What's New at GSAS
‘The Best Thing’ for Students: Fordham College Advising Center Draws Donor Support
Raising two sons, Donna Smolens, FCRH ’79, GSAS ’81, saw firsthand how the right kind of advising can enhance students’ social confidence, academic achievement, and intellectual growth. When she learned about the new Fordham College Advising Center, then, she was enthusiastic. Her response? “‘This is the best thing you guys can do,’” she said. The …
Read The Full Story
From Student’s Research, a New Way to Decode Brain Signals
Working with one of her Fordham professors at the intersection of machine learning and neuroscience, Rabia Gondur devised an innovative way to understand how an insect’s brain functions during natural movements. When you do something simple like pick up your phone or wash your hands, what’s happening in your brain? Quite a lot, actually—neurons are …
Read The Full Story
5 Lessons for Entrepreneurs from the Jesuits
One of history’s great startup success stories, the nearly 500-year-old Catholic religious order built a global network and helped create higher education as we know it. Founded in 1540 by the former soldier St. Ignatius Loyola—and starting with little more than a mission to help souls and do it heroically—the Jesuits quickly established themselves around …
Read The Full Story
Building a ‘Security Culture’ with a Human Touch
As the founder and CEO of RevolutionCyber, a cybersecurity company that helps clients build a “security culture” within their organization, Juliet Okafor, GSAS ’03, believes that when it comes to minimizing risk, humans—not technology—are the solution. Okafor discussed this at the 2023 Forever Learning event, At the Intersection of Human and Tech, where several other …
Read The Full Story
Fordham Aid Expert to Lead U.N. Relief Efforts in Gaza and West Bank
Jamie McGoldrick, a Distinguished Fellow at Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), was named the interim deputy special coordinator and resident coordinator, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) on Dec. 22, 2023. McGoldrick, a lecturer, author, and expert in international law, the Middle East peace process, …
Read The Full Story
Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Update
Last summer, in response to a call from Pope Francis to “take concrete actions in the care of our common home,” Fordham published the Laudato Si’ Action Plan. The document set forth an ambitious seven-year plan for the University that touches on everything from facilities and curriculum to student involvement, all with the ultimate goal …
Read The Full Story
Fordham Student’s Research Helps Expand Food Benefits for Community College Students
A Fordham graduate student’s research is impacting policy around food benefits for young people. This fall in Arizona, advocates used a research report from Alexander Meyer, a Fordham student in the international political economy and development graduate program, to get the state to change its policy around SNAP benefits for community college students. During the …
Read The Full Story
Emerging Markets Program Celebrates 15 Years of Partnership in South Africa
When Fouché Venter learned that the Emerging Markets program would be gathering for a 15th-anniversary celebration last summer in Pretoria, South Africa, there was “no question” in his mind that he would go. An alumnus of the program, he had traveled to the U.S. in the summer of 2010 with nine other South African students …
Read The Full Story
A Beacon of Hope for the Birds (and Humans) of New York
NYC Audubon’s Dustin Partridge wants New York City to become more livable for both people and wildlife—and green roofs, he says, are key to that effort. As you walk through the apple orchard, with Honeycrisps and GoldRushes at your feet, a swallow flies by, then a kinglet and an Eastern phoebe, whose presence signals the start …
Read The Full Story
In Bali, a Researcher Stands Up for Sustainable Oceans
The Coral Triangle—a 2.3-million-square-mile area spanning the tropical waters of six Southeast Asian nations—is one of the most diverse marine habitats on Earth. In recent years, though, its coral reefs have been depleted due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing. And while international laws apply to the protection and sustainable use of ocean resources, economic …
Read The Full Story
New Scholarship Honors Grande Dame of Rio Grande Valley Theater Scene
In the theater world of Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, everyone knew Marian Monta. She was the professor at the local University of Texas campus with the big heart and the salty wit—the driving force behind its theater program, the director of more than 150 shows, a winner of awards, a mentor to students, an inspiration …
Read The Full Story