From stories about his father, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico when Alvarado was 10, to paintings that Alvarado has created to pay homage to farmworkers he knew growing up, Alvarado made clear that raising people out of poverty through education is deeply personal for him.

“Teachers are the ones who are foundational to all disciplines. It is the teacher who taught the Pulitzer Prize-winning author how to write. It is that math teacher that taught that banker basic math facts,” he said in an hour-long conversation with William F. Baker, Ph.D., the Claudio Acquaviva Chair and director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy and Education at the Graduate School of Education.

“Teachers unlock hope. Hope that students have for themselves, and hope that families have for their children. It drew me because it’s a profession that’s grounded in hope.”

Alvarado joined Fordham in July, after serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, the founding dean of the College of Education at California State University Monterey Bay, and associate dean of the College of Education at San Diego State University.

The conversation, which was organized by Fordham’s office of alumni relations, was a mix of questions from Baker as well as those submitted by attendees. In addition to sharing the reasons he got into education, Alvarado and Baker discussed current topics such as the recent politicization of the field of education.

Alvarado agreed it had become a problem, noting that just last month, the governor of Florida barred professors at the University of Florida from testifying about voting rights in a court case. Membership in the Flat Earth Society, he noted, is also on the rise.

“It’s a world that’s topsy turvy, and teachers I think, have to be the steady hand in all of that. Science, facts—teachers have to uphold those,” he said.

Alvarado was asked what it was like to embrace a private university after a career in public education. He noted that in addition to being impressed with Fordham’s dedication to cura personalis—care for the whole person, he also found it encouraging that GSE students, on average, find gainful employment sooner after graduation.

Asked how GSE is supporting Catholic education in New York City, Alvarado said that just a day earlier, they had held a recruitment event at a Catholic high school in the Bronx for teachers who have not yet earned their state teaching certification Catholic school teachers, he noted, receive a tuition discount at GSE.

When it comes to his priorities, Alvarado said he wants to make it easier for students of modest means to follow his own path, from high school to teaching certification. One of those plans involves establishing agreements that provide a way for students in community college (which Alvarado attended) to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree and a teaching certificate in five years. He also encouraged alumni to reach out to help mentor first-generation students.

During the discussion of Alvarado’s art, attendees saw that some of his pieces reflect the beauty of the world, while others are meant to highlight the powerful and quiet dignity of the working person.

In Strawberry Pickers, a 36- by 42-inch canvas painting, he explained that he split the painting into six panels to show how field laborers sometimes live fractured lives.

“They may be seen as part of an expendable workforce in the fields, but they may be esteemed members of their community, where they’re respected in their church and they’re respected in their families,” he said.

Alvarado became emotional while recounting the experience of working as a landscaper’s assistant in high school. When he told his grandmother how he was embarrassed to picking up dog poop on the lawns of his rich classmates “who were frolicking in their pools,” she told him,
“To steal brings shame. There is no shame in hard work.”

“Much of the work I do tries to show the dignity of the work, and the potential. I think of my father. He only went to the school until the third grade in Mexico. He was a brilliant man. He never had opportunities. So, for me, every kid that I see in an inner-city school, I see a future doctor, a future teacher, a future banker,” he said.

“It’s about creating opportunities and acknowledging that even if someone doesn’t have two or three letters after their name, it doesn’t mean they’re any less of a human being. They have tremendous potential and worth, like anyone else.”

To watch a recording of the town hall, visit here.

Stu Loeser, who served as press secretary for Bloomberg, and Frank Barry, who was the mayor’s director of public affairs and chief speechwriter, spoke at Fordham on March 21 in the latest installment of The Bloomberg Years, an Oral Archive on Governance in New York City.

Moderator and host William Baker, PhD, journalist-in-residence and Claudio Acquaviva, SJ, Chair at the Graduate School of Education, quizzed the two on issues from what an average work day entailed to big-picture topics like the framing of Bloomberg’s quest for a third term.

Barry said it was exhilarating to work for someone who was willing to publicly criticize and praise the positions of both major political parties, depending on the strength of the ideas.

