GBA to Host NYC Chief Digital Officer at TimesCenter

NYC Chief Digital Officer Rachael Haot

As the namesake of one of the world's top media and technology companies, it's not surprising that Mayor Michael Bloomberg ushered in several tech innovations at City Hall. Chief among them was the creation of the Digital Roadmap in 2011, which has been overseen by Chief Digital Officer Rachel Haot.

Next week, the Fordham Graduate School of Business Administration will host a talk with Haot at the TimesCenter in the New York Times building on Wednesday, February 20 at 6 p.m. The conversation will launch GBA's Digital Media Disruption Lecture Series and will be moderated by Athan Stephanopoulos, CEO and founder of GorillaSpot Media, and an adjunct professor in the Communications and Media Management Program at GBA. 

"We're in the second most active tech community in the nation," said Stephanopoulos. "The convergence of technology and media is disrupting a lot of industries, including the academic industry. This series will give students and the public a chance to participate in the dialogue."

Stephanopoulos said subsequent lectures would build on the Media Week event, with smaller lectures given throughout the year, and two keynote lectures to be given in the fall and in the spring.

Haot will discuss the city's strategy to engage New Yorkers in the digital realm, as well as how the administration is partnering with the thriving tech sector. Currently, the city's digital audience comprises more than 5.4 million users tuning in to more than 200 social media feeds.

As an official participant in Social Media Week, the talk is slated to be streamed live at http://bit.ly/UZXMla.

You can reserve a seat by clicking here, or follow the event live with @DMdisruption, @fordhamnotes, @Stephanopoulos on Twitter at #smwdigitalmediadisruption.

—Tom Stoelker

Impulse + Warhol + Ross McLaren

Ontario native Ross McLaren, artist-in-residence in Fordham’s Department of Theatre and Visual Arts, is one of the few professors with a red chili pepper next to his name on the Rate My Professors.com (that's for “hotness” . . . )

The filmmaker is on fire in his former hometown of Toronto, too, where his films will be featured on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 at The 8 Fest, a weekend festival for Super 8, 8mm, 9.5mm and other small-gauge films. On Feb. 9, McLaren’s early work will be featured with the work of Andy Warhol and new artists in a session co-presented with Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC). On Feb. 10 he will be a featured speaker. (photo: mikehoolboom.com)

Fordham Hosts Inaugural Conference on Workplace Diversity

Loretta A. Penn, former president of Spherion Staffing Services, will deliver the keynote address at “Diversity in the World of Work Conference: Finding Balance, Achieving Empowerment,” Fordham’s inaugural conference on diversity in business.

Panelists will present on a variety of topics pertaining to finding balance through diversity on business teams and empowering within oneself on Saturday, Feb. 9 in the McGinley Center at the Rose Hill Campus.

The conference begins with registration at 9 a.m. and will end at 3 p.m. with a performance by Thirza DeFoe, Grammy Award winning artist from the Ojibwe and Oneida tribes of Wisconsin. She is best known for her sacred hoop dances.

The event is sponsored in part by the Office of Career Services and Office of Multicultural Affairs. For more information, contact Maria Aponte at (718) 817-4315 or maponte@fordham.edu.

Fordham IPED Grad Is D.C. Bound

Photo by Janet Sassi

Wander Cedeño, GSB ’10, GSAS ’12, just accepted a job at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C., where he will be an economist covering energy and chemicals. The 25-year-old spent most of the past year as a New York City Urban Fellow in the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, where, among other things, he helped assess and catalog the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in Manhattan parks.

Fordham Notes talked with Cedeño about his new job offer and his time at Fordham, where he earned his bachelor’s in economics and his master’s in international political economy and development (IPED). He was inspired to pursue the latter degree after a meeting with Leonel Fernández, former president of the Dominican Republic, whom he personally greeted on Fordham’s campus in 2008. 

Does this new position live up to your expectations as your first real full-time job?
This is better than what I had envisioned. It’s the preeminent fact-finding agency in the U.S. government. It’s a great place to start a career.

