To say these are challenging economic times is an understatement. As Covid-19 vaccines are slowly being distributed, the promise of a revived economy seems closer than ever. Not so fast, though, as experts warn that life in the United States will probably not return to normal until the fall.

And yet in spite of all of the uncertainty, entrepreneurs are still founding new companies. The  Fordham Foundry, a business incubator based at the Gabelli School of Business, has continued to stage contests for burgeoning ideas. Its most recent one, the “Ram’s Den,” took place on February 6, and a second one, a pitch challenge geared toward less developed business plans, will take place on March 27. 

So what is life like for a small business owner these days? We sat down with Brandon Adamson, a Gabelli MBA graduate whose company Beauitmaps won the 2019 pitch challenge, and Ozzy Usman, a current EMBA student who won second place in this year's Ram's Den with his small business lending company Equiduct.

Brandon Adamson and Ozzy Usman on Entrepreneurship

On March 23  the Ever Given, a ship the length of the Empire State Building, ran aground in the Suez Canal, causing a traffic jam of epic proportions in one of the busiest shipping routes on the planet. When it did this, it revealed a $20 trillion sector of the worldwide economy that otherwise functions behind the scenes.

The Ever Given was freed after six days, but Lawrence Brennan, a retired U.S. Navy Captain who served aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and now teaches admiralty and international maritime law at Fordham Law, said the snafu illustrates just how dependent we are on a system we often take for granted—one that has real vulnerabilities worth considering.

Lawrence Brennan on the Ever Given Cargo Ship

As summer arrives, and the trend lines for vaccinations and Covid deaths in the United States head in opposite directions, it feels like freedom is finally within reach. But let’s face it: The pandemic has taken its toll. We’re not the same people we were 15 months ago.

So now, what? To help us use the lessons of the recent past to move forward in the future, we sat down with Kirk Bingaman, a professor of pastoral mental health counseling at Fordham's Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education .

Kirk Bingaman on Recovering from the Pandemic

The concept of artificial intelligence has been with us since 1955, when a group of researchers first proposed a study of “the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines.” At the same time, it seems like not a day goes by without news about some development, making it feel very futuristic.

At Fordham, it’s the purview of professors from a variety of fields. Damian Lyons is a professor of computer science on the faculty of arts and sciences. R.P. Raghupathi is a professor of information, technology and operations at Gabelli School of Business. And Laurie Goldkind is a professor at the Graduate School of Social Service.

The Promise and Peril of AI

Just 26 years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act into law. Today, gay marriage is legal in all 50 states, and the idea that gender is more than a simple binary is gaining acceptance around the country. 

Efforts to lift up and support people who identify as non-binary are very much ongoing though, and so over the last few months, Fordham News spoke to members of the community who have had insights to share on the topic of gender, either because of their work, their personal experience or both.

Fordham Professors Reflect on Fluid Nature of Gender

Sarah Goldfeather on violin and Paul Kerekes on piano perform senior Elizabeth Galbo's composition.

Intuition For Violin And Piano

In the spring of 2022, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, teamed up with Alexandra Schwartz, Ph.D., curator of the Museum of Arts and Design's exhibition Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, to teach Museum Collaboration: Garmenting, to a group of 19 Fordham students from Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill. For their final projects, students worked in group to create podcasts devoted to each of the exhibition's five themes.

In this episode, focused on the theme of Functionality, students Sloane Cameron, Tiziana Capizzi, Sophie Choo, and Brianna DiCamillo speak with exhibition curator Alexandra Schwartz.

Episode 5: Functionality

In the spring of 2022, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, teamed up with Alexandra Schwartz, Ph.D., curator of the Museum of Arts and Design's exhibition Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, to teach Museum Collaboration: Garmenting, to a group of 19 Fordham students from Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill. For their final projects, students worked in group to create podcasts devoted to each of the exhibition's five themes.

In this episode, focused on the theme of Cultural Difference, students Emma Creekmore, Kassandra Ibrahim, Tess McNamara, and Maia Nunez speak with artist Devan Shimoyama.