“This seems like a fairly obvious thing to do, but in politics it’s actually a pretty rare thing. So for a major political figure to give voice to a kind of pragmatic centrism that spoke honestly about the pluses and minuses of both parties was pretty rare,” he said.

Loeser, who worked in the administration for seven years, said one challenge of explaining Bloomberg’s decisions was that—although many assumed he’d govern the city like a business—he understood that you can’t simply abandon ventures that are unprofitable, as is done in the private sector.

“Only in retrospect … what we can see is, in governing, there was capitalism at the center of the administration, [but]the currency was ideas. Mike Bloomberg was interested in great ideas that would transform the city,” he said.

“When you decide where to go out to dinner, some people might say ‘I feel like Chinese tonight, or Italian.’ The Mike Bloomberg theory would be, ‘I want to go to the best possible restaurant, and I don’t care if it’s Chinese or Italian.’”

The appointments of Iris Weinshall and Janette Sadik-Khan as heads of the Department of Transportation were proof, he said, of a willingness to listen to different approaches to the same problem. During her tenure, Weinshall instituted no-turning zones on major thoroughfares in Manhattan as a way to alleviate congestion; Sadik-Khan, as her successor, turned over roads to bikers and pedestrians.

“These are totally divergent paths, but they were both given attention because they were both great ideas, he said.

When it came to working with outside media, both men agreed they held unique jobs for two reasons; the volume of media outlets based in the city is extraordinary, and New York City’s mayor has a stronger national presence compared to other major American city mayors.

Loeser joked that in other places, one only need to worry about not being corrupt, while in New York, a fight over the preservation of 2 Columbus Circle—the so-called Lollipop Building—was so vociferous it was as if the administration was “trampling puppies.”

Frank said what made Bloomberg unique was he was incredibly comfortable in his own skin and never tried to be or to sound like someone he wasn’t. This was never more evident than at the 2003 funeral of James Davis, a member of the city council who was assassinated.

“Mike Bloomberg got up, and he was Mike Bloomberg. He didn’t try to be anyone else; he didn’t try to imitate or emulate someone else’s speaking style. And he spoke very honestly and sincerely to the family about the loss,” he said.

“Something really not seen by the public was how good he was at eulogies. The way he was able to connect with families and speak with them in a personal way always impressed us.”

Now William F. Baker, PhD, the Claudio Acquaviva SJ Chair and Journalist in Residence, has compiled a new book that culls some of that class’s major notes.

Baker, together with Evan Leatherwood and Warren Gibson, PhD, has published
The Worlds a Stage: How performing artists can make a living while still doing what they love (American Management Association, 2016). The book follows the storied history of the performing arts and finds that, while the artists’ world has changed, their struggle to make a living has not.

“The fine performing arts have forever existed in a precarious position,” said Leatherwood, a Slifka Fellow at Fordham’s Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy, and Education. “We’re letting people know that is normal, but we’re arming them with current knowledge.”

The book’s section titles suggest that the artist’s history of struggle and triumph is a long one. Sections include “Mozart and the Hustler,” “George Gershwin Catches a Wave,” and “Beverly Sills: Artist, Manager, Mom.”

“Only in the 20th century did people really begin to do this full-time,” said Baker.

But the book doesn’t linger in the past for long. Many contemporary managers who were guest lecturers for the Fordham/Juilliard class made themselves available for interviews—such as Peter Gelb, manager of the Metropolitan Opera. The book documents how Gelb’s embrace of technology has brought the world’s largest nonprofit performing arts institution into the 21st century.

The digital platform that has taken Met performances to millions of new viewers through its Live in HD broadcasts is examined in “The Technology Gamble.” These live broadcasts, which are shown in movie theaters around the world, bring in $17 million annually. Yet, Baker said, the institution’s budget of nearly $325 million often operates at a loss.

Baker said that most of his students, both artists and business majors, don’t realize that 30 percent of an arts institution’s budget comes from philanthropy, not ticket sales—something explained in the chapter “Fundraising.”

“When you are a performer, you don’t go back to your dressing room and relax,” said Baker. “If somebody applauded for you, you go out and find them and become their friend, because you’re going to need their support.”

