However, 2016 saw many scholarship plans disrupted when instability in Turkey forced the U.S. Department of State to halt all sponsored trips to the area. The Fulbright Scholar Program, Boren Awards, and other programs were cancelled or displaced, leaving students nationwide without a plan of action.

Among that group were three Fordham students who were left in an unfortunate and sensitive situation.

Same Plan, Different Country

Antonio DelGrande, FCRH ’16, was excited about the opportunity to return to Turkey to study the Turkish language on a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). He began teaching himself Turkish in high school and studied abroad there twice through Fordham. The week that DelGrande was supposed to sign his acceptance letter, however, was the same weekend of the attempted coup (July 15).

“I was upset because I really wanted to go back,” said DelGrande. The thought of not being in Turkey to study Turkish, he said. didn’t feel right.

Instead of Bursa, Turkey, CSL moved DelGrande’s program to Baku, Azerbaijan, a city almost 1,500 miles away. Even though it was an unknown terrain, DelGrande was still enthusiastic about the experience.

“I was [still] part of a great scholarship project and that was going to be a once in a lifetime experience,” said DelGrande. “There was a thrill to exploring a new country I may have [otherwise]never travelled to.”

DelGrande hopes to return to Turkey once it is deemed safe—whether it is for a graduate program, a teaching position, or simply a visit. In the meantime, he continues to improve on his language skills.

“I’ll relish any chance I have to go back,” he said.

Going Despite the Odds

Even before he applied for a Fulbright, David Rowley, FCRH ’13, knew what that he wanted to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to Arabic speakers. He became interested in the Middle East during his studies at Fordham and traveled to Jordan to study Arabic. After his graduation, he also spent time teaching ESL in Tunisia. Turkey was next on his list, he said, because of the nation’s influence in the Middle East.

“Turkey has a wide effect on the Middle East and Northern Africa economically, culturally, and linguistically,” said Rowley. “I wanted to experience the culture firsthand and learn the extent of its influence.”

When he heard that the state department cancelled his trip, he reached out to everyone he knew in the Middle East. A professor at the university where he was supposed to teach contacted him, saying the university had openings in the foreign language department. Rowley got the teaching job.

“I knew I didn’t want the cancellation to slow me down,” he said. “I was so relieved when he contacted me. I was lucky.”

Rowley now lives in Sakarya, Turkey and works at Sakarya University, where he hopes to spend at least a year before returning to the United States to get a master’s degree in education. He looks forward to teaching English and Arabic stateside, and to entering academia.

Hoping for a Second Chance

Mostafa Elmadboly, FCRH ’16, was forced to accept that his plans to teach English at Bülent Ecevit University in Zonguldak, a Turkish mining town on the Black Sea, were no longer an option for him after the announcement of the state department cancellations.

“I’d gone to Turkey before on the Critical Language Scholarship and had an incredible experience,” said Elmadboly. “A few of my classmates were former Fulbrighters and had encouraged me to apply.”

“There’s history everywhere in Turkey. I [still] want to complement my experiences in the Arab world by studying and living there,” he said.

Rebecca Stark-Gendrano, assistant director in the Office of Prestigious Fellowships, said that because fellowships are intensely competitive to begin with, the office encourages students to develop numerous contingency plans.”That way, if plan A doesn’t work out, we can get right to work helping students figure out how to make plan B or plan C a reality,” she said. (top photo by Osman Orsal)

–Mary Awad

“My first exposure to the Middle East was through seeing war-torn images in the newspapers,” says Sikorski, FCRH ‘16. “These images have stuck with me.”

The images, in fact, inspired her to explore the language and culture herself rather than “being swayed by stereotypes.”

Sikorski, who majored in Middle East studies is spending the year abroad on a Fulbright research grant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where she is interviewing Emirati artists, working to preserve local artistic traditions, and fostering a greater understanding of local art histories within the community.

“Emiratis make up about only 10 percent of the nation’s population,” says Sikorski. “So it is important for us to consider their culture, and the UAE’s history, as it relates to the exponential growth of the country.“

To those ends, Sikorski is hoping to revitalize Emirati art in an area that is becoming more and more influenced by Western culture. She says that much of the history of Emirati art is readily available in museums and art schools; it is the lack of mentorship that is the bigger issue.

