Constituent Advisory Group

The Constituent Advisory Group includes stakeholders hailing from within the University (e.g. faculty or staff professionals working in a particular area relevant to planning, such as Career Services, Modern Languages and Literatures, Fordham University Press, and International Initiatives). It also includes representatives from a range of humanities-oriented organizations located in the Bronx and New York City, Fordham’s closest community allies, and features cultural institutions, historical societies, museums, nongovernmental organizations, and other professional sectors who are sources of knowledge and expertise concerning applied humanities training and career pathways for humanities Ph.D.s

Maureen Bateman is a member of the Board of Directors of the American-Irish Historical Society. She is a Managing Director at Rosehill Consulting Group, Inc. and an Independent Director at Entergy Corp. She is on the Board of Directors at Entergy Corp., The Boston Bar Foundation, Fordham Law Alumni Trustees Association, and The Gregorian University Foundation.

Armando Borja is Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in the North American region (JRS/USA). He brings to the “Living Humanities Ph.D.” project more than twenty-five years of international relief and development experience. Under his leadership, JRS/USA has supported programs around the world where there have been major refugee crisis including projects in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Haiti, Panama, Colombia among others. Prior to his 15 years with JRS, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, Armando worked with Catholic Relief Services as a Reconstruction Program Coordinator in Honduras.

Malkah Bressler is the President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and a sixth-year doctoral candidate in the English Department. She is excited to be part of the Living Humanities Ph.D. NEH Project as she is committed to promoting the study of the Humanities. As a member of the MLA's inaugural Connected Academics proseminar, Malkah is keen to bring her experience to the group.

Elizabeth Butterworth is the Director of Development at the Paideia Institute, where she manages Aequora, a program through which Paideia partners with universities, schools, and community organizations to expand access to the classical humanities by offering introductory Latin classes for low-income elementary and middle school students. She is also the Program Advisor for the Bluhm Scholarship honors program in the Division of Classics at Hunter College. After completing her A.B. in Classics at Princeton University, Liz won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford, where she earned an M.Sc in Comparative and International Education in 2013 and an M.St in Latin and Greek Languages and Literature in 2014.

Brendan Cahill is the Executive Director of the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, an independent academic center reporting to the President of Fordham University that acts as a bridge between the academic and humanitarian communities. He has directed graduate and undergraduate programs throughout the world.

Martin Chase, S.J., Ph.D., is Professor of English and Medieval Studies and Associate Editor of Traditio. He publishes in the areas of Old Norse and medieval English language and literature—most recently, Eddic, Skaldic, and Beyond (2014).

Michael J. Dowling is president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems. Before working at Northwell, Mr. Dowling served in New York State government for 12 years, including seven years as state director of Health, Education and Human Services and deputy secretary to the governor. He was also commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services. Before his public service career, Mr. Dowling was a professor of social policy and assistant dean at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services, and director of the Fordham campus in Westchester County.

Dr. James Grossman is Executive Director of the American Historical Association. Formerly Vice President for Research and Education at the Newberry Library, he has taught at the University of Chicago and the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration and A Chance to Make Good: African-Americans, 1900-1929. With Anthony Grafton, he is also the author of "No More Plan B" (Chronicle of Higher Education, October 9, 2011) and “Plan C” (Chronicle of Higher Education, November 1, 2011).

Jeannine Hill-Fletcher, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology and Faculty Director of Service-Learning in Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning. Her primary area of research in theologies of religious diversity has focused on the intersection with other forms of difference including gender and race, with an interest in the material and political impact of theological projects. Her books include Monopoly on Salvation? A Christian Approach to Religious Pluralism (Continuum, 2005) and Motherhood as Metaphor: Engendering Interreligious Dialogue (Fordham University Press, 2013). Her current work is informed by membership in the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, a multi-generational, multi-religious and multi-racial grassroots organization working for social change.