Others featured in the book are Carnegie Hall Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillison and the American Ballet Theater’s former CEO Rachel Moore.

He stressed the vigilance needed to prevent future attacks, calling cyberterrorism something “we have to be very much concerned about,” and also touched on some of the controversial moments of his 12 years as commissioner under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Kelly was interviewed by William F. Baker, PhD—Journalist in Residence and Claudio Aquaviva Chair at Fordham—about many topics featured in his just-published memoir, Vigilance: My Life Serving America and Protecting its Empire City (Hachette Books, 2015). The interview was part of the University’s  Oral Archive on Governance in New York City: The Bloomberg Years.

Kelly served as commissioner from 1992 to 1994 and again from 2002 to 2013, the longest-ever tenure in the job. Discussing the 16 terrorist attacks thwarted on his watch, he said some were stopped by “sheer luck,” like the attempted Times Square bombing in 2010 that fizzled because the would-be bomber, Faisal Shahzad, bought weaker components than he needed.

Citizens still need to be vigilant to help stop attacks, though.

“The further we get away from a terrorist event, the less concerned people are,” he said.

In response to a question about the department’s so-called “stop and frisk” policy, he defended it by noting it’s backed up by common law and the U.S. Supreme Court. Officers in “every state in the union” are authorized to intervene when they see something they reasonably believe indicates a possible crime, he said.

“It is a valuable tool that police officers need to hold onto,” he said, adding that he knows it’s not a panacea or “cure-all.”

Asked about the drop in crime during his tenure and the recent uptick in shootings and homicides, Kelly said, “In my judgment, it’s up because police are hesitating.” He pointed to new oversight measures like an outside monitor mandated by a federal court ruling, which stemmed from a lawsuit alleging racial profiling by police. That and other measures send police “a message to do less,” he said.

He noted the department is “by far the most diverse” in America, with officers born in 106 countries.

When an audience member asked about how to prevent shootings in the city, Kelly described one initiative from 2012 and 2013 that led to the city’s lowest annual number of shootings, murders, and shootings by police ever recorded.

After finding that 30 percent of shootings and murders were originating with loosely organized “crews,” or gangs, the department expanded its anti-gang unit and tracked the signals that crew members were sending on social media, among other measures, leading to 25 major investigations and 450 indictments.

“That proactive approach to these types of gangs, or crews, worked for us,” he said.

He said he supports body cameras for police. In addition to deterring misconduct, he said, “they will show the great work that police do, really throughout the country—heroic work, beneficial work, good work—but also show events that happen, ideally, from start to the end, as opposed to seeing a YouTube video that starts in the middle of something.”

“We have in Chuck Singleton an extraordinary eye for talent, a long track record of pleasing audiences, and a highly capable and collegial manager,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “I expect great things from Chuck, and with his appointment, believe WFUV’s best days lie ahead of us.”

Singleton joined WFUV in 1987 as its first director of news and public affairs. He developed WFUV’s coverage of community issues and its student training programs, and created and hosted the program Cityscape. As interim director, he has presided over a highly successful annual gala, chaired WFUV’s strategic planning committee, and has helped guide the staff toward a unified vision for the station and increased audience and revenue.

“With this appointment, WFUV looks to the future,” said Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., provost, and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Fordham. “Chuck is highly respected in radio broadcasting and exceptionally well qualified to lead WFUV as it navigates a rapidly evolving broadcast environment. His experience and his judgment will prove critical in maintaining the station at the industry’s cutting edge.”

“I’m hugely honored to be asked to lead WFUV, and excited about what’s ahead for this one-of-a-kind public station,” Singleton said. “WFUV is a trusted source for musical discovery and a world-class training facility. These are unique and powerful strengths. With the station’s rich content and respected brand, and its setting in this exceptional city and as part of Fordham University, WFUV is well positioned to be an even more significant public media service.”