Episode 4: Cultural Difference

In the spring of 2022, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, teamed up with Alexandra Schwartz, Ph.D., curator of the Museum of Arts and Design's exhibition Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, to teach Museum Collaboration: Garmenting, to a group of 19 Fordham students from Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill. For their final projects, students worked in group to create podcasts devoted to each of the exhibition's five themes.

In this episode, focused on the theme of Performance, students Alexandra Chambers, Claire Kramer, Samantha Matthews, and Bella Yoo speak with artist Enoch Cheng.

Episode 3: Performance

In the spring of 2022, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, teamed up with Alexandra Schwartz, Ph.D., curator of the Museum of Arts and Design's exhibition Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, to teach Museum Collaboration: Garmenting, to a group of 19 Fordham students from Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill. For their final projects, students worked in group to create podcasts devoted to each of the exhibition's five themes.

In this episode, focused on the theme of Gender, students Jagger Aldrich, Matthew Biedermann, Macarena Leon, and Naomi Long speak with artist Mark Newport.

Episode 2: Gender

In the spring of 2022, Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, teamed up with Alexandra Schwartz, Ph.D., curator of the Museum of Arts and Design's exhibition Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art, to teach Museum Collaboration: Garmenting, to a group of 19 Fordham students from Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill. For their final projects, students worked in group to create podcasts devoted to each of the exhibition's five themes.

In this episode, focused on the theme of Activism, students Gwen Bischoff, Angelina Diamante, Lauren Schulke, and Erica Stanley speak with artist Jakkai Siributr.

Episode 1: Activism

What does it take to be a true leader in troubling times? Fordham Law School Dean Matthew Diller recently sat down with Tania Tetlow, Fordham University's new president, to discuss their own unique styles of leadership, the crucial role lawyers have in solving the hard problems of our democracy, and how to prepare law students for a career “in the service of others.” 

An edited and condensed version of this interview appears in the latest issue of Fordham Lawyer alumni magazine, but we wanted to make their full, wide-ranging conversation available to the entire Fordham community.

Diller Tetlow Interview

Fordham theology professor Bryan Massingale, STD, one of the world’s leading Catholic social ethicists and scholars of African-American theological ethics, racial justice, and liberation theology, wasn’t just a resident of Milwaukee when he taught at Marquette University—he grew up there, too. 

So when Sherman Park, a predominantly black neighborhood on the north side of the city, exploded in riots on Aug. 13 following the shooting death of a black man by police, Father Massingale, who joined the Fordham faculty this summer, said he was saddened but not surprised by the turn of events. 

We caught up with Father Massingale as he was preparing to begin teaching this fall, to get his take on growing up in the “Selma of the North,” one of the most racially segregated U.S. cities.


Bryan Massingale on Racism in Milwaukee

Dana Alonzo, Ph.D., associate professor of social work at Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service, talks about how to cope with stress and depression during the holiday season.

Dana Alonzo on Seasonal Depression

Nicholas Tampio, PhD, associate professor of political science, talks  the controversial set of education standards known as Common Core.

Nicholas Tampio on Common Core

With the addition of Neil Gorsuch, the United States Supreme Court is back to being fully staffed. We sat down with Robert Hume, Ph.D., professor of political science, to get a sense of what that means for future cases.

Robert Hume on a Fully Staffed Supreme Court

The 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens first alerted people to what became known as the "bystander effect." The original reporting by the New York Times, that her death was witnessed by 38 witnesses who did nothing, was debunked a long time ago, but the story has still resonated as a sort of parable about the callousness of urban living. 

Harold Takooshian, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, talks about why the Genovese case continues to resonate today, and what psychologists have learned about the "bystander effect."

Harold Takooshian on Kitty Genovese and the Bystander Effect

We sat down with Annika Hinze, an assistant professor of political science and director of Fordham's Urban Studies program, to talk about the love/hate relation that Americans, and much of the world has with big cities.

Annika Hinze on our Love/Hate Relationship with Big Cities

Christina Greer, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, talks about how term limits, which were passed in New York City in 2010, have created a whole new set of challenges to the electoral process.

