Dear FCLC students,

I hope this finds you in good health and that this first month of classes has gone smoothly.

This week, I’m excited to introduce a new, monthly Q+A feature – “Ask the Dean!” The idea emerged from conversations with the FCLC Student Advisory Group (SAG), composed of students from all class years who come to the table with a diverse range of identities, backgrounds, and interests. All FCLC students are invited to submit a question about any aspect of Fordham to my email account: FCLCDean@Fordham.edu. Every month, I’ll select a question to answer here in the newsletter and on the FCLC Instagram (@fordhamfclc). If the question lies within my area of expertise, I’ll answer it myself. If it doesn’t, I’ll consult with the most appropriate colleague and share the response.

Our first Ask the Dean! question emerged directly from conversations within SAG: “What is an endowment?” To provide an answer, we invited Fordham’s chief investment officer Geeta Kapadia to one of our SAG meetings. Her answer to the question opens this week’s newsletter!


Read on to find out more about:
  • Ask the Dean
  • Use the Fordham Hub
  • Apply for new scholarship and internship opportunities! 
  • Free tickets for Fordham students to performances at the Manhattan Theatre Club! 
  • Events at Fordham
  • Events at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (free or discounted for Fordham community)
  • Events in NYC (free or low-cost)
Yours sincerely,
Dean Auricchio


P.S. Please remember that the university is closed this coming Monday, February 20 in observance of Presidents’ Day. Please note, too, that classes will follow a Monday schedule this coming Tuesday, February 21. To stay up to date on the academic calendar, please visit and bookmark this link.

______________________________________

Laura Auricchio, Ph.D.
Dean, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Fordham University
_______________________________________


Ask The Dean

What is an endowment?
The Fordham endowment provides permanent and ongoing support of the mission of the University via the long-term investment of its assets. The endowment’s goal is to ensure the University has the financial support to maintain and expand its presence as a world-class institution of higher learning. The endowment supports vital initiatives such as financial aid, scholarly research, and campus expansion.  

The endowment seeks to provide support not only to current students, faculty and staff, but also to future generations of the Fordham community. As a result, the endowment is invested via a thoughtfully developed long-term investment strategy that seeks to grow funds in a risk-controlled manner for the University’s purpose. As the endowment is intended to exist indefinitely, serving future students and researchers, it is vital that its support is sourced from the growth of its investments rather than from the investments itself - think of it as a savings account, from which we aim to spend the interest rather than the savings themselves. Withdrawing substantial funds from the endowment could severely reduce Fordham’s ability to support future endeavors. 
The endowment’s investment policy statement, which is developed by the Office of Finance and approved by the Board of Trustees, provides details on the endowment’s annual spending policy which preserves the endowment’s corpus while contributing a significant amount to the University’s budget.


Use the Fordham Hub
Please remember that you can use the Hub to connect with various academic resources:
  • Sophomores, juniors and seniors can use the Fordham Hub to make appointments with your designated class deans.
  • First-year students can use the Fordham Hub to make appointments with your advisors.
  • All students can also connect with campus resources like Career Counseling, Fellowship Opportunities and Financial Aid. 
How to access the Fordham Hub:
  • From your computer: Log onto Fordham.edu and go to MyPages/Student, or the MyApps page. Click on the Fordham Hub from either location.

 
  • From your mobile device: Download the Fordham Mobile Go App and access the Fordham Hub directly from the app.


For general questions, you can still also connect via email: Apply for new scholarship and internship opportunities! 
 
Apply for the Clare Boothe Luce scholarship
For 30 years, Fordham’s Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) program has provided funding for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, as well as other support, to women studying in STEM fields. If you fit the eligibility criteria for these opportunities, I hope you take some time to learn more and apply. The deadline for applications is March 10. For more information, contact the CBL leadership team at clarebootheluce@fordham.edu.

Apply for a paid internship with NYC Audubon
This opportunity comes to us courtesy of an FCLC alum! NYC Audubon is currently seeking applicants for a paid engagement and events internship. The intern will ideally start in late April with the position running until October of this year, and will have several exciting responsibilities, including staffing NYC Audubon’s seasonal nature center on Governors Island and other public events. They are accepting applicants of all majors, rising sophomores and above, but an interest in environmental justice and/or conservation is a plus. Learn more about this opportunity here.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Bridge Program - deadline approaching
MSK Bridge is a two-year postbac/gap year research program for students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in science who aspire to pursue biomedical PhDs or MD-PhDs. The inaugural cohort of 10 Bridge Scholars will start in July 2023, and the deadline to receive all application materials is February 24! I hope you apply soon. 

