Teaching them how to do just that is the focus of The Future of Business Education, a conference being held virtually at the Gabelli School of Business on Oct. 1 at 11 a.m.

Originally planned to take place at Fordham’s London Center campus as a follow up to a March conference on the future of work, the event was moved online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even in its virtual format, it still retains a fundamentally international perspective. The opening plenary discussion, which will be moderated by Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School, will feature Gerardine Doyle, associate dean & director at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Ireland; Peter Tufano, dean of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School; and Giorgio di Giorgio, deputy rector at Luiss Guido Carli University in Italy.

Lessons in Global Diversity

Meghann L. Drury-Grogan, Ph.D., an associate professor of communication and media management at the Fordham London Centre, said the participants’ insights are especially relevant, given the extreme divisions coursing through American society today.

“Europe has to deal with this idea of diversity of different nationalities, different ethnicities, different languages, different currencies, and different cultures, and sometimes they’ve got it right, and sometimes they haven’t,” she said.

“I do think looking at how they balance [this]diversity … could teach us a lot in the United States.”

Valuable Skills for a Changing Landscape

Keynote speaker Jacqui Canney, global chief people officer at the global advertising firm WPP, said that in fact, the challenges before businesses today should be seen as “catalysts to rethink the way we work and to build an even more inclusive culture.”

“I think we’re realizing that a reckoning is already here, from the global pandemic to the uprising for racial justice to the climate crisis. The uncertainty makes it all the more important for us to accelerate our plans for the future,” she said.

“At WPP we want to focus on a key question: how will our people strategy help us attract and retain the best, diverse, creative talent to achieve our business strategy?”

When it comes to business education, Canney suggested that what’s needed is a hefty dose of empathy, both for students preparing to enter a job market undergoing enormous upheaval and for educators trying to teach in difficult circumstances. Companies have a role to play as well, she said, and when the pandemic disrupted internships in the spring, WPP created the NextGen Leaders virtual learning series. The program was offered to more than 800 students from 310 colleges in 54 countries.

“I spent a lot of time with this group, and I told them we look for employees who develop and build skills of the future: digital literacy, flexibility, a growth mindset, data-driven decision making, and empathy,” she said.

“Above all, we’re looking for people with a sense of purpose, people who will help us foster inclusion. I think educators who can help students find and build that sense of purpose will help their business students beyond measure.”

Continuing to Pivot

Drury-Grogan said a major focus of the conference will, in fact, be to get a sense of what other skills companies are looking for in students in order to help them weather the storms ahead. The second conference panel, for example, will feature Jag Chana, UK marketing leader, of Brand, Marketing & Communications at EMEIA Financial Services, EY, Emanuele Lauro, CEO and director of Scorpio Tankers, Inc., and Jon Norton, managing director, at Crestline Investors.

“Just as we pivoted to online learning in March, I feel like we’re going to have to continue to pivot, because everything’s still changing, on a weekly or even daily basis,” she said.

“So we need to think about how we build flexibility into our curriculum models and how we teach students to be flexible when they’re in work and adjust to uncertainties.”

The conference is free and open to the public. Register here.

The International Symposium on Digital Scholarship took place from June 3 to 5 at Birkbeck College and Fordham’s London Centre. Sponsored by the University’s Office of Research, it featured a mix of lectures, workshops, and formal and informal gatherings geared toward furthering research opportunities and international collaborations.

If last year’s gathering illustrated how cross-border collaboration is key to tackling vexing challenges of our time, the London gathering showed how, in the digital realm, no one discipline can go it alone.

Bringing Technology and Scholarship Together

“Digital scholarship is notable for its interdisciplinary nature, since it involves not only IT and computer science, but also the humanities, social sciences, and schools of education,” said Maryanne Kowaleski, Ph.D., the academic coordinator for the digital symposium.

The Joseph Fitzpatrick S.J. Distinguished Professor of History and Medieval Studies and curator of Fordham’s Medieval Sources Bibliography, Kowaleski has deep connections to both London and the digital humanities.

In London, she delivered a keynote address, “Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: Acknowledging Collaborative Work in Digital Scholarship Projects.” She also presented a research project that touches on both London and the digital realm, titled “Prosopography, Database Design, and Linked Data in the Medieval Londoners Project.”