Christina Greer On Making NYC Elections Competitive

Award-winning journalist David Gibson assumed the title of director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture on July 1. In a wide ranging interview, he discusses his vision for the center's future, including his dream panel discussion, and where Star Wars fits in it all.

David Gibson on the Center on Religion and Culture Part 1

David Gibson on the Center on Religion and Culture Part 2

In her new book Creation and the Cross, Distinguished Professor of Theology Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, challenges us to reconsider cosmic redemption. It's an ancient concept that fell out of favor in the 11th century, but is needed more than ever in a time of advancing ecological devastation.

Elizabeth Johnson on Creation and the Cross

The same day Distinguished Professor of Theology Elizabeth Johnson sat down to talk about her new book, Creation and the Cross, the death of renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking dominated the headlines. In this bonus track, Johnson reflects on Hawking, an avowed atheist.

Bonus track: Elizabeth Johnson on Stephen Hawking

The professional sports market in the U.S. was worth about $60 billion in 2014, and according to Forbes, it’s expected to reach $73 billion by 2019. We sat down with Mark Conrad, Director of the Sports Business Concentration at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business, to get a sense of where leagues such as the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA are headed.

Mark Conrad on the Business of Sports

In 2011, a series of uprisings known as the Arab Spring briefly gave the impression that democracy was on an unstoppable march across the globe. Seven years later, it hasn’t exactly turned out that way. Egypt has embraced authoritarianism, Libya is in a state of near anarchy, and Syria has been mired in a catastrophic civil war for seven years. Meanwhile, the international influence of authoritarian countries such as China and Russia has grown significantly.

John Davenport, a professor of philosophy at Fordham, says these and many more developments are proof that NATO and the United Nations Security Council, the two bodies best equipped to promote human rights and peace, are no longer up to the job. In a book that will be published by Routledge this fall, Davenport makes the case for creating what he calls a “League of Democracies.”

John Davenport on the need for a "League Of Democracies"

If greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the Earth’s atmosphere will warm up by as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2040, leading to flooded coastlines, intensifying droughts, and human suffering and poverty. 

This was the stark conclusion of a landmark report issued in October by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. To avoid such dire consequences, activists have proposed that the United States embark on what they’re calling a Green New Deal. Most recently New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey introduced a congressional resolution calling for the implementation of one. 

To make sense of it all, we recently sat down with Marc N. Conte, an associate professor of economics whose expertise includes the economics of climate change.

Marc Conte on the Green New Deal

The connection between criminal justice and brain chemistry can sometimes seem like science fiction, but it's very much a part of the court system today. In 2015, Fordham established the Neuroscience and Law Center, to explore how advances in neuroscience have prompted the legal profession to question long-held notions about criminal culpability, free will, thought, behavior, and pain. 

Deborah Denno, the center’s director and a professor of law, recently sat down with us to talk about her work with the center.

Deborah Denno on Neuroscience and the Law

In 2016, more countries experienced violent conflict than any time in the previous 30 years. From Yemen, Syria, and Venezuela to Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine, violence has become a more common answer to resolving disputes, and one of the consequences has been that more people are displaced around than globe since World War II.

Needless to say, the world needs more peace makers. The United Nations is one organization that tries to fill the void; it currently maintains 14 different peace keeping operations, and mediates negotiations for many other conflicts. 
Anjali Dayal, an assistant professor of political science at Fordham says that as flawed as the U.N. is, it’s still an absolutely necessary bulwark against spreading chaos.

Anjali Dayal on United Nations Peacekeeping

These days, there’s almost no aspect of commerce that hasn’t been radically transformed by technology. Uber lets you summon a privately driven car to chauffer you, Seamless let you order takeout without ever speaking to a soul, and thanks to Airbnb, you can sleep in another person’s bed. 

But the shift to having everything at your fingertips at the tap of an app hasn’t been without its bumps. Ride-sharing apps have been blamed for worsening traffic congestion, Amazon has been accused of subjecting its warehouse workers to brutal working conditions, and Airbnb has been a source of great debate in places like New York City.