Lisa Lancia is the Director of International Initiatives with the Office of the Provost at Fordham University. As Fordham’s Senior International Officer (SIO), she is responsible for leading strategic internationalization, as well as overseeing study abroad, international services, Fordham’s ESL program, and managing development of international agreements. Ms. Lancia previously held senior administrative positions with Pace University School of Law in New York, with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations in Croatia and Haiti and with the United Nations Compensation Commission at UN HQ in Geneva, Switzerland.

Lester Long is the Founder & Executive Director of Classical Charter Schools, a small network of high-performing K-8 public schools in the South Bronx. Prior to this role, Mr. Long taught for 4 years at an elementary school in the Bronx, and prior to that, he spent 7 years working in the investment banking and finance industry.

Alison McKay is the Executive Director of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum. She previously served as Curator, Archivist, and most recently Executive Director of the Bayside Historical Society. She has extensive experience in managing a historic site and cultural institution, initiating and implementing public programs and curricula, spearheading fundraising events, developing resources and grants, and collaborating with diverse constituencies.

Laura K. Morreale, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of Medieval Studies at Fordham University. Her scholarly work has appeared in both traditional publications and in non-traditional venues in conjunction with new, digital modes of humanities research. She is an advocate for greater openness to the intellectual marketplace for graduate school alumni who work in M.A.-compatible and Ph.D.-compatible careers, and is working closely with professional organizations to address the matter among medieval scholars. In 2013, she initiated a series of alumni panels at Fordham entitled "Compatible Careers for Medievalists," featuring M.A. and Ph.D. recipients working outside of the professorate.

Fredric W. Nachbaur is currently Director of Fordham University Press. In addition to overseeing the operations of the press, he acquires in cultural studies, education, history, media and communication, religion, and urban studies. He has a B.A. in English from William Paterson University and is currently studying for his Masters in Urban Studies from Fordham University with a completion date of spring 2017.

Mark Naison, Ph.D., is Professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham University. He is the author of seven books and over 300 articles on African American politics, labor history, popular culture and education policy. His first book, Communists in Harlem in the Depression, published in 1983, is still in print, and is used in graduate courses around the nation. Dr. Naison is the founder of the Bronx African American History Project, one of the largest community-based oral history projects in the nation and has brought his research into more than thirty Bronx schools, as well as Bronx-based cultural organizations and NGOs.

John O’Neill, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in Hispanic Philology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 1996 he has served as the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at The Hispanic Society of America. He also serves as Librarian on the board of the American-Irish Historical Society.

Francesca Parmeggiani, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at Fordham University. She holds degrees from the University of Bologna (Italy) and Indiana University Bloomington, and she teaches 20th- and 21st-century Italian literature and cinema. Her research focuses on contemporary Italian literature and culture with special interests in the representation and interplay of politics and religion in literature and film, women’s writing, and feminist theory.

Jeannine Pinto, Ph.D., is the University Assessment Officer at Fordham University where she provides faculty and administrators support for assessment projects at the course, program, school, and institutional levels. In collaboration with the Office of Institutional Research, she can supply data, data analysis, and methodological consultation upon request. She is a member of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Association of Institutional Research (AIR) and its northeast regional affiliate (NEAIR), and the Assessment Network of New York (ANNY).

Doug Steward, Ph.D., is Associate Director of Programs at the Modern Language Association, where he works to ensure that English and foreign language departments have the information they need to advocate effectively for themselves. Previously, he taught American literature and critical theory at Truman State University and Franklin & Marshall College.

Emily L. Swafford, Ph.D., is the manager of academic affairs at the American Historical Association, where she directs the Mellon-funded Career Diversity for Historians initiative. She also staffs the AHA's Teaching Division and supports their work on history education at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate level. She earned a Ph.D. in 20th-century US history at the University of Chicago. Her book manuscript chronicles the transnational origins of US military family policy in the early Cold War.

Jennifer Udell, Ph.D., is Curator of University Art and of the Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art. She also teaches courses in Art History and Museum Studies.