The project is a collaboration with Katherina Fostano, visual resources coordinator in the department of Art History, and Kowaleski said it was notable that Fostano presented at the conference, as did Elizabeth Cornell, Ph.D., director of communications at Fordham’s department of information technology. Adding professional staff such as librarians and graduate students to the mix, was key to the conference’s success, she said.

“One of the things that my research shows, and that I have experienced, is how crucial librarians are to digital efforts now. I’m grateful that Fordham has included them in this program,” she said.

London and New York, Working as a Team

Representing the Graduate School of Education (GSE), Professor of Childhood Special Education Su-Je Cho, Ph.D, and doctoral student Kathleen Doyle jointly presented “Using a Digital Learning Platform to Increase Levels of Evidence-Based Practices in Global Teacher Education Programs.” It detailed Project REACH, a U.S. Department of Education-funded initiative that makes widely available the best evidence-based practices for training prospective teachers.

George Magoulas, Ph.D., Alex Poulovassilis, Ph.D., and Andrea Cali, Ph.D., members of Birkbeck College’s Knowledge Lab, helped them collect and analyze data through the website.

Working with a partner in London made sense for this project, Cho said, because one of her goals is for Project REACH to get more use internationally. She, Doyle, and the GSE’s Alesia Moldavan, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics education, will collaborate with Christine Edwards-Leis, Ph.D., associate dean of research, and enterprise and doctoral student Jennifer Murray from St. Mary’s College in London on a new endeavor geared toward student teachers’ mental health. Once finished, it will be incorporated into Project REACH.

“The student teaching experience is very stressful, because it’s not their own classroom they have to student teach in. It’s someone else’s classroom. By providing this kind of platform, they can also share their concerns and knowledge and frustrations with the students overseas,” she said.

For Doyle, the trip was an opportunity to see how colleagues from other disciplines assemble collaborative teams.

“I really appreciated learning across the fields. Being in the Graduate School of Education, I’ve been mainly focused on that field. It was refreshing to hear about the other ways digital scholarship is utilized in other disciplines,” she said.

Urban Challenges That Cross Borders

Gregory T. Donovan, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication and media studies, presented “Keeping Place in ‘Smart’ Cities: Situating the Settlement House as a Means of Knowing and Belonging in the Informational City.” The project, which he is developing with the assistance of Melissa Butcher, Ph.D., reader in social and cultural geography at Birkbeck College, will highlight the efforts of New York City’s Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center and London’s Toynbee Hall.

The project will focus on the “settlement house” model of community center that was founded a century ago to confront segregation and displacement and promote belonging.

“New York City and London are examples of global cities that are going through significant technological change, both in terms of the cities themselves becoming more digitized as well as the economy and the kinds of jobs and the kinds of education that’s being elevated. With that comes all kinds of difficult changes and gentrification that causes displacement,” said Donovan, who is also organizing November symposium at Fordham called Mapping (in)justice.

“We’re going to look at how we might network [Lincoln Square and Toynbee] through digital technology and think about how they’re managing to keep pace in these communities that are often being displaced in this kind of digital gentrification.”

Wojciechowski had previously interned for the fashion website Moda Operandi, and when she enrolled to study in London this spring, she thought she might continue in that vein. But when a placement manager mentioned that Arden needed an intern in their public relations department, she jumped at the opportunity.

The internship, has given her the opportunity to wear many different hats, she said recently by phone from Clerkenwell, where the London campus is based.

“I’ve been lucky that they include me in a lot of the creative brainstorming aspects for influencer gifts and different campaigns that they’re working on. I’ve definitely got a very active role there, which has been really nice. It’s not just making copies,” she said.

“I take all of the coverage that we get, compile it and send it to everybody in London that works for Arden. That’s been cool too, because they give me a lot of responsibility, which I’m grateful for.”

As part of the cosmetics firm’s London team, Wojciechowski has helped coordinate outreach efforts on the brand’s social media platforms, outreach to “influencers,” and the tracking of the success of those outreach efforts—skills that are applicable in other industries. And although her major is in marketing, she said the Gabelli School’s core curriculum has served her well, as she’s been able to discuss things like finance with her colleagues.

“The Gabelli core definitely prepares you for work in general,” she said.

Wojciechowski spent the semester in London as part of Fordham’s Study Abroad program. Living there isn’t dramatically different from living in New York, she said. The city is cleaner and the pace is slower, she’s noticed. And of course, she’s learned to take the “lift” instead of an elevator, and to be extra careful crossing the street, as cars drive on the left side.