To learn more about online marketplaces today, we sat down with Apostolos Filippas, an assistant professor of information systems at the Gabelli School of Business.

Apostolos Filippas on the Sharing Economy

In this bonus track, Daniel Alexander Jones explains what the term Afromystical means, and why it's so important to understanding his alter ego, "Jomama Jones."

Daniel Alexander Jones Bonus track

The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is probably best known for what is in the fourth and final section, which spells out the way the president of the United States can be removed from office if they’re alive but unable to fulfill the duties of the office. But the second section—which clarifies the process for replacing a vice president—is actually worthy of consideration as well, now that President Trump has become the third president in the country’s history to be impeached, and is facing a trial in the U.S. Senate.

John D. Feerick, Dean Emeritus and the Norris professor of law at Fordham Law School, was instrumental in getting the amendment passed. In October, 1963, Feerick, then a recent graduate from Fordham Law, published an article in the Fordham Law Review on the subject, and just a month later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, prompting members of Congress to revisit the subject. Four years later, in February, 1967, the amendment was passed.

We sat down with him to learn more.

John Feerick on the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Last year, a full 35 percent the United States population was 50 years old or older. And when it comes to jobs, crossing that Five-O mark brings some very unwelcome challenges. In 2018, a survey by the AARP found that nearly one in four workers 45 or older have been subjected to negative comments about their age, and 3 in 5 workers have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace.

Carole Cox, a professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service, has spent her career studying gerontology and social policy. Ageism remains the last form of discrimination that’s widely accepted in our culture, she says, and it’s critical that we overcome it if we want to grow and thrive as a society.

Carole Cox on ageism, the last acceptable prejudice

On July 29 of this year, President Trump bragged on Twitter that he had "rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule," a reference to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which was passed by the Obama Administraton in 2014.

With that, the issue of housing in American suburbs became an issue in the 2020 presidential campaign. Although the suburbs of today bear little resemblance to their cookie predecessors like Levitown, Long Island, they are still, in important ways, resistant to diversity and change. 

To explore why that is, and how it happened in the first place, we sat down with Roger Panetta, a recently retired professor of history at Fordham and the author of Westchester: The American Suburb, and The Tappan Zee Bridge and the Forging of the Rockland Suburb. He also co-wrote Kingston: The IBM Years, which came out in 2014.

Roger Panetta on the Suburbs

Dean McKay, a professor of psychology at Fordham, specializes in anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and the connections between anxiety and disgust. With winter approaching and potentially leading to more isolation, we thought it would be a good time to talk to him about what we can do to cope effectively during what is likely to be a traumatic time.

Dean McKay on Anxiety in the time of COVID-19

The vaccines are here! This month, residents of long-term health care facilities and frontline workers such as nurses and doctors began receiving the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the FDA, and a second vaccine is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks as well.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is, the coronavirus pandemic will still be with us until spring, as authorities work to distribute the vaccines to the nation’s 300 million-plus residents, some of whom may not be receptive to taking them. Just as the pandemic forced us to adjust to a reality that once seemed unfathomable, ending it will require a coordinated effort unlike anything we’ve experienced since World War II. 

Troy Tassier, a professor at Fordham who studies economic epidemiology, has been focused on the pandemic since it first struck the United States in March. He’s dismayed by the recent exponential rise in infections and deaths but says there are some lessons from the spring that can serve as a guide for going forward.

Troy Tassier on Vaccines and the Covid-19 Pandemic

On January 21, 900,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims, adding to the 16 million who were claiming benefits at the beginning of the month, and a sign that the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much a threat to the economy. A second round of stimulus checks was issued by the Federal government in December, and a third round of checks is possible now as well.

Closer to home, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is hoping his embrace of universal basic income, or UBI, will help him become the next mayor of New York City.

The idea behind UBI is that government sends every adult a set amount of money regularly, which ensures that when they enter the job market, they do so not from a level of destitution, but from a basic, secure level.

Thomas Massaro, S.J., a professor of moral theology, has given all of this quite a bit of thought. He’s a frequent contributor to Catholicethics.com and the author of the 2018 book Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis.

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