Get Involved with the FitzSimons Initiative
FitzSimons Initiative Civics Lunch and Learn Series
Please join us for a series of lunch presentations around civics-related topics led by Fordham faculty. Each session will be about one hour and feature a 15-30 minute presentation by a faculty expert in the given topic. Sessions will take place at both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses. You can register for the respective events below.
First Event
The Rule of Law: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
The first lunch session will be on Wednesday, March 12 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in McShane 112 for a presentation given by Michael Baur, Ph.D., from the Philosophy department. Lunch will be provided.
Upcoming Events
You may also register in advance for the sessions on the upcoming topics. We will confirm locations on our website and in the form, as well as via email to registrants for the events that do not have a confirmed location.
March 24 | Foreign Aid: Where Does It Go and Why Is It Important? | Rose Hill | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Register
April 4 | Exploring Executive Authority: Legal Perspectives on Recent Developments (sponsored by Fordham Law School) | Lincoln Center, Law School Room 3-03 | 1 - 2:30 p.m. | Registration details forthcoming
April 15 | Power of the Purse: How Congress Sets Law on Funding | Lincoln Center | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Register
April 23 | International Relations and Trade: How Do Tariffs and Trade Agreements Affect Americans? | Lincoln Center | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Register
April 30 | The 14th Amendment: Rights of Natural Born Citizens & Non-Citizens | Rose Hill | 12 - 1 p.m. | Register
Past Events
Navigating Polarities: Ignatian Leadership in Action
Thursday, February 6, 2025 | 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Bepler Commons, Faber Hall | Rose Hill Campus
Join David McCallum, S.J., a leadership consultant to Pope Francis, for an interactive workshop open to all members of the University community.
In the face of such intense political and social polarization, how do we navigate beyond our current state, rediscover common ground, and co-create the futures we desire, rather than resign ourselves to the futures we fear?
Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, suggested that instead of reacting on the basis of fears, we can discern our way forward with more consciousness, compassion, and vision. Discernment demands the capacity to see reality in both/and terms, applying reason, feelings, and intuition in the service of the decisions we make.
In this workshop, Fr. McCallum will present a method that helps us to be more discerning and to engage more effectively with those who think differently.
Keynote Event
In Conversation with John Dickerson
September 24, 2024 | 6 – 7 p.m.
Fordham Lincoln Center Campus
Lowenstein 12th-Floor Lounge
113 West 60th Street
New York, NY 10023
John Dickerson is anchor of The CBS Daily Report, CBS News chief political analyst, senior national correspondent, and CBS Sunday Morning contributor. His third book, and second New York Times bestseller, The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency, was published in June 2020. In August 2024, CBS announced Dickerson would become an anchor of the CBS Evening News in 2025.
Partner Event
Faith, Education, and Civic Engagement Series: A Moderated Conversation with the Black Community
Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 1:30 p.m.
McNally Amphitheater | Lincoln Center Campus, Lowenstein Center entrance
Doors will open at 1 p.m.
This collaborative effort between the BE: FREE Research Project Initiative of the Graduate School of Education, the FitzSimons Presidential Initiative on Civics and Civility, and the Pi Kappa Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, delivers a powerful conversation surrounding civic engagement among the Black community in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
The conversation featured:
- Joy Bivins, Director at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library
- Afrika Owes, Attorney, Fordham Law School Alum, and Eugene J. Keefe Award Recipient
- Reverend Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman, FCLC ’02, Associate Professor of Theology and African American Religion, Yale Divinity School, Yale University
- Reverend Dr. Derrick Harkins, Principal, the Raben Group, and former Presidential Appointee, National Director of Faith Outreach for the Democratic National Committee
- Jamila Ponton Bragg, 2022 Prince Fellowship Recipient and founder of JamRock Productions, LLC, a theater production company committed to works for, about, and by women, will moderate this conversation.
A significant part of the event was the on-site voter registration drive led by the Pi Kappa Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, one of the historically Black Greek-letter organizations. Members of Historically Black Greek Letter Organizations were influential in the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s.
Faith, Education, and Civic Engagement Conversation Series Launch
Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m.
Costantino Room, Fordham Law School
Lincoln Center Campus
Panelists include:
- The Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Principal, the Raben Group; former National Director of Faith Outreach for the Democratic National Committee
- S. Raschaad Hoggard, Executive Chief of Staff, Office of the President, Borough of Manhattan Community College
- The Rev. Dr. Rashad Raymond Moore, pastor, First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, Brooklyn
The series will be part of the Black Education: Faith, Race and Educational Equity (BE: FREE) initiative led by Phillip A. Smith, Ph.D., assistant professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education.
How To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable
September 3, 2024
The Great Hall - McShane Campus Center
Campus-Wide Read
I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman
As a foundation of the FitzSimons initiative programming, we will encourage the Fordham community to read I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman.
Guzman’s book has been used by universities around the country and by various public and private sector leaders who are also concerned about the toxicity of our national discourse and want to take tangible steps to address it. In her book, Guzman talks about how we can engage others in conversation on difficult topics, drawing on her own experiences as a journalist, first-generation American, and workshop leader.
More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Ignatian Days of Reflection
For select days during the school year—including before and after the November presidential election—we will encourage the campus community to step away from their phones and devices and take time to pray and/or meditate within dedicated spaces around our campuses. We will intentionally make time and space for this before and after the election, but also throughout the school year.
Location: Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses
Dates: Multiple days throughout the 2024-2025 school year
Further Details to be Announced Soon
Chynn Ethics Paper Prize
The Chynn Essay Prize in Ethics & Morality is open to competition for Fordham undergraduate students writing on concepts of ethics and morality related to civics, civility, and political discourse that they encountered personally or as a concerned member of society. Submissions should be 1,000-1,500 words and are due March 7th, with winners receiving up to $1,000. More details can be found at Fordham Center for Ethics Education site.