In addition to splitting time between classes and her internship, Wojciechowski has made pilgrimages across the English Channel to Lisbon, Copenhagen, Milan, and Rome. When she is exploring London, Hyde Park, which is a short hop from where she lives, is her favorite haunt.

“I have always been a runner, so it’s really nice to be able to just walk there. I can also go for a run in the morning and after class or something. I just like the park, to get away from the city a little bit,” she said.

Wojciechowski has plans when she returns stateside to intern with New Era, a sports apparel  company in Buffalo this summer. But merry old England has treated her well.

“I really like London. Elizabeth Arden is awesome, the people there are super friendly. It’s been a really good experience for me.”

Based on reactions, comments, and shares*, here are the Fordham News stories that were most popular on Facebook this year.

10. Fordham Provost Stephen Freedman Dies at 68
To call an obituary a “popular” post may seem incongruous. The word is very fitting, however, for our late provost Stephen Freedman, who was loved and admired on the Fordham campus and beyond. His untimely death in July shocked the University community; we still grieve for him as we strive to carry on his legacy.

9. Management Course on Spinning Bikes Gets Students Up to Speed
Struggling to fit in your spin workout and still make it to class? Students did both in Julita Haber’s management class, the first ever fitness integrated learning (FIL) class to be offered on an American campus.

8. Faces in the Class of 2018
Hailing from all over the world, these 10 members of the Class of 2018 were just a small sample of the many talented graduates who do us proud each year.

7. Spending a Year With the Jesuit Volunteer Corps
For some Fordham grads—including Charlie Shea and Annie David—the Jesuit Volunteer Corps offers a chance to experience a different community and find a sense of purpose.

6. Performing Arts Programs Earn Top Rankings
Our performing arts programs took center stage this year, earning top spots in several prestigious rankings. Bravo!

5. Fordham Opens New London Centre
Fordham officially unveiled its new London Centre, now located in the Clerkenwell neighborhood and offering study abroad opportunities in liberal arts, business, and drama.

4. Fordham Marches in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
As always, the Rams had a great showing on Fifth Avenue for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We took first place among universities for the third year in a row.

3. Remembering Nicholas Booker
Friends and Fordham staff came together to remember first-year student Nicholas Booker, an athlete, a pal to many, and a promising young man whose future was cut short by a severe asthmatic attack.

2. Moving in on Opening Day
There was plenty of Fordham spirit on display as Opening Day welcomed new and returning students to campus.

1. Sistine Chapel Reproduction Installed at Rose Hill
And our most popular post of 2018 was a recent one: A quarter-scale reproduction of the Sistine Chapel fresco—a gift from the Met—now hangs in Duane Library’s Butler Commons. Be sure to check it out in January, when the University will open the room to members of the campus community.

*A note about our methodology: This list is based on total reactions, comments, and shares, including reactions to other people’s shares– which are not reflected in the numbers seen at the bottom of the posts here.

The ceremony marked the official dedication of the new campus, which will be home to American university students as they study and immerse themselves in the storied culture of the U.K.’s cosmopolitan city.

As the scent of rosemary, mint, and roast pork wafted from the gleaming new kitchen off the student lounge, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, reminded students, faculty, alumni, and staff of a time when such copious consumption once spelled doom for a group of Jesuits who lived in hiding nearby at a time when anti-Catholic sentiments ran high.

The year was 1628, he said. Protestant shopkeepers began to notice an unusual amount of “provisions and necessaries” being carried in to the Jesuits’ quarters.

“This excited their suspicion,” said Father McShane, reading from a 17th-century account of the events. “They, therefore, gave notice and the house was surrounded about 9 o’clock in the morning. The authorities broke in and searched the house from top to bottom. The rector was found and taken … Others were caught elsewhere. … Only one was condemned to death, having admitted the fact of his treason,” he read.

“Three hundred and ninety years later, the Jesuits have returned to Clerkenwell!” he said to laughter and applause.

“But this time around … may the word go out that this is a place of learning, warmth and welcome, a place where every soul finds a home, every student finds instruction, and the world is welcome to our door.”

An Appeal for Wisdom Beyond Books

The evening began with an inaugural Mass of the Holy Spirit at St. Peter’s Italian Church, which sits just a stone’s throw from the London Centre on Clerkenwell Road. In his homily the Right Reverend Nicholas Hudson, auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Westminster, encouraged students and professors at the new center to seek wisdom beyond the classroom and their careers.