Singleton has more than 30 years of experience in public radio as a programmer, host, producer and contributor to stations and national programs. He has directed WFUV’s programming since 1992, including recruiting its on-air staff and expanding its schedule of Adult Album Alternative (or “Triple A”) music programming. He led the development of WFUV’s indie music service, “The Alternate Side.” Singleton began his radio career in 1980 at Philadelphia’s WXPN, hosting and producing music shows, interviews, news and cultural features. Singleton lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife Nancy, a family physician, their son and daughter, and a dog named after singer-songwriter Nellie McKay.

In announcing the appointment, Freedman thanked the search committee, chaired by William F. Baker, Ph.D., the Claudio Acquaviva S.J. Chair and Journalist-in-Residence in the Graduate School of Education. “You have made a vital contribution in ensuring a vibrant future for WFUV in the years ahead,” Freedman said. “Chuck will work to advance the standards of excellence, innovation, and service that WFUV represents within Fordham, in New York City, its surrounding communities, and beyond. Thank you again for your dedicated service to WFUV and to Fordham.”

About WFUV
New York’s Rock and Roots station WFUV (90.7 FM, www.wfuv.org) is a noncommercial, member-supported radio station, licensed to Fordham University for more than 60 years, serving nearly 300,000 weekly listeners throughout the New York metropolitan area and thousands more worldwide on the Web. WFUV has received national recognition for its award-winning weekday format of adult album alternative music, news from NPR, and a diverse weekend lineup.  WFUV’s own robust website has extensive audio archives, videos, song playlists, an events calendar, blog and other resources.

The Media:
Journalism in Crisis
Sunday, April 4 | 11 p.m.
WNET Channel 13

(check local listings for other
public television stations.)

The documentary examines some of the major issues that have led to the near demise of print news–and offers possible strategies for its survival in the digital age. It contrasts the days when the nation relied on three network newscasts and a small group of correspondents, led by Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, to the modern advent of cable TV, talk radio, and blogs, which provide seemingly unlimited platforms for voices and opinions. A preview is available on thirteen.org.

William F. Baker, Ph.D., is the Claudio Aquaviva Chair and Journalist in Residence at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. In the documentary, he provides critical analysis of how instant access demands a continuous stream of new content, and as a consequence the line between “news” and “entertainment” has been blurred. The program includes interviews with on-air personalities Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and many more.

The Media: Journalism in Crisis uses footage from actual news broadcasts and features interviews with journalists and academics. The film concludes with a sobering look at the current state of print news, with unique perspectives from those working on the frontlines, including Tom Curley, president of Associated Press; Bill Keller, managing editor of The New York Times; and Andrew Meagher, content development director at Reuters. The Media: Journalism in Crisis explores how the industry has struggled to adapt for a new generation and raises the question: “if nothing in life is free, then why should news be?”

“During this time of transition, we can’t act quickly enough to preserve America’s tradition of an independent news media,” Baker says. “Newspapers and web journalism need new business models and, more important, new ways in thinking about the value of information.”

The Media: Journalism in Crisis is the centerpiece of a multifaceted project that will include a companion book, written by Neal Cortell, as well as an e-Book, audio book and DVD.

Click here for the 2009 Founder’s Award Dinner Photo Gallery.

The eighth annual Fordham Founder’s Award Dinner was an evening of excitement and gratitude, and a celebration of the University’s promising future.

More than 900 Fordham alumni and friends filled the Waldorf-Astoria’s Grand Ballroom on March 30 to honor a pair of outstanding graduates.

James E. Buckman, Esq. (FCRH ’66) and John P. Kehoe (FCRH ’60, FCLC ’85), received this year’s Fordham Founder’s Award.

In addition, the annual gala raised $2 million this year for the Fordham Founder’s Presidential Scholarship Fund.

“I cannot begin to describe the influence Fordham has had on my life—internships, international studies, the Bronx, the city, the friendships. These have been the best four years of my life thanks to your generous support,” said scholarship recipient Elizabeth Davis, a senior in the College of Business Administration.

“On behalf of all the scholars, I want to thank you all so very much for believing in us … and for inspiring us to continue in your efforts to serve the Fordham family,” she said.

The night began with an invocation by Edward Cardinal Egan, archbishop of New York, and ended with the launch of Excelsior | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham—a $500 million fundraising effort.