“I want to give the younger artists reassurance that there is a community of older local artists who are waiting to tell their stories and offer their guidance,” she says.

She has been traveling the country interviewing older and younger Emirati artists, and publishing her interviews on her personal website, mideastart.com and in international and local art journals. She is co-curating an annual exhibition for the Emirates Fine Art Society, the first art society established in the UAE in 1980, which served as one of the only centers for creatives to learn about art and exhibit during that time.

“Just a few months ago, I was writing my senior thesis on these older Emirati artists,” says Sikorski. “Now I have the time to interview them. It’s inspiring to record these artists’ stories.”

Sikorski hopes her work “gives the art a voice to express the Middle Eastern perspective through personal stories,” especially for her family and friends. The Polish-Italian-American daughter of two Fordham graduates (Leonard Sikorski, FCRH ’80 and Bonnie Bilotti-Sikorski, FCRH ’82), Sikorski says her family has been very supportive of her research.

“The most important moments are when my parents share my photos and interviews, as they connect with people back home who are eager to learn more about the region.”

While a Fordham student, Sikorski studied abroad in the American University of Sharjah in the UAE and then in Paris. Through those opportunities she met a wide range of artists, gallery owners, and collectors.

She hopes her interviews nurture the UAE’s art industry and help Emiratis make sense of their own historical narratives. “An awareness of local culture is important for young artists who may be influenced by the internationalization of Dubai. The [artists]need to cherish their identity,” she says.

When her Fulbright is completed, Sikorski hopes to continue interviewing artists and to investigate the rising young talent in the region. Ultimately, she hopes to curate UAE-based and international art exhibitions, so that collectors, students, and other artists realize that “the artwork isn’t only a canvas with a price tag, but also reflects an expression of the people in the community.”

“It’s something I’m truly passionate about—opening doors for Emiratis who are starting to voice their stories to a public eager to learn about them. “

Sikorski is recording her artistic adventures on her Instagram page @mideastart.

—Mary Awad

Syrian-born Mohamed Alsiadi’s commitment to his heritage goes beyond his position as director of Fordham’s Arabic studies program.

Alsiadi is helping to archive the musical arts of his birthplace of Aleppo, which has been under constant siege since the Syrian war began and has recently faced intense shelling.

“I want to spread this music to the children who are growing up far from their homes, so they can have a piece of their heritage,” he said.

Alsiadi is an accomplished lute player who began collecting music from Allepian radio stations in 2004, fearing even then for the city’s destruction. In 2011, he and composer/pianist Malek Jandali formed the Malek Jandali Trio, along with cellist Laura Metcalf.  With their mixture of expertise, they perform and post on Youtube authentic Allepian Waslah music that refugees can listen to wherever they are across the globe.

“Malek is the composer. I am the researcher. We have a good partnership,” he said. “The music we make is the music that Syrians grew up with and want to hear.”

Alsiadi was raised in Aleppo and received his bachelor’s degree from the Damascus Music Conservatory, specializing in lute performance and conducting. He moved to the United States in 1996 and joined the Fordham faculty in 2010.

In his six years at Fordham, the Arabic Language, Literature, & Culture program has flourished. Alsiadi created an Arabic minor studies program, adding courses such as Music & Nation in the Arab World; Arab Spring in Arabic Literature; and Arab Cinema: History & Cultural Identity.  He founded the Arabic Club, and he and a colleague helped design Fordham’s first Arabic study-abroad program to Morocco.

The Jandali trio is headlining a benefit concert series, “The Voice of the Free Syrian Children.”  The series is designed to bring comfort to Syrian children affected by the war’s atrocities.

“The children are suffering most,” he said. “They’re tortured and killed indiscriminately. Many are orphaned. Others flee and are displaced from their homeland, traumatized, afraid and uncertain of what comes next.”

The trio has taken its music all over the world, giving concerts in Norway, Qatar, England, and Austria. Alsiadi said he is amazed by the global impact the musicians have had.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We never thought we’d perform on a global level because there is no political agenda behind our project.”