How did you go about securing this position?
I applied in November through USAjobs.gov, the federal job site. I didn’t really think twice about it because I’ve applied for so many positions. Three months later they called. We set up two phone interviews, but then I was going to be in D.C. for (President Obama’s) inauguration, so I could go in person. That’s what made the difference.

How has Fordham prepared you for your new role?
I was an econ major at the Gabelli School. Economics was a way for me to understand the social inequalities in my community—Washington Heights. I’m a lifelong resident. My professors always stressed to look beyond the numbers.

Also, I was member of CSTEP (the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program). I worked for them this past summer. I love CSTEP. They provided a lot of guidance along the way.

You are the first member of your family to go to a four-year college. How did your parents react to this job offer?
They’re absolutely ecstatic. They’re very supportive. It’s bittersweet, leaving New York. But I think everyone understands the journey. Not only mine, but my family’s journey, coming to America 30 years ago. And this is part of the reason.

—Nicole LaRosa

Recyclemania Back for Third Year

Recyclemania, the annual competition that pits residence halls against each other for the title of "Greenest of them all," kicked off on Monday, Feb. 4 at the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses.

This is the third year that the university has entered the competition, which runs through April 1. As with the past two years, Fordham will participate in the "benchmark" division of the competition, which challenges dormitory residents to see who can simultaneously collect the most paper, cardboard glass, metal and plastic and generate as little solid waste as possible.

Waste Watcher Recycling Stations

Weekly updates will be issued by sustainability consultant Great Forest and sent to the residence halls weekly so students can track their progress.

The competition does not include administrative or academic buildings, but this year the Rose Hill campus' ten residence halls do have a partner in Hughes Hall, the new home of the Gabelli School of Business.

As part of the universities’ ongoing sustainability programs, Hughes Hall has been outfitted with seven new Waste Watcher Recycling Stations. The stations, which contain three bins for paper, plastic and garbage, are part of a pilot program that may be implemented in some of the 147 classrooms at the Rose Hill campus.

For more information about Recyclemania, visit http://recyclemaniacs.org.

—Patrick Verel

Newest Cura Magazine now Online

The 7th issue of Cura, Fordham's Literary Magazine of Art and Action, is now online. Among its featured contributors is Elisabeth Frost, Ph.D., associate professor of English.

Thinking Outside the Box Puts Alumnus on Top

At last fall’s Value Investing Congress in New York City, Ryan Fusaro, FCLC ’07, made a name for himself alongside billionaire hedge-fund heavyweights Bill Ackman and David Einhorn, who were among the speakers at the event CNBC has dubbed the “Super Bowl of Value Investing.”

Fusaro’s presentation on the national hamburger chain Jack in the Box earned him first place in the Value Investing Challenge Contest and a chance to share the stage with some of the world’s most respected investors.

“It was almost surreal to present among these luminaries. It’s a cool experience,” said Fusaro, an analyst at LionEye Capital Management. “It was kind of like American Idol for investing.”

The Value Investing Challenge, an investment idea contest hosted by the Value Investing Congress and SumZero, was created in July 2012 to encourage high-quality investment research and to give lesser-known investors the chance to present their ideas to a big and influential audience.

“[The contest] gives you the opportunity to be heard. The challenge is an inspiring idea because it’s very merit-based, no pedigree required,” said Fusaro, a native New Yorker. “An average guy can present here and if you have a good idea, you could win.”

Photo credit: The Value Investing Congress

From more than a 100 contest applicants, a panel of anonymous money managers selected three finalists, and then 4,000 value investors voted for a winner at the conference. In his winning presentation, “Thinking Outside the Box,” Fusaro talked about the value of investing in Jack in the Box. The company, he said, has “substantial hidden assets,” including its franchise Qdoba Mexican Grill and rent-generating real estate assets, which are not currently factored into its share price. If factored in, he said, the company’s “shares could conceivably be worth $57 by 2015, significantly more than where it was trading given all those attributes.”

