Consists of records created and received by Charles S. Olton, dean of Parsons School of Design from 1989 until 1997. Includes subject files on committees, departments and programs, events, individuals, international projects, and general administrative issues. Some files are restricted. Please email archivist@newschool.edu for details.

David Corcos Levy served as dean of Parsons School of Design from 1970 until 1989. The bulk of these records were generated between 1970 and 1984, after the merger of Parsons and the New School for Social Research, and consist of memos, correspondence, reports, and subject files related to Levy's administrative tenure. Correspondents include a range of New School and Parsons administrators, including New School president John R. Everett.

Categories and subjects represented herein include developing and implementing new degree programs; the process of merging academic institutions, including the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles; faculty relations and unionization; accreditation; program and department establishment and design; and fundraising activities. Also found here are materials created by the Parsons Board of Trustees and, after the merger, the New School Board of Overseers.

The Lesley Cadman records were created or received by Lesley Cadman during her term as vice dean of Parsons School of Design. Some records pre-date Cadman's arrival at Parsons.

The Parsons School of Design Master of Arts Design Studies program was established to encourage the study of design as a transdisciplinary discipline with the goal of preparing students to become active agents of social change. The collection consists of physical and electronic files documenting the program's development and planning, and reporting on its progress, as well as syllabi and video recordings of a 2014 symposium.