Idealist Graduate School Fair @ Fordham Lincoln Center

On June 19th, Fordham University will host an Idealist Graduate School Fair at the Lincoln Center campus. The Graduate School of Education, as well as other graduate schools at Fordham, will participate.  We invite you to join us and learn more about the opportunities that a graduate degree or certificate from GSE can open up for you!

When: June 19, 2012
            5:00 - 8:00 pm
Where: Pope Auditorium, Fordham Lincoln Center Campus
            113 West 60th Street

For further details, or to register to attend the Fair, click here.

Spotlight On: Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education

The National Catholic Education Association Convention held in Boston on April 11th-13th, 2012 highlighted the leadership work of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education at GSE.  A session entitled "An Entrepreneurial "Eastering" Enterprise:  A University-Diocesan Partnership for Catholic School Leaderships" was presented by Drs. Gerald Cattaro (Professor and Executive Director of the Center), Thomas Chadzutko (Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Brooklyn), and Lorraine Pasadino (GSE Scholar in Residence), and "A Leadership of Resurrection:  An "Eastered" Paradigm" was also presented by Dr. Lorraine Pasadino. 

Additionally, the April/May 2012 issue of Momentum: The Journal of Catholic Education included an article by Drs. Gerald Cattaro and Lorraine Pasadino entitled, "University-Diocesan Partnership Grooms 21st Century Catholic School Leaders: Fordham University and the Diocese of Brooklyn Create a Distinctive Three Year Learning-in-Practice Experience".  The article discusses the Center's leading role in the Cabrini Urban Principals' Institute for Exemplary Leadership, an entrepreneurial partnership leadership certificate program between Fordham University and the Diocese of Brooklyn that has been "contemplatively & clinically grounded" in Catholic heritage, educational theory and research, and uniquely tailored to the distinctive leadership challenges of principals in the urban Diocese of Brooklyn.

On May 30th, 2012, a ceremony will be held at Fordham University to celebrate the closure and certification of the first cohort of Cabrini Leaders to finish the 3-year certificate.

Commencement 2012 In Pictures

Alumni News: Dr. Brian D. Monahan ('82) and Rashid Ferrod Davis ('03)

The Hendrick Hudson Board of Education announced its selection of Brian D. Monahan, Ph.D., as interim Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1.  Monahan, currently serving as coordinator of graduate programs in educational leadership and technology at Pace University, brings nearly 40 years of experience as an educator to the Hendrick Hudson School District.  He received his Ph.D. in curriculum and teaching with a specialization in language and literacy from GSE in 1982.
To read the full story in The Examiner, click here.


Rashid Ferrod Davis (M.S.Ed. Administration & Supervision '03) is the founding Principal of Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-Tech), and was recently interviewed for Principal's Office, a regular feature in the New York Times' School Book.  In the interview, entitled "No Such Thing As Too Hard," Davis discusses the challenge of preparing his students for a rigorous science and technology curriculum, and college-level classes, even though many of them came from middle schools that may not have adequately prepared them.
To read the full interview, click here. 

Human Resiliency Institute: Edge4Vets N.I.C.E. Training at JFK Airport

GSE's Human Resiliency Institute Edge4Vets program continues to make strong progress in its effort to help veterans create successful "military to school" transitions.  Today, John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City will roll out a new program, just in time for the busy summer travel season. Called Edge4Vets N.I.C.E. Corps, the program plans to use the skills of military veterans to help alleviate passenger frustrations at the airport. It takes airport employees who are also veterans and gives them N.I.C.E. (Neutralize Irritations Customers Experience) training.

The pilot program was designed by Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency institute at Fordham GSE.  He said the program would initially be in Terminal 4, and has 30 trained problem solvers ready to help. "What travelers want most," he said, "is for someone to care when things go wrong. They want someone who will step up and help."  Veterans employed at a variety of airport companies – even airlines like JetBlue, Delta and American Airlines, and agencies like TSA– have signed up for the training.


Click the links below to read news stories and view video of this event:
NYOne  
NY Daily News
ABC News
MSNBC 
USA Today
BusinessInsider.com
Queens Chronicle

Dawn Jolly, a Fordham student/vet and coordinator for the
N.I.C.E. Corps, leads a customer service discussion with
veterans at JFK.

We congratulate the Graduate School of Education Class of 2012, who received their degrees at Fordham's 167th Commencement on Saturday, May 19th. Best of luck to all of our graduates, families and friends, and best wishes for a relaxing and enjoyable Memorial Day and summer!

Commencement 2012 Student Profile: Karen Clayton, Ph.D.

As part of Inside Fordham's Special Commencement Edition, graduating students from each of the undergraduate and graduate schools at Fordham are profiled in "Faces in the Class of 2012." This year, the Graduate School of Education chose Karen Clayton, who will receive her doctorate in Educational Psychology at tomorrow's Commencement ceremony.  A native of St. Catherine, Jamaica, her research on student motivation represents more than a capstone to a decade of assiduous study.  It also captures a personal journey that has spanned both disciplines and oceans.

Click here to read Clayton's profile, "Jamaican Businesswoman Starts Anew."

GSE Celebrates Leaders in Catholic Education

The Graduate School of Education honored Catholic school leaders throughout New York City on May 15th at its 18th Annual Catholic School Executive Leadership Dinner.  Both city and state representatives gathered at the Lincoln Center campus for the event, which was sponsored by GSE’s Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education.

“Catholic schools are the models of successful schools,” said James J. Hennessy, Ph.D., dean of GSE. “Catholic schools set the standards for what good schools look like, how good schools run, and what good schools can accomplish… [This event] is to celebrate Catholic schools and the leaders who make them such great schools.”