Alsaidi said the trio’s upcoming album, titled Jasmine, holds deep significance for him. In Arab households, jasmine trees are at the center of gatherings. While living with his Sufi family in Aleppo, all family meals and conversations took place near the jasmine tree.

The trio’s next stateside concert is scheduled for Carnegie Hall on Feb. 4.  The group’s proceeds from the albums and concerts support efforts to assist and educate Syrian refugees.

—Mary Awad

Watch the Malek Jandali Trio’s music video SoHo.

Thomas G. Vinci, Ed.D., UGE ’49, professor emeritus and associate dean emeritus at the Graduate School of Education (GSE), died on Nov. 24 at the age of 93.

“My dad considered Fordham his second home and counted many of his colleagues there among his best friends,” said his son Tom Vinci, FCRH ’73, LAW ’77.

“He cherished his decades-long association with such a wonderful institution.”

Vinci joined the Fordham family as an undergraduate at the School of Education, where he earned a B.S. in 1949. He earned an Ed.D. at Columbia University and began teaching at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education in 1967, first as an assistant professor and then as a full professor. He became associate dean of the school in 1974, serving in that position until his retirement in 1988.

In 1983, the Doctorate Association of New York honored him with an “Outstanding Educator of the Year” award. A member of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society for educators, Vinci authored 27 chapters and monographs in textbooks and national publications.

James J. Hennessey, Ph.D., former dean of the Graduate School of Education, said Vinci’s tenure at Fordham, including a stint as chair of the school’s Division of Curriculum and Teaching, was one marked by outstanding service.

Vinci’s service to Fordham did not end with his retirement. He was the director of the  Graduate School of Education’s alumni association, and along with his wife, Elin, headed Fordham’s South Florida Alumni Chapter. For his service, the association in 1994 created the Thomas G Vinci Award to honor devoted GSE alumni.

Vinci is survived by his wife Elin, FCLC ’75, GSAS ’78; his sons, Tom and Peter; a daughter-in-law, Ann, LAW ’77; and four grandchildren.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on Saturday, Dec. 3rd at 9:30 a.m.

A special mass of intention will be held at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Lincoln Center campus’ Blessed Rupert Mayer Chapel, Room 221, Lowenstein Center.

On Nov. 14, President Obama admitted that closing Guantanamo before he leaves office is becoming a dimmer prospect with each passing week. Between congressional restrictions, and the “nature of the evidence” against those being held, Obama said that while numbers of detainees may still dwindle before Donald Trump takes office, a complete phase-out faces significant roadblocks.

Fordham Law’s Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security and author of Rogue Ju­­­­stice: The Making of the Security State, believes the United States is unable to bring those accused to court because the trials would draw attention to the country’s ethical choice of torturing its prisoners. Greenberg said that if the trial against tortured Muslim expatriate John Walker Lindh had been brought to court in February of 2002, things may have been different.

-Mary Awad

The login process will be changed to include Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) to improve account security with a layered defense to make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access sensitive information. In order to authenticate, or prove your identity, MFA requires something you know (your password) and something you have (a mobile device or phone). After entering their Fordham AccessIT ID and password, users will be required to respond to a prompt using a mobile phone, landline, tablet, or token.

“Stories on data leaks and password compromises are all over the news,” said Tams Mathew, director of application security. “MFA is being used already to secure ATMs, online banking and credit card purchases. We want to take the same precautions.”

Password breaches are on the rise due to phishing schemes, guessing of weak passwords, and extensive password reuse. This extra form of identification will ensure that Fordham University accounts cannot be accessed even if passwords are compromised.

MFA will secure access to systems and data via my.Fordham and through Fordham VPN and virtual desktops (VDI).

 Fordham will be using Duo, a security service that provides an application that can be downloaded onto any smartphone or tablet and used to validate a user’s identity. Other options include having a Duo passcode sent by text or by a call to a landline. In some cases a token will be used.

The choice to use Duo was made because of its simplicity, supportability, and the options it offers, said Tams. Duo is used by hundreds of institutions across the nation, and is the MFA leader in higher education.

