Fordham Notes: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

2009 Fordham Founder’s Award Dinner on Twitter

Fordham University will honor James E. Buckman, Esq. (FRCH ’66) and John P. Kehoe (FRCH ’60, FCLC ’85) at its 2009 Fordham Founder’s Award Dinner. The evening’s master of ceremonies will be William F. Baker, Ph.D., Claudio Aquaviva, S.J., Distinguished Professor of Education and Journalist-in-Residence at Fordham University, and president emeritus of Thirteen/WNET. Follow Fordham Notes Live on Twitter starting this evening.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Fordham Law Grads Tapped by Top Firms

Fordham University School of Law has broken into the top 20 go-to law schools for recruiting of graduates by the nation’s biggest law firms, The National Law Journal has reported in their Feb. 23 issue.

The law school came in at 17th place among those schools most recruited by the country's top 250 firms, sending 43.7 percent, or 205 out of its 469 J.D. graduates, as first year associates to the most coveted firms in 2008. Columbia Law School took the top spot, with 71.5 percent of its graduates being hired, and Boston University School of Law rounded out the list at number 20, at 41.2 percent of its graduates taking jobs.

William Treanor, dean of the Law School, noted that the school has worked to target large law firms in its placement efforts by bolstering contact with alumni who practice in large firms.

“We have very much focused on a concerted effort for firms to hire our graduates,” said Treanor.

According to the Law Journal, approximately 55 percent of students graduating from the top 20 most prestigious law schools in the country have ended up at the nation’s most prestigious firms in the last two years.

—Janet Sassi

Monday, March 16, 2009

IPED Students Selected for U.S. Government Fellowships

Ryan Jones and Anthony Cotton, two graduate students in Fordham’s program in International Political Economy and Development (IPED) have been selected for the United States Presidential Management Fellowship Program, IPED’s director Henry Schwalbenberg announced.

The program is a prestigious two-year paid fellowship, sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, for recent graduate students in a U. S. government agency. The fellowship is often a stepping stone to securing a governmental leadership position.

Both students have experience studying abroad. Cotton was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana and studied French in Burkina Faso last summer. Jones worked last summer for the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service, and participated in IPED’s Emerging Markets Program in South Africa.

The good showing by Fordham puts it one step behind Yale's Program in International and Area Studies, which has had three students accepted to the fellowship program. Yale's international program traditionally has the highest quantitative average in Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scoring among the members of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. However, Schwalbenberg says that next year's graduating class has the same average quantitative GRE score as Yale.

“Our goal for next year is to beat Yale!” Schwalbenberg said.


—Janet Sassi

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Conference on Cognition and Education Research Held at Fordham

Faculty and graduate students from four New York City universities convened at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus to discuss research about cognitive psychology science and education.

Held on Feb. 27, the second annual Subway Summit on Cognition and Education included scholars from Fordham, New York University, the City University of New York and Columbia University. The event was sponsored by the Fordham Graduate School of Education’s Center for Learning in Unsupervised Environments (CLUE).

"It was great for all of the participants, but particularly for the graduate students,” said William B. Whitten II, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Scholar and co-director of CLUE. "They are studying in New York, and sometimes think the whole world is wrapped around their university. This gave them an opportunity to possibly find something related to their research going on just a few blocks away.”

The conference also gave graduate students an opportunity to attend a top-notch academic research conference at a low cost—the cost of a subway ride, Whitten said.

“It’s a low-cost, local conference in which they can build linkages that might lead to future collaborations,” he said.

Whitten and Mitchell Rabinowitz, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the psychology and educational services division and co-director of CLUE, made presentations along with students, as did Fordham faculty members Fran Blumberg, Ph.D., and John Houtz, Ph.D.

The presentations included topics such as “Academic Lessons from Video Game Learning” and “Developing Student Argumentation and Inquiry.”

The goal of CLUE at the Graduate School of Education is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of learning in unsupervised environments. CLUE participants engage in applied educational psychology research to produce practical knowledge toward optimizing unsupervised learning, and to extend theories of learning, memory, and comprehension.

–Gina Vergel

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Give Blood, Save Lives

Approximately 40,000 pints of blood are transfused each day in the United States, according to the New York Blood Center, with one person needing a life-saving transfusion every 3 seconds.

According to the Center, 1 out of every 3 people will require a life-saving transfusion sometime during their lifetime, and motor vehicle accident and trauma victims may need as many as 50 or more red cell transfusions.

In January, the New York Blood Center issued an emergency appeal for donations because of the increased demand from hospitals. The winter weather has led to cancellations of many blood drives. Recession-related layoffs and business closings have also added to the number of cancelled blood drives. Potential care is at risk because the blood supply is below the 5-day safety level and continues to drop.

So please, if you are in good health and able to help, stop by the McGinley Center Lobby to sign up for a scheduled time, or just come over to the designated donor locations listed below either tomorrow or Thursday.

The Fordham Community has consistently donated at high levels and I thank you for your continued generosity and life saving support.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
O'Keefe Commons, O'Hare Hall

Thursday, March 12, 2009
12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Blood Mobile Van
Outside O'Hare Hall

Press Clippings on U2 at Rose Hill

A representative sample of clips on U2's Good Morning America show at Rose Hill on Friday, March 6. Feel free to share these widely.

U2's 360 Degree Tour coming to Giants Stadium
Star-Ledger 9/3
Bono, right, and The Edge of U2 at Fordham University in the Bronx on Friday. The performance was broadcast on television's "Good Morning America."

