Fellowships – Fordham Now https://now.fordham.edu The official news site for Fordham University. Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:24:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://now.fordham.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/favicon.png Fellowships – Fordham Now https://now.fordham.edu 32 32 232360065 Fordham Launches Lecture Series and Fellowship Program to Help Ukrainian Scholars https://now.fordham.edu/politics-and-society/fordham-launches-lecture-series-and-fellowship-program-to-help-ukrainian-scholars/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:46:55 +0000 https://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=158640 The Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, where scholar Vitaly Chernoivanenko works. (Stock image)Millions of refugees are fleeing Ukraine, but many scholars are choosing to stay—not because of the travel ban for Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 who might be summoned to the military, but because they want to stay and fight for their country.

“I don’t want to leave Kyiv. I was born here. I love Kyiv. Kyiv is the most beautiful city in the world,” said Vitaly Chernoivanenko, Ph.D., a Ukrainian scholar who spoke at a Fordham virtual panel on March 17. “I’m not afraid of Putin and his military forces.”

The panel is part of a new Fordham initiative designed to help Ukrainians during the Russia-Ukraine war. Fordham’s Center for Jewish Studies is co-hosting a virtual lecture series that discusses how the current crisis is affecting academia and co-sponsoring a fellowship program for Ukrainian scholars. The center is collaborating with three organizations: the American Academy for Jewish Research, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, and the Lviv Center for Urban History in Ukraine. 

“With people in war zones and in exile from their homes and in need of basic supplies, it may not seem urgent to give attention to scholarship. Nevertheless, society also depends on those who create and preserve knowledge through their scholarship, work, and institutions devoted to research and culture,” said Magda Teter, Ph.D., Fordham’s Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies and a professor of history who is moderating the lecture series. 

The first lecture featured two Ukrainian scholars: Chernoivanenko, a senior research fellow at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine and president of the Ukrainian Association for Jewish Studies, and Sofia Dyak, Ph.D., a historian and director of the Lviv Center for Urban History. The panel was moderated by Teter and Iryna Klymenko, Ph.D., a European history scholar from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. 

‘We Don’t Think About the Office or Our Laptops. We Think About People’

Chernoivanenko reflected on how the past three weeks have affected his professional and personal life. As a scholar who specializes in Jewish studies, preserving the work of his predecessors and colleagues is important, he said, especially in Ukraine, where his scholarship was once banned under Soviet rule. 

“It’s a miracle that for these 30 years since our independence was proclaimed in 1991, we have a very prospective field … All these scholars sincerely want to research Jewish heritage of Ukraine and Eastern Europe,” said Chernoivanenko, who established the first Ukrainian peer-reviewed journal in Jewish studies and the first master’s degree program in Jewish studies in Ukraine. “It’s very important to preserve this heritage, especially now during the war.” 

Chernoivanenko said many of his colleagues are still in Ukraine, where they are doing what they can to help with the war effort.

“We don’t think about the office or our laptops. We think about people, our colleagues,” said Chernoivanenko, speaking from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. 

Chernoivanenko said he has been assisting local defense forces and strangers in the streets, including the homeless population. He added that he is thankful for his colleagues across the world who invited him to flee Ukraine by taking scholarship positions in their schools, but he said he wanted to stay home and help. His father and mother, who are 74 and 73, respectively, aren’t fleeing either, he said. 

“My parents are very brave,” he said. “They said no, never. We believe in our military forces.” 

Protecting Heritage and New Priorities

Scholars in Ukraine and those who have fled the country both need support, said Teter and Klymenko. There are opportunities that can help scholars who live anywhere, like the new fellowship co-sponsored by Fordham’s Center for Jewish Studies and the American Academy for Jewish Research, said Teter, which consists of a $5,000 stipend, remote access to library resources, and networking with faculty members from both institutions. Klymenko added that her own university’s history department has been providing financial aid and refuge for displaced Ukrainian scholars in Germany. Most of the refugees are women with children and elderly parents, she said. 

“These are people, mainly scholars, who are basically trying to save their children from being further traumatized,” said Klymenko, who is affiliated with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany. 

The war has also changed people’s views on the preservation of heritage, said Dyak, director of a research institution in Lviv, Ukraine. Her colleagues have been wondering whether or not their artifacts should be wrapped, hidden, or moved. They have also accommodated their facilities to the realities of wartime, she said. 

“We turned our conference room and cafe into shelters … We are discussing [playing]cartoons and classic films for kids, but not home movies because that would be very painful. The shelter is for people who lost their homes or probably can’t go back to their homes,” Dyak said.

A Silver Lining and Hope

There is a silver lining within the chaos of the current crisis, said Teter. 

“It is terrible that a war had to happen, but it puts your voices out there and makes the world discover the amazing scholarship that is being produced in Ukraine and your centers and institutions,” Teter said, directly addressing the panelists. 