“We wanted to pick a company we can trust and that provides a service the Fordham community can integrate into their routine easily.”

Fordham IT will provide support to all faculty, students, and staff prior to the initiative’s launch at the beginning of next year.

Who she is

Director of Environmental Compliance and Occupational Safety

What she does

Manuel is responsible for keeping all of Fordham’s three campuses in compliance for regulatory requirements— assuring the facilities lawfully follow safety codes— that have to do with life safety, occupational safety, and hazardous waste. She coordinates laboratory safety, implements the University’s Hazardous Waste Management plan, and coordinates facilities management.

 How long have you been at Fordham?

“It’ll be a year on Nov 30.” (Congratulations!)

What do you like most about your job?

 “I love that I get to meet and interact with so many different people on all levels. I also love that it’s so rewarding. My job is to make sure all these people get home safe. It’s a very dynamic job; nothing is the same. I get to be involved in so many things. It’s also a very reactive position as many safety jobs are. But you know at the end of the day you’re doing it all to keep people safe, and that’s easily the best part.”

Why Fordham?

 “I actually grew up in the South Bronx by Yankee Stadium. I remember coming to Fordham as a kid; my mother would bring my three siblings and I to Fordham for poetry readings or plays. Now I live in Duchess County, about an hour away from here, with my daughter. I love Fordham because I always said I wanted to come back into the city. I always said, ‘I want to be home again.’ And Fordham is home for me. I’m back in the Bronx and I couldn’t be happier.”

Do you have any hobbies?

“I paint. I used to be a ballet dancer and always loved the arts, so now I paint. Acrylic paints though…watercolors are too unforgiving! And my other hobby is being a mother. It’s my everything!”

When you were in school what was your favorite class?

 “Oh, that’s a tough one! I’ll give you my top three. Physics was my favorite class; I loved my instructor. Dance comes next because I was a dancer. It was my release during the day. I also loved my industrial engineering courses. I know my least favorite was linear algebra. I couldn’t stand linear algebra and calculus!”

As a child, Wills looked up to her father and, although she didn’t know much about him, enjoyed her life with her family growing up in Rockaway Beach. When her father was killed in a motorcycle accident when she was thirteen, Wills began to wonder about the man she never knew and kept her curiosities with her until her adulthood, when she finally had the resources to learn about her family.

“My father was always a mystery to me, even though he was such a strong force in my youth,” said Wills. “I wanted to find out where he came from— and by learning about him, I wanted to learn more about myself.”

By using Ancestry.com and other resources, Wills found out that her great-great-great grandfather Sandy Wills was born a slave and fought for his freedom during the Civil War in the U.S Colored Troops. Discovering this connection, said Wills, was the validation she had been looking for as a child.

“To me, as a journalist, this was breaking news!” she said. “I had to find out more.”

After requesting more than 1,000 government records, she was able to piece together the life of her Grandpa Sandy and used it as an inspiration to write two books, Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale (Bascom Hill Publishing Group, 2011) and The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills (Lightswitch Learning, 2015), a children’s book.

“He did not let the world define him. He stood up and fought for what he wanted,” said Wills. “I want children to know that they can do the same in their own lives.”

Wills now travels to schools across the country speaking about her family’s history. She wants children to understand the fight that led to civil rights and free education for all people. She also wants to empower them to learn about their ancestors and become part of their own family narrative.

“Tracing your history and knowing who you are brings your life full circle. It completes you in a way that is hard to express,” said Wills. “It’s worth it.”

The evening was also a celebration of the 10th anniversary of GSE’s Center for Educational Partnerships and its director Anita Vazquez Batisti, Ph.D.

Batisti was given the President’s Meritory Service Award for her dedication to improving the educational environment to over 100,000 children in New York. She has raised over $200 million for New York City schools.

The Center for Educational Partnerships is a “research-based, outcome-oriented” initiative that works to enable all children to achieve and succeed academically.

—Mary Awad

Wisdom and Learning.