Dedication, History, and Renewed Commitment

After Mass, the crowd headed back at the new campus for the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony. There, Jonathan M. Crystal, Ph.D., interim provost, gave a brief history of Fordham’s four-decades in London, beginning when leadership at Marymount College of Fordham and a group of instructors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts established the London Dramatic Academy (LDA), a conservatory steeped in the British acting tradition, in Brownlow Mews. By 2009, Fordham moved from that location to a larger space at the University of London’s Heythrop College in Kensington Square, adding both business and liberal arts curricula. Crystal credited a meeting between the former dean of Marymount and the principal of Heythrop College with expanding Fordham’s London campus to 3,500 square-feet.

“With the dedication today, of our newly renovated, 17,000 square foot space—that’s 1,580 square meters—Fordham’s new London Centre is central to the University’s international strategy,” Crystal told the crowd. “In a location known for tech startups and repurposed warehouses, ever more opportunities exist as we stand committed to prepare all our students—graduate, professional, and undergraduate—to be global leaders, ready to achieve and excel in a world that is increasingly interconnected in cultural, economic, and political dimensions.”

‘Build Me a House’

Crystal then ceded the floor to students, several of whom sang an appropriately-themed song by Leonard Bernstein titled, “Build Me a House.” After the performance, deans, donors, and students joined together to cut the ribbon with giant scissors, officially opening the center.

Charlie Arnedt, a junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, took a moment to thank the faculty and staff of the center for help personalizing the city he’s called home since August. He said had no idea how immersive the London program would be through coursework and class excursions. He spoke of visiting the Imperial War Museum and feeling its visceral memory of the Great War, hearing the acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall, and observing “the height of empire and scientific achievement at the world’s meridian at the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

“Thanks to my professors, I’ve formed a special connection to London as a place to live and a place to learn,” said Arnedt. “Like New York, London is my campus and Fordham is my school.”

A Cultural Crossroads

The center is a campus for students from Fordham and other universities to study abroad and immerse themselves in the culture of the city as well as the continent. For some students, it serves as launching point for long weekend sojourns to Paris and other European cities.

“We are fortunate that London is a global capital that not only represents the U.K., but also represents all the many cultures of the world; this is a crossroads and has been for centuries,” said Richard P. Salmi, S.J., head of the London Centre.

Every semester, dating back to when Fordham London Centre was at Heythrop College, the Office of Student Affairs arranges trips to the continent. Through a partnership with Loyola Chicago’s Rome Center, Gabelli School students can hear lectures and take tours from local professors and celebrate Mass at the Vatican. Liberal arts students  have visited Vienna and Berlin in the past. This spring they will be going to Lisbon. And more locally, student affairs arranges group trips to sporting events and the theater.

“Our students come here only for one for semester, but it’s always gratifying to me to see how they grow and change over that short period,” said Father Salmi. “They oftentimes come in a little bit timid, almost as though they’re reliving their freshman experience all over again, but then by the end of the semester it’s amazing the see the transformation. They become global.”

A Vibrant, Central Location

The newly renovated London Centre campus began as two Victorian-era buildings—probably built for commercial use—that were later combined to form the offices and manufacturing plant of Winstone Printing Inks, which served nearby Fleet Street newspapers. A north wing was added, most likely in the 1920s or ’30s.

The vibrant student-friendly Clerkenwell neighborhood is a former industrial neighborhood that built a new reputation as design and tech firms began moving in during the 1990s. It’s close to the city’s financial district, West End theaters, the British Museum, and St. Pancras International Railway Station (with trains that can reach Paris in less than three hours).

Leather Lane, across the street from the center, is an outdoor market with dozens of small trucks serving up a variety of street food, from Spanish paella to Vietnamese pho. Down Clerkenwell Road, near St. Peter’s, an Italian grocery and a Roman pizzeria cater to the area’s Italian community, while just a bit further up the road, Turkish barbers offer a cut and shave.

Business, Liberal Arts, and Drama

Undergraduate classes are currently open to students registered full time at a U.S. college or university. Students hail from St. Louis University, Marquette, Loyola Marymount, Loyola Chicago, Cornell, and Pomona College, to name just a few. The London Dramatic Arts program typically accepts 24 students and the undergraduate programs are nearing capacity for this coming spring with more than 300 students.