After his Value Investing Challenge victory, Fusaro was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Finance, a list of young men and women who are making their mark at investment firms, hedge funds, and other financial firms.

“It’s an honor. I try not to take it to heart, but it does feel incredible to get credit for things I’ve been working on for a long time,” he said. “It’s a stamp of approval.”

It was at his first job after Fordham, at Ramius Capital, where he realized he liked value investing. He started to learn investors’ thought processes and what makes for a good investment idea. With that inspiration, Fusaro started putting together his own investment presentations after work and on weekends. He personally invested in the companies he recommended and shared the presentations with people in the industry whom he admires. “Some replied and some didn’t, but it was a great way to learn and get feedback on my work. That was a real honor,” he said. “I developed a little network and made new friends in the business.”

While an economics major at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Fusaro particularly enjoyed courses in corporate finance and financial markets taught by Michael Buckley, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of economics and a former managing director at JP Morgan Chase.

“A lot of the topics could be taught in a way that was dull, but he presented them in a way to keep you interested,” said Fusaro. “His course textbooks were one of the few textbooks that I kept after Fordham. That’s a testament to him and his courses.”

After graduating from Fordham, Fusaro looked for a way to stay connected to the University. About three years ago, he joined the Young Alumni Committee, which promotes the University’s young alumni-focused programs and services, and he now serves as the committee’s secretary.

“It’s a unique committee in that you’re trusted with a particular level of confidence and license to build up Fordham,” he said. “Fordham embeds certain traits in you. It makes you curious; it makes you want to understand the world.”

Read Fusaro’s winning presentation here.

—Rachel Buttner

Career Assistance for Alumni

Whether you are a recent graduate looking for your first job or an experienced professional ready to make a career change, Fordham’s Office of Alumni Relations is here to help you achieve your employment goals.

Alumni relations offers several specialized services for all alumni who need assistance finding work, changing jobs, networking, polishing their interview skills, updating their resume, and much more—all free of charge.

The services include career development workshops, individual counseling, and a monthly career support group hosted by two Fordham alumni.

“Alumni need an objective sounding board—whether it’s updating their resumes, learning about growth fields and how to align their skills with them, or how to use social media,” said Annette McLaughlin, who hosts the workshops and offers personal coaching and referral services.

McLaughlin has more than 20 years of experience working with job seekers. Prior to starting her own consulting firm, she was vice president of talent at the Response Companies, a recruiting and advisory services firm. Since 2008, she has been helping Fordham University’s alumni with their career needs.

“I offer a broader perspective,” said McLaughlin, who has an M.B.A. in personnel and employee relations from Georgia State University. “I can show alumni different routes they can take with their career paths.”

She hosts four workshops on career development each semester—at the Westchester and Lincoln Center campuses—covering such topics as defining a personal brand and an “elevator pitch,” and making the most of connections and networking events. She also provides individual coaching to alumni of the Graduate School of Business Administration.

McLaughlin also emphasizes that LinkedIn can be an effective tool for career support. The alumni-driven Fordham University Alumni Networking Association LinkedIn group offers an online resource for alumni to network, set up discussion groups, and exchange ideas. The 11,000-member group includes alumni from a variety of industries—from law to public relations.

In addition to the workshops, alumni can benefit from individual counseling with Jorimel Zaldivar, a career counselor based at the Lincoln Center campus. With a master’s in counseling for mental health and wellness and a certificate in career planning and development from New York University, he also brings to Fordham more than 10 years of experience. Zaldivar provides one-on-one counseling and career assessments for Fordham’s undergraduate students and alumni of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

“It’s very person-centered,” he said. “Wherever alumni are in their career process, I help find out what they want to do, how to transition to another career area, review their resume, or offer advice on networking and interviewing skills.”

Networking skills, he said, are a key component to the job search process—a component that many alumni can find challenging.

