Faculty of Arts and Sciences

A vibrant and diverse community of teachers and scholars

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is the heart of Fordham students’ liberal arts and sciences education in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. With over 1,200 full-time and part-time faculty members, the Faculty is organized into twenty departments and a wide range of interdisciplinary programs. We provide a Core curriculum to all undergraduate students, and we support dozens of academic majors, minors, and graduate programs across Fordham’s various colleges and schools, including Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and the Gabelli School of Business. Our faculty are leaders in research who regularly make significant scholarly contributions and advancements in their professional fields. Our faculty are also deeply engaged in global and national networks, as well as in the local New York City community.

Learn about the many exciting things our A&S faculty are doing, and about how the Office of the Dean of Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) supports the faculty, promoting excellence in pedagogy and scholarship

378 tenure-line faculty (as of Fall 2023)
135 full-time non-tenure line faculty (as of Fall 2023)
782 adjunct faculty (as of Spring 2023)
2100+ Courses 2,100 courses in Fall 2023, across the humanities, social sciences, STEM, and the arts.


Research Spotlight

Ralph Vacca

Ralph Vacca’s, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies, recently received a major grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the project, "Critical Data Stories: Co-Designing Remixing Tools with Teachers to Support Critical Data Literacy with Middle School Youth." Learn more about this project as well as other outstanding research our faculty are completing.

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Teaching Spotlight

The program “Visions of the Good in the Bronx,” which is meant to help underserved students in the borough, began last summer at Fordham from a $300,000 grant. Read how the program is continuing this summer with Lauren Kopajtic, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and Nicholas Smyth, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and as Stephen Grimm, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, shares his experience from last year. Learn more about this and other faculty pedagogy initiatives.

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Department & Program News

Learn more about a new bi-campus interdisciplinary Asian American Studies Minor that will begin next fall, along with a new Biochemistry Major that will make its debut at both FCRH and FCLC. Learn more about other exciting department and program news. See our complete list of departments and programs, and department contacts.


Arts & Sciences News

Can AI Can Promote the Greater Good? Student and Faculty Researchers Say Yes

Can AI Can Promote the Greater Good? Student and Faculty Researchers Say Yes

At a spring symposium, Fordham faculty and students showed how they’re putting data science and artificial intelligence to good use: applying them to numerous research questions related to health, safety, and justice in society. It’s just the sort of thing that’s supposed to happen at an institution like Fordham, said Dennis Jacobs, Ph.D., provost of …

The Great Equalizer? Not Exactly. What We Got Wrong During the Pandemic

The Great Equalizer? Not Exactly. What We Got Wrong During the Pandemic

During the COVID pandemic, a story in the New York Times caught the eye of economics professor Troy Tassier, Ph.D. Using anonymous cell phone data, researchers showed that nearly 50% of residents in New York City’s wealthiest communities had left the city. Those in poorer communities stayed for the most part, working at in-person jobs …

Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Spring Update

Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Spring Update

At the Climate Action Summit held April 8 at Rose Hill, several elected officials were on hand to celebrate Fordham’s new role as an EPA grantmaker. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the crowd, “We couldn’t have thought of a better place than Fordham” to dispense the federal funding, which will go to grassroots …

Scholar Calls for Wider Acceptance of LGBTQ Community in Eastern Orthodox Church

Scholar Calls for Wider Acceptance of LGBTQ Community in Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Christian tradition can be a resource for acceptance and affirmation of the experiences of the LGBTQ faithful, a guest speaker said at a March 6 Fordham event, addressing current disagreements about their participation in today’s Eastern Orthodox Church. Especially regarding the LGBTQ community, the Orthodox Church has consistently become “hung up on the …

‘The Best Thing’ for Students: Fordham College Advising Center Draws Donor Support

‘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 …

From Student’s Research, a New Way to Decode Brain Signals

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 …

5 Lessons for Entrepreneurs from the Jesuits

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 …

Building a ‘Security Culture’ with a Human Touch

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 …

Fordham Aid Expert to Lead U.N. Relief Efforts in Gaza and West Bank

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, …

Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Update

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 …

Fordham Student’s Research Helps Expand Food Benefits for Community College Students

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 …

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