John Harrington, Ph.D., academic dean of the center, said that the program’s strengths lie in the “outbound” and the “inbound”: “Students make relevant site visits around the city,” he said, “and experts from different fields come into the classroom.”

Undergraduate students can start attending Fordham London Centre in the second semester of their sophomore year and should maintain a 3.0 average. Alongside with LDA, the center’s programs are split between the Gabelli School of Business and the liberal arts. Liberal arts courses are open to all undergraduates from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, the Gabelli School, and the School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Students take 15 credits a semester.

International Internships

The center also offers an internship program where some students work two days per week alongside their coursework.  Placements in the past have been in the fields of marketing, international relations, television, health science, and banking.

“Increasingly, over time, the students are more interested in international internships,” said Harrington, adding that 35 students have already been placed for the spring.

On the graduate level, some schools have programs that are up and running, such as the Graduate School of Social Service’s summertime course on settlement houses. Debra McPhee, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Social Service, joined several Fordham deans in London for the dedication. She held a meeting on Oct. 29 with U.K. settlement house leaders to deepen ties and explore the possibility of student placements.

“We continue to look at initiatives that will bring the community into the school and the school into the community, which is an objective at home too,” said McPhee, adding that her fellow graduate school deans were equally excited by the opportunities.

“Everybody feels like being here together and having the opportunity to be in the space to talk with each other has been helpful on how we could do some interdisciplinary work here, which is sometimes hard to do in New York,” she said. “There’s definitely been some spark.”

A Space for Intimate Connections

It’s a spark that has captured undergrads as well, said Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. Mast said students who often find themselves studying alongside peers who share their major tend to interact a bit closer with other disciplines on London’s more intimate campus.

“Here it’s a tremendous community,” said Mast. “They’re getting to know the Gabelli students and the LDA students in ways they wouldn’t in another space.”

Mast said she also noted that the “Fordham is my school; New York is my campus” ethos swaps well with London.

“They love the way they’re going to museums and the way the courses really take advantage of the city and take advantage of bringing experts into the classroom,” she said. “They told me, as dean, they want more of this in New York City.”

Some of the courses offered reflect immersive experiences in liberal arts, such as an Art and Architecture course that takes place every other week on the streets of London. Likewise, a Writing London course include a Harry Potter walk, while a course on Shakespeare includes visits to the theater.

“A big part of Fordham’s educational approach is applied learning, using the city as our campus, and London provides a new whole way to do that,” Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School of Business.

Courtney Welyczko, a junior at the Gabelli School of Business, said using the city as a campus will be something she can carry into her career and into other cities as well.

“I know that whatever career I end up in, I’m going to be experiencing people from a wide range of locations in the world. So it’s good to get into the context of different styles, and London has its own distinct style,” she said. “This is an incredible city to study, and so is New York, and the fact that there’s a Fordham in London made my decision to come here very easy.”

A new image will be revealed every night as we count down to Halloween 2018.

 

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Spooky season is upon us ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fordham presents: The 13 Nights of Halloween. Enjoy these haunting illustrations by Peter Stults; a new one will be revealed every night. . . [Image: an illustration shows a ghost photobombing two girls standing on a path on the Rose Hill campus] . #fordham #halloween #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 19, 2018 at 3:24pm PDT

 

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You never know who — or what — is watching over the Plaza… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of a gargoyle perching on a clock overlooking Fordham Lincoln Center’s Plaza] . #fordham #halloween

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 20, 2018 at 3:44pm PDT

 

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There’s a new resident in Loyola Hall #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ . [Image: An illustration of a ventriloquist dummy sitting on the floor inside a residence hall room] . #fordham #halloween

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 21, 2018 at 3:33pm PDT

 

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*Turns around and runs the other way* #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: A flock of rams with red eyes blocks a hallway in Lowenstein] . #fordham #halloween #rams

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 22, 2018 at 3:37pm PDT

 

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Spooky illustration or actual @fordhamcats photo? #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: A black cat sits in a graveyard] . #fordham #halloween #blackcat

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 23, 2018 at 3:21pm PDT

 

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It follows #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: A shadowed figure floats next to a Ram Van parked in front of Fordham Lincoln Center] . #fordham #halloween #ramvan #nyc

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 24, 2018 at 3:34pm PDT

 