“I want to thank you for the immense good that you do in this sector of the Lord’s vineyard,” said Cardinal Egan, who will step down as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York in April. “This is my last dinner but … you have, and always will have, a special place in my prayers.”

Fordham luminaries in attendance included bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark (FCLC ’79); Charles Osgood (FCRH ’54), legendary broadcaster and anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning; Ann Mara, wife of the late New York Giants owner Wellington Mara (FCRH ’37); and retired General John M. Keane (CBA ’66), former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army.

John P. Kehoe (FCRH ’60, FCLC ’85) Photo by Jon Roemer

William F. Baker, Ph.D., president emeritus of WNET and Claudio Acquaviva, S.J., Chair and Journalist in Residence in the Graduate School of Education, emceed the event.

Upon receiving the Founder’s Award, Buckman, a University trustee, member of the President’s Council and co-chair of the campaign, said he was immensely proud to be included in the company of past recipients, whom he called exceptional men and women.

He expressed gratitude for having the opportunity to receive a Fordham education, something many in his family, including his daughter, an uncle, two brothers, a cousin, a niece and grandniece have been able to do.

“It’s been a long journey since I stepped off the Bronx 20 bus at Bathgate Avenue in September 1958 at the age of 13, and set foot on the Rose Hill campus as a freshman at Fordham Prep,” he said. “I had eight wonderful years on that campus and my formation as a man, in great measure, was set by the Jesuit priests and scholastics I encountered while I was there.”

Buckman holds a law degree from Yale. He served as an officer in the Connecticut and Georgia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force Reserve. Today, he is vice chairman of York Capital Management.

Kehoe, a member of the University Board of Trustees and the President’s Council, and co-chair of the campaign, began as a Rose Hill undergraduate, continued his studies at the Graduate School of Education’s evening program, and then received a bachelor’s degree from Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

“My very long experience at Fordham has been an extraordinary gift in my life,” he said. “I’m grateful to so many of you for so much, and to the Jesuits, both in New York and in Rome. They have been there for so many blessings that have marked my life.”

Kehoe has served the University in several ways. In 2008, he donated $2 million to renovate the Black Box Studio Theatre on the Lincoln Center campus into a state-of-the-art facility in honor of his late wife, Veronica Lally Kehoe (FCLC ’02).

Currently, he is a senior adviser at Abernathy MacGregor Group, specializing in financial transaction communications strategy and crisis management.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J. president of Fordham, thanked the attendees for supporting the University mission.

“For 168 years, Fordham, the realization of Archbishop Hughes’ dream, has worked its magic,” Father McShane said. “For 168 years, Fordham has embraced its students with faith both in them and in the transforming power of education.

“It has nurtured them with love. It has sent them out into the world with the hope that they would—as Archbishop Hughes believed they could—do the world a world of good.  In the process, it has always taught its students to seek the higher things: a better world, a deeper faith, ever more loving service of others, and the greater glory of God.”

Both sides squared off on March 8 at “The Future of New York City Schools: Has Mayoral Control Worked?” The meeting of New York City public school principals was held at the Lowenstein Center on the Lincoln Center campus.

The discussion was sponsored the Fordham Graduate School of Education’s (GSE) Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy. It was triggered by a vote—set for August—on whether Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office should retain control of city schools.

First to offer their views were Dennis Walcott, New York City deputy mayor for education and community development; and Marcia Lyles, Ph.D., deputy chancellor for teaching and learning.

They were followed by a panel featuring Michael Mulgrew, vice president of career and technical high schools for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT); Ernest A. Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; and James Hennessy, Ph.D., dean of GSE.

William F. Baker, Ph.D., president emeritus of WNET and Claudio Aquaviva Chair and Journalist in Residence at Fordham, served as moderator.

Walcott stressed how dysfunctional the system was before the school system underwent a radical reorganization in 2002.

“The system we put in place is a system of coherence, a system of accountability, a system of reform, a system that drives information not just to the principal, not just to the teacher, but to the parents as well,” Walcott said. “It’s a system that holds me, it holds the chancellor, it holds the mayor, it holds the principals accountable as far as results are concerned. It’s not a system based on politics.”

