College Shadow Week Brings Fordham/Bronx Students Together

Twenty-four students from the Pablo Neruda Academy in the Bronx made Fordham's Rose Hill campus their home from Nov. 16-19, as part of the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Fourth Annual Shadow Program.

The program brings high school teens onto campus to “shadow” Fordham students, providing an introductory college experience to some who have never set foot on the campus of a university before, said Director and Assistant Dean Sofia Bautista Pertuz.

“The program helped many of them imagine their own potential as college students,” Pertuz said, “and to develop a passion for learning. Some of them didn’t realize just how many diverse topics there are to study on the college level.”

Seventeen Fordham students volunteered to be mentors for the teens. In addition, the high school students were treated to presentations from Michael Latham, Ph.D., interim dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill; Rev. Erika Crawford of Campus Ministry; C-STEP Counselor Alyson Weaver; and Caitlin Becker of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, among others.

With the help of the Office of Undergraduate Admission, the students were given a tutorial in filling out the college common application and in writing the “personal statement” required on most college applications. They were also given SAT preparation literature and information.

“It was a full experience for them,” Pertuz said. ‘I enjoyed seeing their confidence grow over the course of the week.”

The program was co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill; the Offices of Student Leadership and Community Development and Career Services; and the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice; and Sodexo.

Sperber Prize Winner Receives Award

Photo by Joseph McLaughlin

Author Todd DePastino (right) speaks with Ron Jacobson, Ph.D., associate vice president for academic affairs and executive director of academic programs at Fordham Westchester, before the Sperber Prize ceremony on Nov. 23 at the Lowenstein Center.

DePastino received the Ann M. Sperber Prize for biography for his book, Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front (W.W. Norton, 2008). The prize is given by Fordham to an author of a biography or autobiography of a journalist or other media figure.

Fordham IT Leads AJCU Technology Mentoring Program

A mentoring program headed by a member of Fordham’s Information Technology (IT) department is helping develop leadership skills for emerging IT leaders at Jesuit institutions of higher learning in the United States.

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Conference on Information Technology Management (CITM) Mentoring Program matches about 30 mentees and mentors from 26 of the member colleges and universities.

The upcoming wave of graduates from the program, which was begun in 2006, will receive certificates of recognition in April when the 25th annual CITM is held on the Rose Hill campus.

Now beginning its third year, the mentoring program, which is chaired by Jason Benedict, executive director of Fordham’s information security office, matches prospective IT leaders at one AJCU school with CIOs and established professionals from another AJCU school. The basis for intra-institutional matching, said Benedict, is to offer mentors and mentees new networking opportunities and a new perspective on IT administration—all within the family of Jesuit higher education.

“Internally, it is sometimes difficult for CIOs and even executive directors to mentor their own employees,” Benedict said. “Our aim with the program is to foster relationships between IT professionals that provide a fresh perspective toward meeting the challenges that are unique to higher education and IT in particular.”

“This is more about leadership and the life of a manager in higher ed than it is about technology and IT functions,” he added. “We don’t have operational conversations on problems installing software.”

The program accepts applications by nomination every June. A program description and application procedures are available on the AJCU website.

“The program is a good builder of professional relationships,” Benedict said. “Our mentees can continue to access their mentors . . . throughout their careers.”

Alumnus Coaches Millennials on Building Successful Careers

Angel Rivera (FCRH ’83) instructs students in how to deal with ethic or racial humor in the workplace. Photo by Chris Taggart

Members of Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, may be experiencing a tough job market, but they also face another challenge—negative perceptions of hiring managers and future co-workers.

To succeed, Millennials must work hard, seek guidance and avoid the pitfalls that every worker has faced early in their careers, a Fordham alumnus told a group of undergraduates on Nov. 4 at the Rose Hill campus.

“There is a perception that your generation is spoiled and entitled, lazy, self-centered and not committed to work. You have to prove them wrong, but you must also take steps that will help you succeed,” said Angel Rivera (FCRH ’83), chief diversity officer at Kingsborough Community College/City University of New York.

Rivera, the keynote speaker at the sixth annual Diversity Networking Banquet, boasts a successful and varied career. Under New York City mayors Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani, Rivera led efforts to diversify the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York.

Most recently, he served as national director of affirmative action and diversity at the Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles.

Diversity in the workplace doesn’t just apply to race, gender and religion, but having policies that provide equal treatment for people with disabilities, he said.

Rivera cautioned the more than 130 students in attendance against having workplace discussions about religion or politics, or making jokes that generalize about ethnic or racial groups. He recalled an awkward situation in which the CEO of a large advertising agency made an ethnic joke during a one-on-one meeting.

“I looked down at my feet and said, ‘I forgot something in the next room; I’ll be right back.’ When I returned, the subject was changed and I avoided the joke, but it was pretty unbelievable,” he said. “But that’s life, and you have to avoid these situations.”

Rivera gave advice on what has helped him get ahead in his career.

“Have a mentor. I found one at the Screen Actors Guild and he happened to be a Fordham alumnus who is still a good friend today,” he said. “Also, know the corporate culture and look to see that the company’s values are in line with your personal values. Try to avoid office gossip because it can get you in a lot of trouble.”

Pershing Rifles Celebrate at Fordham

Photo by Michael Dames

Daniel J. Sullivan, S.J., (right) speaks with members of the National Society of Pershing Rifles, a precision United States military drill team, at the organization’s national ball on Nov. 14 at the McGinley Center.

Father Sullivan (FCRH ’50) was one of the founding members of the Fordham University chapter of the Pershing Rifles, which exists at more than 40 colleges and universities across the country. Membership is composed of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps officer cadets as well as civilians who are interested in learning aspects of military discipline.

The national ball, which is typically held at the United State Military Academy at West Point, featured Col. Randal A. Dragon, commander of the operations group at the National Training Center.

This Month in Jesuit History
Jesuits Dedicate Themselves to Education

In December 1551, the Society of Jesus explicitly embraced a pursuit that had been drawing more of its attention over the prior three years. The Jesuits had opened several schools since 1548—including the Collegio Romano in Rome, which would be the first Jesuit university—and the order’s leadership in Rome was growing enthusiastic about the potential of this new mission.

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society, was concerned that running schools would conflict with the poverty and mobility he envisioned for the Jesuits. But he also saw the good that the Society could accomplish through education. On Dec. 1, in letters written by his secretary, Juan Alfonso de Polanco, he encouraged the establishment of Jesuit schools in various parts of Europe.

Recalling his own experience, he envisioned studies that encompassed the classics, theology and the humanism of the Renaissance era in which he lived. A formal plan of studies for Jesuit education, the Ratio studiorum, would come five decades later.