It is unclear when Ukrainian scholars will continue their partnerships with Russian scholars and institutions, said Dyak. She added that the path to collaboration will require much introspection on Russia’s part. 

“Cultural arrogance can lead to violence,” Dyak said. “I am hopeful that in the future, from our shared experiences, we will be able to revisit, in a new way, conversations that are painful and hard … Right now we probably are not able to pick up these conversations, but I do hope that these shared experiences will create a space of trust.” 

The second lecture will be held this Thursday, March 24, at 10 a.m. EST. Watch a full recording of the first lecture below: 

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Fordham Seeks Nominations for Research Fellow at Columbia University https://now.fordham.edu/university-news/fordham-seeks-nominations-for-research-fellow-at-columbia-university/ Fri, 13 Jan 2017 19:43:06 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=63054 Fordham’s Office of Research is seeking nominations for the Fordham University Research Fellow at Columbia University, a new fellowship that aims to cultivate institutional research collaborations between Columbia University and Fordham University.

“This is a great opportunity for Fordham faculty, particularly in light of the increasing emphasis in many disciplines on interdisciplinary, multi-institution research projects,” said J.D. Lewis, Ph.D., chair of the University Research Council.

“The research fellows program nicely complements the ongoing opportunities faculty have through the Bronx Science Consortium, providing faculty with opportunities to develop collaborations that move their research in new directions.”

Faculty members who are interested in the program must submit nominations and self-nominations to the dean of the school of their affiliation by January 30. By March 1, deans from each school will submit their nominations to Z. George Hong, Ph.D., chief research officer and associate vice president for academic affairs.

Fellows will be announced by April 1.

The fellowship will commence on May 15 and continue through August 15, 2017.

In addition to being full-time tenure-track or tenured faculty members, applicants should have demonstrable success in conducting research and strong credentials, including grant activities and publications. Applicants are also required to have a plan for collaborating with a Columbia scholar using resources provided by that scholar either independently or in conjunction with a Columbia research institute.

Benefits include access to Columbia’s research facilities, equipment and workspaces and up to $5,000 in support of the fellow’s professional development and scholarly activities from the Office of Research at Fordham.

After completing the summer program, fellows will deliver a public presentation on their project on the Fordham campus.  Additionally, fellows are also expected to produce scholarly publications, submit external grant proposals, develop interdisciplinary research collaboration, and participate in conference presentations about their research.

“Not only will this allow faculty to leverage their existing research in new ways, it should also help increase the impact and visibility of their research programs,” said Lewis.

For more information on nomination and application procedures, contact George Hong via [email protected].

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Three Alumni Appointed to Prestigious State Fellowship https://now.fordham.edu/fordham-magazine/three-fordham-alumni-appointed-to-prestigious-state-fellowship/ Fri, 18 Nov 2016 21:49:10 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=59124 Above: Kimberly Wedderburn, Kirk Dobson, and Hanna Reyes are serving as Empire State Fellows.Fordham alumni earned three of the eight spots in a very competitive New York state leadership program.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, FCRH ’79, has appointed Kirk Dobson, PCS ’10, GSAS ’11; Kimberly Wedderburn, LAW ’16; and Hanna Reyes, who holds a certificate in nonprofit management from Fordham, to the 2016–2018 class of Empire State Fellows. The program prepares mid-career professionals to be New York state government leaders and policy makers.

“The fact that it’s something so competitive—in a class of eight people, to have three Fordham alums in the mix—I was so proud,” said Dobson, who started the fellowship this fall and was appointed to the state health department. He’s working with the deputy commissioner for the Office of Health Insurance Programs, helping to create new processes that will provide Medicaid patients with better access to care.

“I’m learning so much about these programs,” Dobson said. “It’s absolutely fascinating.” He added that the program goes beyond “just getting your feet wet” and gives fellows the chance to interact with senior staff.

Though the fellows come from many different professional backgrounds, Dobson happens to have some experience in the political arena. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Fordham, he spent time working on various political campaigns in Massachusetts, New York, and Georgia, where he earned a doctorate in public administration from Valdosta State University.

Wedderburn, who was appointed to the Department of Labor, said attending Fordham Law in the evening while working as a special education teacher prepared her well for the program. “I began the fellowship equipped with the requisite legal education, work experience, and problem-solving skills needed to hit the ground running,” she said.

Reyes also credited Fordham for the “foundation that made it possible” for her to be selected, and said she’s “full of pride” to be able to say she’s both a Fordham alumna and an Empire State Fellow. She’ll be serving in the executive chamber.

While they’re in Albany, Dobson, Wedderburn, Reyes, and the other fellows will get the chance to participate in professional development activities, including mentoring by cabinet members. At the end of the program, qualified fellows are given the opportunity to continue to serve as leaders in New York state government.

“I absolutely think it’s going to be a great entryway for all of us,” Dobson said.

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