“Alumni are very curious about how to network,” he said, but one of the only ways for alumni “or any job seeker to advance is to have some face time with their fellow professionals in the field. It’s very important.”

Zaldivar offers about 26 counseling appointments per week to students and alumni throughout the year.

“We want it known that the service is available. We like to help those who need the help,” he said. “The job search can be very tough and alumni don’t have to go through it alone.”

Alumni can also get help from fellow Fordham alumni Nick O’Neill, FCRH ’55, and Bob Miller, FCRH ’55, who have been sharing their advice and professional expertise through the Career Continuance Support Group for 17 years.

O’Neill and Miller founded the group in 1995, one year after O’Neill, an independent insurance broker, was seeking a new job. He contacted former classmate Miller, a principal in a New Jersey-based career outplacement and consulting service firm, for help, and when O’Neill landed a job, the two decided to help others benefit from the strength of the Fordham alumni network.

Over the many years, the two men have helped hundreds of Fordham alumni and friends who are out of work, contemplating a career change, or searching for more meaningful employment. The group’s sessions, held on the last Saturday of each month at the Lincoln Center campus, cover resume writing, interviewing, and many other topics.

“We get a lot out of this, too,” said O’Neill. “It’s amazing to see the growth [of the University], and to still be a part of it.”

Zaldivar added: “We try to communicate to students that Fordham is always here for you.”



Visit the alumni events calendar for more information on Annette McLaughlin’s upcoming workshop, and on the next Career Continuance Support Group meeting.

To set up a session with Jorimel Zaldivar, e-mail jzaldivar1@fordham.edu or call 212-636-6280.

—Rachel Buttner

African American Slave Burial Database Goes Live

Fordham’s Burial Database Project of Enslaved African Americans, a portal for the public to submit locations suspected of being the site of unmarked graves of slaves, went live today.

The database, which is located at www.vanishinghistory.org, was launched on the 150 anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which abolished slavery in the United States. 

In a recent ceremony at Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus, Sandra Arnold, a history student in Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) who is spearheading the project, thanked everyone who helped make the site a reality. 

“In my research on slave burial grounds, I’ve learned that in almost every society in the world, the burial ground of a loved one is considered sacred. The place where the deceased is buried is a symbol, or a monument that the person that lies in that grave meant something to someone, were cared for, and that they were missed,” she said.

"I’ve also learned to believe there are no insignificant people in history, and that all people had a role in shaping in shaping history. Therefore I also believe all people should be remembered.”

Members of the Department of African and African American Studies such as Irma Watkins-Owens, Ph.D., associate professor of history and African American studies, and co-director of the database project, were also on hand for a celebratory champagne toast.

“The launching of this project comes at a really important historical moment. Not only is it timely because this year is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; it is also a moment of some urgency, because many of these burial spaces of enslaved people are rapidly vanishing in the memories of the descendents as well as the memories of the communities,” she said. 

“This is a real call to the public to help us to identify and place these spaces in the historical record.”

For more on Fordham’s African American Slave Burial Database, read the article in Inside Fordham. 

—Patrick Verel

Gabelli School of Business Kicks off International Business Week

The Gabelli School of Business will be reaching far and wide next week, as it presents a raft of events geared toward learning more about international business, economics, politics and culture.

The week will feature:

-A global showcase fair of business opportunities staffed by international students

-A speech by Juan Carlos Vignaud, ambassador in residence of Argentina on Monday

-A speech by Alfonso Fanjul, GSB ’59, CEO of Florida Crystals, followed by a desert tasting on Tuesday

-Lunch with Lee Ballin, sustainability manager at Bloomberg LP, on Tuesday

-A speech by Pedro Murilo Ortega Terra, Chefe do SECOM and head of the Brazilian Trade Bureau, on Wednesday

-Lunch with Scott MacDonald, senior managing director of MC Asset Management Holdings, who will cover European politics and markets.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.gabelliconnect.com/ibw-2013

—Patrick Verel