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New Producer and Programming Put the “F” in WFUV
WFUV now offers programming specifically designed to highlight the University’s diverse intellectual pursuits, culture and events. The program, Fordham Conversations, airs at 7 a.m. every Saturday and is largely the result of WFUV’s newest addition, University Producer John Blythe.
Blythe joined WFUV in September to serve as a conduit between the station and the University. Recent features on the hour-long program include a discussion with Marymount College historian Roger Panetta, Ph.D., on the migration of African-Americans from the South to Westchester County, a look at the effects of media deregulation with Communications Professor Robin Andersen, Ph.D., and a preview of the new spoken-word and performance series Talk/Art/Cabaret with Fordham Poet-in-Residence Mark Svenvold.
Before coming to Fordham, Blythe was a producer for With Good Reason, a statewide public radio program based in Charlottesville, Va. The weekly show featured faculty from Virginia’s 16 public universities and colleges. Blythe’s hiring at WFUV marks a return of sorts. From 1996 to 1997, he produced audio profiles of New York restaurants and cultural events for the station. He has also filed reports for National Public Radio’s legal affairs show Justice Talking and several British radio networks. During 14 years in journalism, Blythe has also worked as a newspaper reporter and as an editor for several Web sites.
“I envision Fordham Conversations as a magazine of the airwaves,” Blythe said. “I hope to bring listeners along for explorations of the worlds of literature, science, the arts, politics, history and business with plenty in between.”
To share news of upcoming events, recent publications and other news, contact Blythe at jblythe@wfuv.org or (718) 817-4908.
High-School Researchers Finalists for Coveted Prize
Two high-school students working with researchers at Fordham’s Louis Calder Biological Field Station are finalists’ in the Intel National Science Talent Search.
High-school senior Jeff Licitra of Blind Brook High School in Rye Brook, N.Y., is being recognized for his work on spatial and biodiversity patterns in ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. Senior Matthew Kroll of Byram Hills High School in Armonk, N.Y., has received accolades for his research about the importance of body size as a factor in the development of the deer tick.
The 40 finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to compete for the grand prize, a $100,000 scholarship. The Intel Science Talent Search, formerly known as the Westinghouse, is the country’s oldest and most prestigious competition for high school-researchers. Each finalist is guaranteed a $5,000 scholarship.
Under the tutelage of Fordham Assistant Professor Jim Lewis, Ph.D., Licitra discovered that ectomycorrhizal fungi colonize at a significantly lower rate on oak roots in hemlock-dominated forests. His research is important for forest management because hemlock forests are declining as a result of attacks by the hemlock woolly adelgid. Kroll, who was supervised by Associate Research Scientists Tom Daniels, Ph.D., and Richard Falco, Ph.D., found that large female ticks produce more eggs, but smaller females allocate more resources per egg. This discovery could shed light on tick survival and host-finding success, which will effect future tick populations and the spread of Lyme disease.
University Commemorates Partnership With NYC
Three celebrated authors will help the University commemorate its contributions to the capital of commerce and culture, New York City, during the “Fordham and the City” lecture series beginning on Feb. 27. The series will also celebrate the 19-year tenure of retiring University president, the Rev. Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J.
Kenneth Jackson, Ph.D., the Jacques Barzun Professor of History and Social Sciences at Columbia University will present the first lecture on Feb. 27 at the University’s Lincoln Center campus. His talk will be titled “Empire City: New York, Fordham and the Development of the World Metropolis.”
Jackson’s talk will be followed by two others. On March 6, a lecture titled “Fordham and the Rise of Gotham: City of God and City of Man” will be presented by novelist Peter Quinn, a chronicler of Irish America. The Rev. Thomas Shelley, Ph.D., a Fordham theology professor, will present the third and final lecture titled “From St. John’s College to Fordham: A Catholic University for the Capital of the World.”
The series is being sponsored by the Archbishop Hughes Institute on Religion and Culture, the Center for American Catholic Studies and the Office of the University Chaplain.
Fordham Still Playing Hardball
Fordham Senior Jeremy Schwarz is currently in second place behind University of Chicago Senior Benjamin Casson Recchie in MSNBC’s Hardball College Tour “Hot Seat” rankings. In October, Schwarz answered 13 out of 19 questions correctly after Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) was grilled by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on the Fordham campus. In May, “Hot Seat” finalists will compete for a $10,000 scholarship. Be sure to check in on Jeremy’s progress at http://www.msnbc.com/modules/tvnews/hardball_collegetour.
Rodier Named Assistant Dean for Liberal Studies at Tarrytown
Ann Rodier, Ph.D. (GSE ’74 and ’98), formerly the assistant dean for student affairs at the Westchester Business Institute, has been appointed assistant dean of Fordham College of Liberal Studies (FCLS) at Tarrytown.
Rodier replaces Patrick Holt, who was appointed to the associate dean position at Tarrytown last fall when Nina Carey Tassi vacated the post to become Fordham’s associate vice president for academic affairs.
Rodier’s administrative experience includes serving as a career and personal counselor at Mercy College and as a staff psychologist in the counseling center at Pace University. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany, Rodier received her master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology from Fordham’s Graduate School of Education.
Rodier was selected from a pool of candidates by a committee that included Holt, FCLS Associate Dean John Houston, Ph.D., and Patricia Silber, Ph.D., department chair and professor of English.
The Rev. Edward Sweeney, S.J., Longtime Faculty Member, Dies
TThe Rev. Edward Sweeney, S.J., who taught in Fordham’s history department from 1956 until 1986 and was a longtime member of the University’s Jesuit community, died on Feb. 3 after a brief illness. He was 87.
After graduating from Regis High School in Manhattan, Father Sweeney entered theSociety of Jesus in 1933. He studied at Inisfada, Woodstock College and Georgetown University prior to teaching at Xavier High School in Manhattan from 1941 until 1943. Father Sweeney then studied theology at Weston College in Massachusetts during which time he was ordained a priest in 1946. Following his ordination, he spent a year in Mexico before studying at the University of California (Berkeley) from 1948 until 1956.
In addition to teaching at Fordham, Father Sweeney also served as director of the Latin American Studies Program from 1960 until 1971. After retiring from full-time teaching, Father Sweeney continued to reside in Fordham’s Jesuit community and served as assistant to the minister from 1986 until 2001.
“Father Sweeney was not very ostentatious, but he did so many things so well,” said the Rev. L. Augustine Grady, S.J., a former colleague and friend for more than 60 years. “He’s a man who gave himself fully to serving God and other people.”
Father Sweeney is survived by his brothers, William and John, and a sister, Mrs. Eugene Connors.
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