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Volume 107, Issue 21
November 19, 2025
Faculty Professor Members Publishes Book Recognized on Disgraced Former at the James C. McGroddy Senator Bob Menendez Award Event By JACK MCDONALD
By JORDAN DONEGAN
Fordham University’s department of Arts & Sciences recognized five faculty members at the James C. McGroddy Award Ceremony for Innovation in Education on Nov. 4. The event featured a panel discussion with award winners, moderated by Judith Jones, associate professor of philosophy. Panelists reflected on teaching, interdisciplinary collaboration and celebrated how Fordham’s faculty shapes the academic and personal growth of students. The ceremony is named for James. C. McGroddy, Ph.D., a distinguished Fordham donor in climate sciences. This year’s winners were Carey Kasten, Ph.D., and Leo Guardado, Ph.D., who won for their work on Fordham’s Initiative on Migrants, Migration and Human Dignity. Kasten is a professor of Spanish whose work features a partnership with several organizations, including the Little
Isabel Vincent, Fordham University adjunct journalism professor and senior reporter at the New York Post, recently released her new book “Gold Bar Bob: The Downfall of the Most Corrupt U.S. Senator,” alongside co-author Thomas Jason Anderson. The book compiles 15 years’ worth of investigative reporting on the now disgraced New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez. The book chronicles how Menendez constructed his nearly 50-year-long political career and how foreign influence, corruption and federal charges ultimately led him to an 11year sentence in federal prison. Vincent recounted that while the book was largely centered around Menendez’s individual corruption, her ultimate goal was to highlight the other forces that defined his corruption, such as Cold War era Cuban exile groups, political figures from his home town Union, New Jersey
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Todd Wolfson, president of AAUP, speaks against government intervention in education at the Nov. 7 protest.
AAUP Protests Against Trump Admin’s Higher Ed Compact
By SIENNA REINDERS NEWS EDITOR
Fordham University faculty and students attended a protest against Marc Rowan and the Trump administration’s “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education” on Nov. 7. The demonstration was organized by the American Federation of Teachers, American Association of University Professors (AAUP),
National Education Association and Sunrise Movement. It was one of over 100 held around the country that day as part of a nationwide “Higher Education Day of Action” to push back against government intervention in higher education. “Higher education is a public good. It’s good for democracy, it’s good for the economy. And so it’s worse for all of us if it gets controlled one
‘Dead Man Walking: Graphic Edition’ Celebrated by Center for Religion and Culture By JORDAN DONEGAN STAFF WRITER
Producers of the new graphic novel adaptation of Sister Helen Prejean’s 1993 best-selling memoir “Dead Man Walking” participated in a panel discussion hosted by Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture (CRC) at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Nov. 6. In the memoir, Prejean, who also participated in the panel, describes her experience accompanying an inmate on death row for the murder of two teenagers during his final moments. She received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Fordham University in 2024 for her tireless work against capital punishment. Regarding the release of the graphic novel, Prejean
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described it as the “final wave” towards permanently abolishing the use of capital punishment in the United States. Among the panelists were Rose Vines, the author of the graphic novel, and Catherine Anyango Grünewald, the illustrator. At the event, they were joined by CRC Director David Gibson, who facilitated the conversation. During the panel, Prejean described the death penalty as a “secret ritual” that is hidden from the public. This, she says, coupled with her experience witnessing multiple executions carried out by the U.S. government, is what has sparked her instrumental activism towards abolishing capital punishment. “I wrote about a man on death row, and then I went SEE BOOK, PAGE 6
12 Opinion Supporting Others Giving a Helping Hand to Fordham’s Community
way or the other from the outside,” said Tom Beaudoin, a professor of religion at Fordham and president of Fordham’s chapter of AAUP. “When higher education suffers from unjust incursions, the country suffers.” The “Compact for Excellence in Higher Education” is a document that was sent to nine universities by the Trump SEE PROTEST, PAGE 4
SEE AWARD, PAGE 5
STAFF WRITER
SEE VINCENT, PAGE 5
Journalists Connie Chung, Ali Velshi Honored at Sperber Prize Ceremony By ANDREW MASSIE & ALEXANDRA PFAU
Fordham University celebrated the recipients of the 25th Ann M. Sperber Book Prize on Nov. 11. The prize was awarded to journalists Connie Chung and Ali Velshi. Chung was honored for her book, “Connie: A Memoir,” and Velshi for his, “Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy.” The Sperber Book Prize is awarded to authors of outstanding biographies relating to media and journalism. Amy Aronson, Ph.D., director of the Sperber Prize and a professor of journalism and media studies at Fordham University, said that this year, Fordham presented a Special Career Achievement Award as a way to recognize the prize’s larger story of
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journalism in the world. “We wanted to honor the prize’s history while expanding its reach,” Aronson said. “That rigorous, truth-telling journalism is essential to a healthy democracy — and that the ideals embodied by the Sperber Prize
are worth championing.” Velshi’s book told the story of his family’s journey through numerous countries, eventually ending in Canada and the United States. He wrote about the ways that migration shaped
SEE SPERBER PAGE 4
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Connie Chung and Ali Velshi talk during a Q&A after the awards ceremony.
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