Lyles spoke about the school district’s high turnover rate when she was a superintendent under the old system. She said she constantly felt pressure to hire friends and relatives of board of education members. Aside from removing those pressures, she said the whittling of 32 districts to 10 regions had brought order where once there had been chaos.

“With 32 districts, there were 32 different kinds of programs going on. Subsequently, there was very little coherence,” she said. “Standards were not necessarily the same from one district to the next. The criteria for accountability was very different.”

In addition to increasing accountability in a coherent and organized fashion, she said, the new system also allows principals to determine what works best in their schools.

“We can work with you; we can support you; we can guide you; we can be there when you need us there; but ultimately, you must be responsive to, and accountable to, the children and the families of your community,” she said.

William F. Baker addresses Michael Mulgrew, Ernest A. Logan and James Hennessy in a panel discussion. Photo By Patrick Verel

Representing those who oppose mayoral control, Logan accused the mayor’s office and the Department of Education of copping out by saying the mayor is held accountable because he is elected, noting that Bloomberg gets elected for a host of other reasons. Talking about how bad things used to be is not helpful, either, he mentioned.

The union’s biggest disagreement with the current structure, he said, is that it holds schools accountable for student performance, but does not hold administrators accountable for providing guidance to principals.

A suggestion by the UFT that most of the city’s 13-member panel for educational policy be chosen by someone other than the mayor has been rejected, which he said shows that city education officials are not serious about transparency.

“There are a lot of positive things that have happened, but the lack of transparency and the closing out of the community is the biggest issue,” Logan said.

Mulgrew said the expansion of city schools—as many as 40 new schools are slated to open in the next few years—is a perfect example of the opaqueness under which the Department of Education operates.

“If we’re having a budget cut, where we have to split money up between 1,500 schools, why are we adding to the mix to have even less money for each school?” he asked.

“People wonder, as they fear and feel anxiety over our future, whether we can return prosperity to this country in the 21st century,” he said. “I believe that we actually don’t have to look to 21st century ideas to accomplish this. We can go back to the 19th century, where some of the most poignant history will help us.”

The governor’s speech, in the grand ballroom of the Hilton New York, occurred on the first day of the two-day conference, which was sponsored by public television stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21. The event, which featured 93 hands-on workshops and more than 100 vendors, also was sponsored by Fordham’s Graduate School of Education (GSE).

Paterson cited The Race Between Education and Technology(Bellknap, 2008) by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz as a powerful argument for increasing aid to education.

Goldin and Katz, he said, argue that the industrializing of America caused it to be an economic superpower, but that industrialization came from education, specifically from the high school movement.

That movement dictated that neighborhoods, towns and villages of more than 500 people have a public high school. Massachusetts adopted the measure first, and New York immediately followed. The results, he said, were spectacular.

“By 1960, 70 percent of American children graduated from high school, and by comparison, in Great Britain, only 9 percent of 17 years olds were even still in high school. This is when we became the economic leaders,” he said. “We have stopped putting the focus and priority on the preeminence of education.”

As proof, the governor noted that whereas America led the world with young people from 25 to 34 having bachelor’s degrees or higher in 1998, the nation has slumped to ninth in 2008.

If we continue at this rate, he said, the United States is projected to be 20th in the world by 2018. This is why he lobbied so hard for education to be included in the recently passed economic stimulus bill, which includes more than $3.5 billion for New York; $2.4 billion designated to remove any cuts in the state budget.

“Education comes from the Latin word educo, or educare, which means to lead out. The best way to lead ourselves out of this economic crisis is to make sure we have the best educated young work force in the world, and then we’ll solve any problem put in front of us, as America has before.”

Earlier in the afternoon, attendees packed a conference room to hear “Our Changing Understanding of Leadership,” a panel moderated by James Hennessy, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Education.

Panelists included William F. Baker, Ph.D., president emeritus of WNET and Claudio Acquaviva S.J. Chair and Journalist in Residence at Fordham; Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers; Ernest A. Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; and Sandra J. Stein, CEO of the NYC Leadership Academy.