Inspired by this motto, Patrick J. Ryan, S.J, Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, made it the central focus of this fall’s McGinley Lecture, which took place Nov. 15 at the Lincoln Center campus and Nov. 16 at the Rose Hill campus.

The lecture, “Wisdom and Learning: Higher Education in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Traditions,” acted as a conversation between the traditions of the People of the Book, with Magda Teter, Ph.D., Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies, representing Judaism, and Ebru Turan, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, representing Islam.

Father Ryan noted that the notion of wisdom is prevalent in all three religious traditions because it “enables us to attain to an overarching moral and spiritual perspective on our world.”

“It prompts us to discern how learning or knowledge should be used and how to live as perceptive and virtuous citizens of our world,” he said.

Just as the three traditions share spiritual roots, they also share educational ones; some of their structures of higher learning all come from the ancient Greeks. However, as the religions began to develop and change, so did their educational structures.

“The Jewish and Christian and Muslim traditions of education have diverged greatly on the detailed contents of their curricula,” said Father Ryan.

In the Jewish tradition, education is an important aspect of the faith’s identity, said Teter, who talked about the difficulties Jews faced in the modern era when entering institutions of higher education.

“Jews were excluded from education until the 19th century,” said Teter, “and even when they were accepted, many schools did not support Jewish studies—or forced the students to learn from the Christian perspective. They lost their identity in their own story.”

The Jewish response was to create its own educational institutions, which began to thrive in the early 1900s, she said. It allowed Jewish populations to continue spiritual instruction outside the synagogue and the home, creating the chance to integrate into society.

Islamic instruction, which is heavily based on the memorization of the Qur’an, embraced higher education because it standardized Muslim beliefs, said Turan.

“Higher education provided a cohesiveness and unity to medieval Islam,” she said. “It gave Islam a global identity.”

Muslim schools called madrasas, derived from the Arabic word “to learn,” focused on law, theology and logic in their earliest iterations. Now, there are Muslim universities around the world that provide a diverse selection of study. Turan said that the translation of the Qur’an into other languages allowed Islam to be studied by a greater population.

“The translation . . . empowered Islamic education and opened it up to the rest of the world.”

In the Catholic tradition, Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, complimented university education with humanistic studies. By drawing from his own experiences at the University of Paris, Ignatius wanted to ensure that his students “went through systematic humanistic training in grammar, literature, and rhetoric.”

Jesuit education evolved around this foundation and now includes a diverse selection of fields of study. Father Ryan stressed that Ignatius’ humanistic training is ingrained in Jesuit education’s infrastructure.

“No one finishes any undergraduate college at Fordham without some exposure to philosophy, theology, literature, the natural and social sciences,” he said.

A Q&A segment following the lectures raised the question “Will the three faiths ever agree on the definition of wisdom?”

In response, the panelists laughed.

“We are all conscious that wisdom is important to our faiths and recognize it is something worth pursuing,” said Turan. “But besides that, I think we are fine agreeing to disagree.”

–Mary Awad

Last year, Javontae Hawkins averaged 18 points and 5 rebounds per game. This year, he’s ready to revitalize Fordham basketball.

“We’re going to be good this year,” says Hawkins. “I can feel it. Make sure you get to a game because when you come, you’ll be seeing us win!”

Hawkins is the first student of the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education who is also a competing student-athlete, having joined the Rams’ basketball team. After two years at Southern Florida University and two years at Eastern Kentucky University (he red-shirted his junior year at EKU), Hawkins decided to change the course of his graduate education.

His decision to come to Fordham was two-pronged; he desired both the athletic and the academic edge the University gave him. During his time at EKU, he grew fond of the his coaching staff. When the EKU staff members moved to Fordham, he came with them.

“It’s hard to find such a strong coaching relationship,” says Hawkins. “I wanted to keep it, but I also wanted to widen my academic prospects. I knew Fordham took academics seriously. I wanted to have Fordham on my resume.”

Hawkins is pursing a Master of Arts in Pastoral Care, a field he was inspired to enter by his father, Jeffery Hawkins, pastor of Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church in his family’s hometown of Flint, Michigan. His father has been instrumental in encouraging programs to prevent crime and violence in Flint neighborhoods, he said. He has often accompanied his father when he speaks at churches and schools in the area.