 
As soon as they become available, these opportunities are posted on our FCLC LinkedIn page. To receive the earliest notifications of these and other opportunities, please be sure to follow us on LinkedIn!

Similarly, new paid Serving the City internships are being posted on our Serving the City LinkedIn page as they come up! Two new opportunities are now up on Handshake:
To learn more about Serving the City, check out the great articles about the program in the Fordham Observer and Fordham News!  

Save the date! ARS Nova Research Showcase - April 20
Attend the information session on February 23 | 12-1pm | Lowenstein 914
Calling all student researchers and creative artists! Each year, the ARS Nova Arts and Research Showcase features the work of talented students in all fields of study at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. Join us for presentations of student projects on April 20, 2023 at 12pm-2pm in the 12th Floor Lounge. In addition, we invite you to join us for the 4th Annual Digital Showcase. This curated collection of student projects, featured on the ARS Nova website, will be available to view on April 26. See more details in the linked flyer.

Free tickets for Fordham students to performances at the Manhattan Theatre Club! 
Dates in February | New York City Center, Stage I, 131 W 55th Street (btw 6th and 7th Aves.)
I’m very excited to share that we’ve recently connected with the Manhattan Theatre Club, and they are offering free tickets for Fordham students! Sign up now to attend a preview performance of The Best We Could by Emily Feldman, directed by Daniel Aukin. This funny, wise, and heartbreaking debut from an exciting new writer recounts a daughter’s road trip with her father that becomes more than a journey across state lines. 

Events at Fordham
Be sure to check out Fordham News’s events page for events celebrating Black History Month!

Physics and Engineering Physics Colloquium
February 15 | 2:30-3:30 p.m. | Freeman 103 (Rose Hill)
Jeremy Tinker, Ph.D., associate professor of physics at NYU, will present “The History of the Universe from 1919 to Today.” Tinker will review some of the fundamental observations that have led us to the understanding that the universe is not only expanding but that this expansion is currently accelerating. 

Bryan Roby, “Blackness in Motion: The Centrality of Black Thought for Afro-Asian Jewry in Israel”
February 16 | 1 p.m. | Zoom
This talk will explore how and why Afro-Asian (Mizrahi) Jews in Israel became associated and engaged with Global Black thought throughout the 20th century. Professor Roby will conclude with a reflection on present-day Black cultural production in Israel to illustrate the shifting notions of Blackness and Jewishness amongst Mizrahi and Ethiopian Israelis.

An Anti-Oppression Framework for Social Work Practice
February 16 | 3-5 p.m. | Zoom
This two-part class will introduce and build upon concepts, theoretical foundations, and social work history to build a platform by which social workers can actively engage in social work practice rooted in anti-oppression and contribute to decolonizing across systems. The class will provide opportunities for participants to engage in self-reflection and interrogate the roots of social work practice.

Eyal Ben-Eliyahu, “The Jews and Global Geography”
February 21 | 6 p.m. | In-person at Lincoln Center (location TBD) and Zoom
Throughout history, the Jews living around the globe and were considered “citizens of the world.” In this lecture, Ben-Eliyahu will examine how the geographical structure of the world was described by Jews over the years. The lecture will offer general outlines for Jewish geographical writing and highlight the relationship between the transformations that have taken place in Jewish historical writing and those that Jewish geographical writing has undergone throughout history. 

Why Black History Matters: Critical Race Theory & the Importance of Black Studies
February 23 | 6 p.m. | Lowenstein 12th Floor Lounge 
This will be our culminating keynote lecture speaker, Dr. Khiara M. Bridges, for a discussion on Critical Race Theory and the important place of Black Studies to the present and future. Dr Bridges is a professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where she specializes in race and gender in the law.  She is an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. Her book Critical Race Theory: A Primer (Concepts and Insights) explores the origin, development, and debates surrounding critical race theory.

Events at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (free or discounted for the Fordham Community)

$10 tickets to select Black History Month performances for the Fordham Community
As part of the growing collaboration between Fordham and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), LCPA is offering $10 tickets to select Black History Month events for members of the Fordham Community. Use code CELEBRATE10 to obtain the discount for the Will Liverman event (listed below) amongst many others! 

 
Will Liverman
Tonight! February 15 | 7:30 p.m. 
Starr Theater, Alice Tully Hall
Operatic baritone Will Liverman performs select songs from his Grammy-nominated album Dreams of a New Day alongside pianist Paul Sánchez, showcasing the work of renowned Black composers across generations. The program concludes with a new piece co-written by Liverman and Lady Jess, "Good-night" featuring Lady Jess on violin. Liverman returns to Lincoln Center after starring last fall in The Metropolitan Opera’s re-opening production, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, “in a breakthrough performance” (The New York Times). 

