Malcolm Carter became director of The New School's university communications in 1985, probably the first to occupy this role following the retirement of Albert Landa, who as vice president had overseen development and public relations activities since the late 1960s.

Carter grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts and attended Trinity College (BA 1966), where he was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, the Tripod. Prior to coming to The New School, he served as speech writer to the Secretary of the Navy and as a freelance journalist.

Based upon documents in this collection, at The New School Carter held broad responsibilities, leading advertising and marketing, public relations and publications for all divisions, which included Eugene Lang College (launched under this name in 1985), the Adult Division (as of 2017, the Schools of Public Engagement), the Graduate Faculty (now, New School for Social Research), Parsons School of Design, and the Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions (now, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy).

In terms of public relations, Carter worked to raise the profile of The New School and to position the institution as a unified university, where it had long been viewed as a collection of quite separate divisions. In this capacity, among his activities Carter networked with colleagues in national and trade publications, arranged events and media opportunities for the president, Jonathan Fanton, worked with school deans, and oversaw market research. Institutional publications Carter was responsible for included the New School Observer, the New School Bulletin, annual reports and fact books. During his tenure, several of these publications received DESI awards for graphic design.

For a time, Carter appears also to have held primary responsibility for the university art collection. He worked closely with collection sponsor and chair of the Board of Trustees, Vera List, and an ad hoc art committee to usher the collection into its next phase. This was realized with the hiring of Kathleen Goncharov as curator in 1987. In 1988, Carter was instrumental in ensuring that the frescoes by muralist José Clemente Orozco were not removed from the school, ultimately obtaining a commitment from Equitable Life Assurance Society to finance the murals' restoration.

After leaving The New School around 1991, Carter served as director of Public Education at the U.S. Treasury Department (1995-2002). Thereafter, he became a realtor in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York. In 2013, Carter moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where, as of 2017, he continues to work in real estate and writes a blog on life as an expatriate.

Sources:

Carter, Malcolm. I, on Cambodia: Reflections on Living in Another World (blog). www.malcolmcarter.com.

Honan, William H. 1988. "New School Finds Way To Save Orozco Fresco." New York Times, March 26. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/26/arts/new-school-finds-way-to-save-orozco-fresco.html.

Trinity College Digital Repository. 1966ivy. Published Jun 5, 2013. https://issuu.com/tcdigitalrepository/docs/1966ivy/178.