Click here to read the full story in Inside Fordham.

From left, James J. Hennessy, Ph.D., dean of GSE; Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham;
James Cultrara, executive secretary of the Catholic School Council; Merryl H. Tisch, Ed.D., chancellor the New York State Board of Regents; Gerald Cattaro, Ed.D., executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership

Faculty Accomplishments: Michael Pizzingrillo Named New Superintendent of Schools For Diocese of Albany

The new superintendent of schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany says he wants to increase enrollment and boost the use of technology in classrooms.

"We need to look at what makes us successful and enhance it as much as possible," said Michael Pizzingrillo, who assumes the post after serving as deputy superintendent of schools for the Brooklyn Diocese. In 1995, he started in the downstate district as a junior high school math and science teacher and went on to work in central Catholic schools administration for nine years.

Pizzingrillo has been an elementary school principal at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Brooklyn, and an associate superintendent for strategic planning, government programs and public policy, the diocese said. He is an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Education, where he is completing his doctorate in education leadership.

Click here to read the full article on TimesUnion.com.

Annual Assessment Conference Targets Learning Difficulties

Hundreds of education professionals gathered at the Lincoln Center campus on May 11th for the fourth Annual Assessment Conference, “Differential Diagnosis of and Interventions for Learning Difficulties,” co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Education (GSE), Pearson Assessments, and Wiley Publishers. 

Click here to read the full story on the Fordham Newsblog.

Professor Brings to Light the Darker Side of Genius

The story of Bobby Fischer has for decades garnered international intrigue.  At 15, Fischer became the youngest chess grandmaster in the world. To Cold War-era Americans, Fischer’s victory in 1958 over the reigning eastern European champions rendered him a national hero, resulting in accolades like “genius” and “boy wonder.” His 1972 capture of the World Championship from Boris Spassky of the USSR is still considered to be the most widely watched chess match in history.

But over time, Fischer’s reclusive and increasingly bizarre behavior alienated him, until his vitriolic anti-Semitism and endorsement of the 9/11 attacks ultimately sank him into infamy. He died an exile in Iceland in 2008.
So, how could one of America’s greatest minds have ended this way?

That is the question Joseph G. Ponterotto, Ph.D., tackles in his groundbreaking book, A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer: Understanding the Genius, Mystery, and Psychological Decline of a World Chess Champion (Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Ltd., 2012).

Click here to read the full story in Inside Fordham.
Click here to pre-order the book on Amazon.com!

Faculty Publications: A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer

Joseph G. Ponterotto, Ph.D. (Professor of Counseling Psychology) authored a book entitled A Psychobiography of Bobby Fischer: Understanding the Genius, Mystery, and Psychological Decline of a World Chess Champion, which will be released this month by Charles C. Thomas Publisher. 

The book examines the inner workings of Fisher's mind- the genetic, personal, family, cultural and political factors that collectively provide a penetrating window into the "why" of Bobby Fisher's genius and bizarre behavior.  Though there have been many articles, books and films on Bobby Fisher, this text represents the first scholarly psychological assessment of the world's most famous chess champion.

REMINDER: GSE End of Year Luau

Students, Faculty & Staff:

Join us for refreshments, dancing and fun at the GSE End of Year Luau!

Monday, May 7th
5:30 - 9:30pm
Cafeteria Atrium & Outdoor Plaza
Lincoln Center Campus

Alumni Notes: Rashid Ferrod Davis (GSE '03)

Rashid Ferrod Davis (M.S. Ed. in Administration and Supervision '03) is the founding principal of Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-Tech) and was recently named a 2012 Cahn Fellow.  The Cahn Fellow Program for Distinguished Principals at Teacher's College, Columbia University is committed to recognizing outstanding principals and providing them opportunities for professional, intellectual and personal growth. 

Davis also recently published "To Encourage Good Habits, Test Early and Often in High School" in the New York Times School Book.  Davis supports introducing Regents exams early, during the ninth and tenth grades, so students have the opportunity to experience success early on.  In support of this theory, Davis outlines an innovative program he has introduced at P-Tech that advocates teaching through the test rather than teaching to the test. 
 To read the complete article click here. 

Upcoming Event: Teaching Latin in NYC Public Schools

The Fordham University Department of Classics and the NY Classical Club are proud to sponsor:

"Teaching Latin in NYC Public Schools"

When:  Friday May 4th, 5-7pm
Where: Fordham University, Lincoln Center, McMahon Hall 109

Moderator: 
Ron Janoff, Curriculum Director for Latin at Williamsburg Charter School

Panelists: 
Kathleen Durkin: Latin Teacher, Masbeth HS, Queens NY 
Jason Griffiths: Headmaster, The Brooklyn Latin School
Lester Long: Executive Director, The South Bronx Classical Charter School

Dr. Ron Janoff, Curriculum Director for Latin at the Williamsburg Charter School, will open the proceedings and moderate the discussion during which the panelists will be asked to share their experiences and shed some life on the teaching of Latin and on the place of classical learning in their schools.

Summer 2012 New Student Orientation

If you are beginning your education at GSE in Summer 2012, join us for an Orientation to learn about student services, get important information for new students, and view the campus. Come meet your new classmates and enjoy an afternoon at Fordham!

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
1pm - 3pm
12th Floor Lounge, Lowenstein Building
Lincoln Center Campus
Fordham University
113 West 60th Street, New York, NY

If you are an admitted student, you may login and RSVP via your VIP Page. A detailed agenda will be emailed to you prior to the event.

Please email gse_admiss@fordham.edu or call (212) 636-6400 with any questions.