NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts — whose famous alumni include Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Alec Baldwin — became the latest school to submit a vote of no confidence in the university’s president, John Sexton.
In March, the university’s College of Arts & Sciences gave Sexton a thumbs-down, followed by the Steinhardt and Gallatin schools earlier this month.
The Tisch vote tallied 93 faculty members expressing no confidence in Sexton, with 76 voting against the measure. Sixteen abstained.
Sexton, who has led NYU since 2002, has drawn criticism for his “2031” real-estate development project in Greenwich Village, with some faculty charging that Sexton has been secretive about its budget. While critics say that money could be better spent on financial aid for students, supporters say Sexton has presided over unprecedented growth.
“The Board finds today’s vote by the Tisch faculty disappointing,” Martin Lipton, chairman of NYU’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “It is our hope that in the aftermath of the vote, the focus will return once again to sustaining NYU’s academic momentum and continuing the school’s drive for artistic and academic excellence.”