fire, police, and emergency management departments of New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Arlington County, Virginia. Secretary of Homeland Security Thomas J. Ridge and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani also testified. Two staff statements were presented during the course of the hearing. “At this hearing, the Commission turns its attention to the day of September 11, 2001. We will focus on what confronted civilians and first responders during the attacks, how they made decisions under adverse conditions, and what first responders communicated to civilians and to each other,” said Commission Chair Thomas H. Kean. “The Commission also will explore the state of the emergency preparedness and response today,” said Commission Vice Chair Lee H. Hamilton. “We will examine what steps have been taken since 9-11 to improve our preparedness against terrorist attacks and other emergencies, and whether we need national standards of preparedness.”