Lincoln Center: David Rubenstein Atrium Events
61 W 62nd St, New York, NY 10023
All events are free and open to the public.

 
Tipa Tipo
February 16 | 7:30 p.m.
The members of the Brooklyn retro pop combo Tipa Tipo fuse the spirit of '70s soft rock and glimmering disco with Latin rhythms. Tipa Tipo will bring their captivating brand of vintage yacht rock en español to the Atrium for a double premiere: their first time playing in the space and the inaugural concert performance of songs from their forthcoming EP Cintas de Embalar. 

Afro Dominicano
February 17 | 7:30 p.m.
¡VAYA! is a showcase for the finest Latin music traditions, featuring excellent orchestras, a friendly community and a smoking-hot dance floor. The funk-fusion combo Afro Dominicano infuses their songs with Afro-Caribbean soul: a blend of Dominican folkloric styles and pop influences that includes merengue, bachata, samba, reggae, punk and R&B, all filtered through a uniquely New York sensibility. The social justice-inspired collective of Dominican American musicians celebrates the forthcoming release of their newest album with a night of fresh jams and good times, featuring music by DJ Bembona.

The 6th Annual NextGen National
February 19 | 2 p.m.
Originally created in collaboration between the APO and Music Director Luke Frazier in 2018, the NextGen Nationals offers mentorship, exposure, cash prizes, and paid performance opportunities to aspiring professional vocalists striving to reach the first rung on the ladder of success. The contest is 100% free, giving students of all backgrounds the opportunity to compete and learn from APO's roster of Broadway performers, celebrated recording artists, and respected arts administrators. 

Brother to Brother: A Forum on the Black Masculine Body
February 22 | 7:30 p.m.
For this unique open forum, a selection of successful NYC-based dancers, educators and curators explore their personal experiences navigating the pitfalls of Black masculinity and queerness, both within and without the world of the arts, for a frank and honest conversation about modern inclusivity.

 
Events in NYC (free or low-cost)

Hands On History: Supreme Black History
February 18 | 1-4 p.m. | King Manor Museum in Rufus King Park; 150-03 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, NY 11432 Queens
Join NYC Parks to highlight Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice and lawyer in the Brown v Board of Education court case (1954), and current Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be on the Supreme Court! Rufus King, like them, was a lawyer and has a collection of wooden gavels made from the trees in his yard. Design your own gavel to hold your own mock trials and inspire a future career in the justice system. Admission is free.

Black History Month: Seneca Village
February 19 | 1-2:30 p.m. | 81st Street and Central Park West in Central Park Manhattan
Celebrate Black History Month with NYC Parks! Learn about the lives of Seneca Village's residents in the 1800s and the community's place in pre-Central Park. Admission is free.

Molded
Through February | 81st Street and Central Park West in Central Park Manhattan
Good Black Art and TRNK NYC present MOLDED. Ambrose Rhapsody Murray, Hamzat Raheem, Maya Beverly, and Yves Craft make up emerging artists who all have something in common; the ability to communicate who they are through their use of unique materials. By using culturally significant mediums that connect art and design, these artists shed light on the craft techniques practiced by Black people since, well, forever. Admission is free, tickets are not required.

Black History Month at NYBG
Through February | New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Boulevard Bronx, NY 10458-5126
Join NYBG for Black History Month to explore the enduring botanical legacy of the African Diaspora that reveals the inextricable link between Black history and American history through the lens of gardening and farming, horticulture and science, and arts and culture. From thought-provoking conversations and personal stories to inspiring lectures and programs for all ages, learn about the foundational contributions of Black Americans to our understanding of the plant world.

Paley Center’s Salute to Black Achievements in Music on Television
Through February | The Paley Center for Media 25 West 52 Street New York, NY 10019
The Paley Center’s Black History Month experience celebrates the intersection of legendary musical icons and unforgettable TV moments that have shaped our culture with PaleyLive and PaleyFamily events, curated screenings, and a multimedia exhibit. Tickets are available for purchase online.

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw
Through May | New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West New York, NY 10024
Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw is the first exhibition to bring overdue attention to a skilled craftsman whose racial identity was long overlooked. Born enslaved, Commeraw rose to prominence as a free Black entrepreneur, owning and operating a successful pottery. The exhibition explores Commeraw’s multi-faceted history—as a craftsman, business owner, family man, and citizen. Student discounted tickets are available for purchase online.