Hawkins says that pastoral counseling integrates theology and psychological knowledge into pastoral ministries, which aspects he believes crucial in providing effective care. He hopes to emulate his father’s passion and “imitate how he carries himself.”

“My father has been a pastor for about 14 years,” he says. “He is a motivator and a support system for so many. I want to be that for people, too. I want to be a role model— the positive force in other peoples’ lives.”

Hawkins says he, too, is familiar with being a role model for others: As the only graduate student on the team, he has to act as a “good example” for his younger teammates, and recently accompanied assistant coach Mike DePaoli to a Bronx high school to speak about goal-setting and following the path God chooses for us.

Once Hawkins earns his degree, he hopes to work with adolescents struggling with anxiety, mental illness, and peer pressure. Adolescence is an important time, he says, and he wants to support young adults during this difficult stage of life.

Of course, that job will come after he plays in the NBA, says Hawkins, who is looking forward to making basketball his career before turning to counseling.

“Basketball will definitely be in my future,” he says. “Whether I play in the NBA or overseas for another country, I want to play professionally. These are things you have to do when you’re young, and I refuse to miss the opportunity.”

No matter which way life takes him, he insists that he will strive to chase his dreams and help others accomplish theirs as well.

“It’s God’s call at the end of the day.”

–Mary Awad

Haruka Minami, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, hopes to find out whether practicing mindfulness can help these individuals quit smoking, especially those with depression.

“Depressed individuals tend to smoke at higher rates; at the same time, depressive symptoms make it more difficult to quit,” said Minami. “Consequently, depressed individuals suffer from a higher rate of smoking-related diseases. Developing and implementing effective smoking cessation interventions for this vulnerable population is a public health priority.”

Minami is leading a treatment development study, together with her graduate and undergraduate students and colleague, Rivera-Mindt, at Montefiore Behavioral Health Center in the Bronx that provides smoking cessation treatment to depressed patients. This study uses a multi-pronged approach: in addition to providing no-cost nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation counseling, it asks participants to practice mindfulness with the aid of audio recordings.

Mindfulness is the act of “purposeful attention to the present moment, including sensations, thoughts, and feelings, in a non-judgmental way,” said Minami. “It also encourages openness, curiosity, and acceptance toward one’s experience.” This, Minami believes, can foster awareness and help smokers respond to cravings and other smoking triggers in a less impulsive and more reflective way.

“Smokers have learned to reach for a cigarette whenever they experience internal discomfort including craving, negative feelings, and stress.” she said. “We want to help them be more aware of their triggers, and be willing to experience discomfort without smoking.

“Taking a few minutes to be mindful of their internal experience throughout the day may help smokers respond to craving or stress with non-smoking strategies instead of reacting to them by smoking.”

This study does not take place solely in a clinic; it provides participants with smartphones to assess their mood, craving, and smoking behavior several times a day in real-time, a method known as ecological momentary assessment. This allows Minami to examine how changes over a matter of hours can influence smoking behavior in the context of an individual’s personal – as opposed to a clinic – environment.

These smartphones not only contain guided mindfulness audio recordings that participants can access at any time, but also prompts participants to blow into a device that measures carbon monoxide levels (akin to a smoking breathalyzer) and uploads results to a secure server in real time.

“This allows us to verify their smoking status without the need for participants to visit the clinic, thereby easing participant burden. We are also able to reward participants immediately for not smoking, a method called contingency management.”

This study is currently in the randomized controlled trial phase at Montefiore, and Minami is already impressed by some participant reactions in the pilot phase.

“Participants are enthusiastic about practicing mindfulness (sometimes more than 5 times a day!) and convey to us how helpful mindfulness practice is, not just in keeping them motivated to stay smoke-free, but in other aspects of their lives as well.”

In addition, the doctors and clinicians at the behavioral health center are excited and supportive of the study, said Minami. It fills a key need by providing patients with access to smoking cessation treatment.

“I hope this project will help improve cessation rates and further our understanding of protective and risk factors in this vulnerable population.”