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When you think you’re finally safe on the Westchester campus but you’re wrong #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: A disgruntled student walks around Fordham’s Westchester campus while bats follow him] . #fordham #halloween #bats #fordhamwestchester

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 25, 2018 at 3:17pm PDT

 

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Go Rave — we mean, Rams! #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: The Ramses mascot stands in front of the football stands holding a raven on his hand] . #fordham #ramses #halloween #raven

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 26, 2018 at 3:43pm PDT

 

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Beware of the Flying Dutchman #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of a ghost ship passing behind Fordham Law School] . #fordham #halloween #ghostship

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 27, 2018 at 3:20pm PDT

 

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Down to take a dip in Calder Lake? #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of a creature emerging from the lake at Calder Center] . #fordham #halloween #CalderCenter

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 28, 2018 at 3:12pm PDT

 

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Tomorrow is our @fordhamlondon dedication! Be sure to check out our Instagram story and Facebook Live stream for the ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the building and surrounding neighborhood, and more! #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of a werewolf sitting on top of the Fordham London Centre building with a full moon in the background] . #fordham #halloween #werewolf #london #clerkenwell

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 29, 2018 at 4:32pm PDT

 

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Have you seen the pesky poltergeists playing in the Keating Bell Tower? #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of poltergeists playing in and around the Keating Bell Tower] . #fordham #keating #bells

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 30, 2018 at 3:17pm PDT

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Happy Halloween, Rams! Thanks for taking this spooky journey with us #Fordhams13NightsofHalloween . . [Image: An illustration of zombies on Eddies as the sun rises over Keating Hall] . #fordham #DawnOfTheDead #Keating #EdwardsParade #Eddies

A post shared by Fordham University (@fordhamuniversity) on Oct 31, 2018 at 3:13pm PDT

Offering study-abroad opportunities in liberal arts, business, and theater, Fordham’s London Centre had operated out of Heythrop College in the Kensington neighborhood for several years before outgrowing the space. The new 17,000-square-foot space will be central to the University’s commitment to global education.

Dunbar is overseeing the renovations, as well as the interiors by the design firm Maris Interiors LLP. His firm, Dunbar Associates, has been managing construction projects for universities, investment banks, and hotels throughout London since 1973. 

Welcoming students this fall, the center’s six floors will house arts and sciences, theater, and business courses up to the graduate level. The ground floor will consist of a shared student space with a learning center and a small library. The first floor of the new building will be devoted to the London Academy of Dramatic Arts—long a cornerstone of the London Centre—with two large performance spaces. The remaining floors will hold seven classrooms, a conference room, faculty offices, and group study rooms. The entire ensemble will be topped with a roof terrace overlooking the lively neighborhood.

What distinguishes the Clerkenwell neighborhood?

Clerkenwell Road, where the center is located, is a cosmopolitan mix of industrial and residential buildings. There are graphics and high tech companies, showrooms, and a publishing house. It’s really in the heart of the action, but equally it’s on the fringe of the central business district, so there’s a lot of development going on around there. When we got the zoning changed so that we could use the building for educational purposes, there was an intimation that we would consult with and keep in touch with the local community. Fordham wants to immerse itself in the community, not just be an isolated entity. The area has a very eclectic feel about it. Students will have some interesting things to pick and choose from.

Is the location easy to get to? 

Farringdon station is nearby, which will be a new Crossrail interchange with a great east-west link, so that’ll give a very rapid transit out to the airport at Heathrow. Equally, north-south you have the Thameslink going connecting nearby Kings Cross station to Gatwick airport. And then there’s St. Pancras International railway station, which means Paris is less than three hours away by train.

What are the nearby neighborhoods like?

Across the street is Leather Lane Market, where there’s street food and wine tastings. The new center is north of the City of London, which is the financial district. Nearby Holborn and Bloomsbury have a lot of classic Georgian buildings. The University of London and the British Museum are probably a 15-minute walk. Even closer is the City University of London. Just around the corner is Hatton Garden, the famous jewelry center where there’s plenty of diamonds and jewelry—if anybody’s interested.

What is the building’s history?  

The building is a combination of three buildings originally. Fronting Clerkenwell Road there were two Victorian buildings, probably built for commercial use, not residential. They were combined a long time ago and formed the offices and manufacturing plant of a printing ink company called Winstone Printing Inks. Probably in the 1920s or ’30s, a north wing was added to create the building we are now refurbishing. That was occupied by Winstone, which made the inks for Fleet Street newspapers that were a mile down the road. So, the building has a bit of an industrial archeological history, though there’s not much sight of it now.

