The New School was established as in 1919 by radicals and pacifists, as much as a center for political and artistic exchange as for adult education. Most of its original faculty were forced to resign from Columbia because of their opposition to World War I. During the 1930's the school began its "University in Exile" by importing scholars who were fleeing from the spread of National Socialism. Drawing inspiration from the Frankfurt School's Institute for Social Research (shall I node this?), the school was rechristened The New School for Social Research. The New School brought to the U.S. some of the most influential European minds in social thought, psychology, politics, anthropology...
As the International Left began to decline, so did the New School's dedication to a radical vision, I would argue. The school does still present a heavily politicized curriculum, and I'm sure most of its students are opposed to Neoliberalism and the WTO. But there is no denying that the new New School University is marketing itself primarily as an adult education institution. The only thing red about the New School University of today is the advertising it posters over entire subway cars.