One-on-One With U2
Reporter and Admitted Fan Hangs With the Band
ABCNews.com 8/3
Reporter’s Notebook by Kate Snow

U2: 'We've Always Tried to Surprise Ourselves'
ABCNews.com 6/3
A short time after U2's big blowout performance on "Good Morning America" this morning, lead singer Bono and bassist Adam Clayton found themselves sitting in an echo-filled stairwell in Keating Hall on the Fordham University campus shooting the breeze about their latest album and what it's like to make music together for 30-odd years.

U2 Anticipation Builds
ABC Good Morning America 6/3
Students at Fordham University pack campus for surprise performance
AND
Multiple stories on this topic

U2 rocks Fordham's campus
WABC-TV 6/3
Thousands of screaming U2 fans enjoyed the performance of a lifetime this morning at Fordham University.

U2 Talk About Fordham University Gig
MTV.com
On Friday (March 6), U2 rocked a crowd of college kids on the campus of New York's Fordham University — which is exactly the demographic that the iconic rockers want to expose to their new album, No Line on the Horizon.

U2 Sneaks Into Fordham, and So Do Fans
City Room Blog, New York Times 7/3
“Biggest band in the world is playing the Bronx, a block from my apartment, and I can’t get in,” said Chris McCluskey, a truck driver who lives near Fordham University, where the band U2 played on Friday morning.

U2 rocks out at Fordham University campus in New York City
New York Daily News 6/3
Legendary rock band U2 took the Fordham University campus by storm Friday, playing a heart-stomping private concert before a sea of delirious fans.

U2 rocks out at Fordham
New York Post 6/3
Students treated to free show

Celebrity Photos: Fergie, ‘American Idol’ finalists, U2, Pamela Anderson and more
A + E Interactive [San Jose Mercury News blog] 6/3
U2 makes an appearance on “Good Morning America” at Fordham University Friday in the Bronx Borough of New York City. The band is promoting their newly released twelfth studio album “No Line on the Horizon.”

U2 Brings Spiritual Vertigo to Fordham
In All Things [America magazine blog] 6/3
People began gathering for breakfast at 5:00 this morning, though one of my students told me that some undergraduates were on site in rock vigil all night long.

U2 Rock Fordham University: On the Ground at the “Secret” Set
Rolling Stone: Rock and Roll Daily 6/3
“I joined a rock & roll band so I could get out of going to college,” Bono told students at New York’s Fordham University at 8 a.m. this morning, during a somewhat-secret six-song U2 set at the school’s picturesque Bronx campus that was aired on Good Morning America.

The Guys from U2 Go to College
People 6/3
"We started a rock band to avoid college, now look where we ended up," the U2 lead singer joked to a roaring crowd of students, faculty and alumni early Friday morning at Fordham University.

U2 played Good Morning America at Fordham University - pics & setlist
Brooklyn Vegan 6/3
The mystery (was it a mystery?) of where U2 were going to play for Good Morning America today, and how they were going to get from the TV show taping to Fordham University with enough time to play both shows in one morning, has been solved. They were the same show!

U2 Tour: U2 “Kiss The Future Tour” Kicks Off June 30
Popcrunch.com
Photo on steps of Keating Hall

U2 Fordham University 3/6/09 GMA Good Morning America
TVguide.com
Performs new songs

WFUV photos

Fordham Gets A Big Kiss 6/3
@U2
When I was in college, we got Hootie and The Blowfish. The students at Fordham University this year got a little bit luckier. They got a free show by a little combo from the north side of Dublin televised live on Good Morning America.

U2 wakes up Fordham University
Consequences of Sound 6/3
In reality, U2’s appearance at Fordham University early Friday Morning was nothing more than the band’s latest marketing ploy.

U2 Spends "A Beautiful Day" at Fordham
Campus Chatter [ABC News blog] 6/3
On Campus reporter Lauren Gilger blogs:
I was awakened by a group of girls chanting “Bono, Bono” outside my window at about 5 a.m. Friday. “Good Morning America” gave Fordham University students a reason to wake up early today by bringing U2 to our campus.

Monday, March 9, 2009

The Notorious Ph.D. Strikes Again



Mark Naison, Ph.D., is a professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham.

Friday, March 6, 2009

‘Awesome’ Was The Word of the Day

U2 rocked the Bronx this morning as they played Fordham University for an exclusive set that aired on Good Morning America.

With the historic Keating Hall as the backdrop, Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton, opened with their new single, “Get On Your Boots” from their newly released album, No Line on the Horizon.

The band played six songs for an elated audience.

Fordham Security was on their game at several checkpoints, aware that student I.Ds had become a hot ticket. Students, many who broke night in order to get the best “seats” in the house, enjoyed the show.

“It was worth waiting outside since 5 a.m.,” said Fordham College at Lincoln Center sophomore Jenny Hirsch. “They were great!”

The front crowd was student-heavy, but the back was much less homogenous. Professors, deans, administrators, alumni and even the members of the local firehouse lingered around the fringes to watch, many on tiptoes. Some hard-core U2ers balanced precariously on gates protecting the giant speakers, weathering the thump of the heavy base to get a glimpse of Bono’s theatrics.

“They were pretty awesome,” said Karen Casingal-Acampado, assistant director for the Office of Career Services. “I’m exhausted, though!”

And Professor Mark “Notorious Ph.D.” Naison was seen watching the concert from the roof of Dealy Hall with a GMA cameraman and Fordham photographer. Yes, folks. He was dancing.

“I have loved U2 ever since they first hit the airwaves as a rock band with a conscience in the mid 80's! What a day! What a moment! I have been here for nearly forty years and this is hands down the best musical event I have ever seen at Fordham, and up there with the greatest musical moments in my entire life,” Naison said.

Blogs and the MSM are abuzz this afternoon with news and photos from the show, including Brooklyn Vegan, Rolling Stone and America magazine.

–Janet Sassi and Gina Vergel