What’s the schedule for completing the renovations?

We’re on schedule to complete the renovations at the end of July, so August will be move-in and time to set everything up, get the computers working, and get the networking up. By then the London Academy of Dramatic Arts will have its stage set lighting, a combination of spots and strip LEDs so you can change the scene. A blacked-out ceiling also gives it a stage effect. The ground floor entrance hall will have some interesting architectural lighting using copper tubing, which really has to be seen, describing it just won’t do it justice. The ground floor windows are nearly floor to ceiling height and will provide good visibility and daylight into the student center from the street.

How will the building connect with the New York campuses?

We’re working on the audio-visual and IT content for interactive screens, and teleconferencing for remote teaching. Professors and experts in London will be able to communicate with New York classrooms and vice versa. We’ll be all wired up across the Atlantic so if you open a door in London they’ll know who opened it in New York—without breaching any privacy issues, of course. The security system in London will be compatible with New York’s systems in terms of monitoring, so that the ID cards can work in either country.

“If Fordham aspires to be a 21st-century University, it must also be an international university,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “The Jesuits’ Heythrop operated for many years in the Catholic-friendly North and moved to London after Vatican II. Fordham is building on that tradition in a way that serves our students and the world. Our expanded London Centre will help us better educate more students in the Jesuit mold.”

The move will put Fordham’s London Centre in a much more active and student-friendly neighborhood. Clerkenwell, a former industrial neighborhood in the center of London, gained a reputation in the mid-1990s as design and tech firms began to make the area their home. The Centre will be within walking distance to both the city’s bustling financial district and the West End theaters. It will be a stone’s throw from the British Museum and St. Pancras International Railway Station—making Paris less than three hours away by train. There are many highly regarded universities in close proximity with which Fordham will explore partnerships to provide students with extracurricular opportunities, joint initiatives, and wide access to facilities.

“With the signing of this long-term lease, Fordham reasserts its commitment to international education, and to the University’s presence in London,” said Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., provost of the University. “London will not merely be a campus for Fordham students to study away, but a destination for students from other universities across Europe and Asia, and a hub of global scholarship. London, and our programs in Beijing and Pretoria, are templates for expanding the Fordham mission outside of New York City, and outside of the United States.”

The new facility is set to open in the fall of 2018, and at 17,000 square feet of space, there will be plenty of room to expand programs in business and theatre, and add new offerings in the arts and sciences. The new Centre’s four floors will house arts and sciences, theater, and business courses up to the graduate level, and will accommodate the growing popularity of the study away program. The ground floor will consist of a shared student space with a learning center and a small library. The second floor of the new building will be devoted to the London Dramatic Academy with two large performance spaces, and the remaining two floors will hold seven classrooms, a conference room, faculty offices, and group study rooms. The entire ensemble will be topped with a roof terrace overlooking the lively neighborhood.

The provost said the Centre’s new location will also broaden Fordham’s opportunities for international students, attract partnerships with institutions in Europe and Asia, engage alumni—including the more than 300 Fordham graduates living and working in the United Kingdom—and provide a forum for Fordham scholars to share their expertise with European peers and with the British public. The Centre will also help Fordham students from the United States to broaden their perspectives, and think globally, by exposing them to a world capital other than New York.

Fordham inherited the London Centre from Marymount College, with the prestigious London Dramatic Academy as its cornerstone. The academy class size is capped and operates as a conservatory. Its course-specific needs—from springboard floors to small rooms for vocal coaching—will be met in the new designs, said Freedman.

While the London Dramatic Academy has continued to flourish, so too have programs in the Gabelli School of Business and the London Liberal Arts program. The Graduate School of Social Service has offered a summer Human Rights Symposium in London, and other graduate and professional schools have integrated London into their programs. The new space and its year-round operation provides opportunities for more intentional planning and allows the University to serve the needs of each of its constituencies.

“Space really does matter, and this is the perfect learning environment,” said Richard Salmi, S.J., head of the London Centre. “It is significant that we will have our own space, our own campus with the Fordham name on it. The new Centre will become a way for our students to engage with London and for London to engage with us.”

“London is a hub, Father Salmi said,” and we already have faculty, students, and alumni passing through the city every day. Now they have somewhere to call home.”