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Volume 107, Issue 22
December 3, 2025
Robert Hume Discusses New Position as Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs
Lincoln Center Hosts New York Military Affairs Symposium By SIDNEY BLASCO
By EMILY TONNA
STAFF WRITER
EXECUTIVE COPY EDITOR
Fordham College at Lincoln Center hosted the New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS) in the 12th-floor lounge of the Lowenstein building on Friday, Nov. 7. The main portion of the event was a lecture by David Hamlin, Ph.D., a professor of history at Fordham University. Audience members included Dean of Arts and Sciences Jessica Lang, Ph.D., members of the NYMAS and faculty from Fordham’s history department. Hamlin has been at Fordham for over 20 years and has taught several classes during that time. “I’ve been here since 2004,” Hamlin said in a Zoom interview. “I teach HIST1000, Hitler’s Germany, War and Imperialism, the history of literature and film of World War II and occasionally other history classes as well.” Hamlin is well known for his expertise in German history and has published several works, including “The
Fordham University appointed Robert J. Hume, Ph.D., as vice dean for Faculty Affairs on July 1 — a role responsible for supporting 1,200 faculty members across the Arts and Sciences department. The vice dean is responsible for coordinating faculty development in tandem with the dean of Arts and Sciences, which includes the hiring, tenure and retention of faculty. Beyond management, Hume said he intends to foster a sense of community and belonging in his new role through faculty-focused and student-focused initiatives across Fordham’s campuses, including a revamp of student course evaluations and the development of strategies for artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom. His work follows 20 years of instructional and administrative positions at Fordham, which Hume said aids him in his new role. “The work of an administrator
SEE NYMAS, PAGE 5
SIDNEY BLASCO FOR THE FORDHAM RAM
A student eats their food by Edwards Parade after using the ReusePass program to take food to go.
ReusePass Launches at Marketplace With Plans for Campus-wide Rollout By SIDNEY BLASCO STAFF WRITER
This past August, Fordham University launched ReusePass, a reusable take-out container program, at its all-you-can-eat dining locations. For the equivalent of one meal swipe, students get a reusable container to fill up with food and take out of the dining hall. The initiative aims to reduce the use of single-use containers at select dining locations,
with plans to expand to other dining locations such as Urban Kitchen. To use ReusePass, students must sign up using the website app.reusepass.com. Then, they can go to the Marketplace at the Rose Hill campus and scan their ID card and their unique QR code from their ReusePass account, after which they will receive a green plastic container to fill up with food. The container must be returned within three days or the student will be fined.
To return the box, students scan it back in at the entrance desk and place it on the conveyor belt with the dirty dishes. Currently, containers can only be returned to the Marketplace, but there are plans to expand drop-off locations. An email was sent to students on Nov. 3 with information regarding ReusePass. “Reusepass will continue to be free as long as you return SEE REUSEPASS, PAGE 5
SEE HUME, PAGE 4
Endowed Chair Created to Honor Late Lincoln Hospital Partners with Fordham to Address Jewish Studies Professor By SIDNEY BLASCO STAFF WRITER
Fordham University’s Jewish Studies program is working to establish a new endowed chair in the Jewish studies and literature department to honor the late Professor Anne Golomb
Hoffman, Ph.D., a longtime English and Jewish studies faculty member who died in November of 2024. Hoffman, who joined Fordham in 1979 as a professor of English and modern Hebrew literature, also worked with the Middle
COURTESY OF FORDHAM NOW
Fordham professor Karina Martin Hogan and Ilana Pardes.
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East Studies program during her tenure. According to Magda Teter, Ph.D., the Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies, Hoffman continued to be very involved in Fordham’s Judaic Studies program even after she retired, remaining part of mentorship programs and working with students. Teter said Hoffman was beloved by the Jewish Studies community and students. A few days before Hoffman was scheduled to speak at a department event, she suffered a sudden heart attack and died. To honor the work she did while at Fordham, Hoffman’s family created the Anne Golomb Hoffman Endowed Fund, which will support the Jewish studies department. They also pledged SEE CHAIR, PAGE 5
IN THIS ISSUE
R
Public Health Concerns
By JACK MCDONALD ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Lincoln Hospital, located in the South Bronx, and Fordham University’s Bronx Research Institute for Community Solutions (BRICS) are working together in a study about how air pollution from wildfires can impact the health of Bronx residents. The study aims to increase attention to public health in the Bronx’s urban communities. “Regarding funding, this project is supported by [BRICS], an initiative of the Center for Community Engaged Learning that was created through a generous gift from Rose DiMartino, GSAS ’77,” said Keisha Shay, Ph.D., director of Academic Development and
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Administration at the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), in an email. David A. Rosenkranz, Ph.D., an assistant professor of economics, is helping to direct the program alongside Shay. He said the study is currently in its early stages. “We are establishing the administrative infrastructure necessary to begin reviewing and analyzing data,” Rosenkranz said in an email. Lincoln Hospital has been supportive during this process, according to Rosenkranz. The team has been led by Dr. Vidya Menon, physician in internal medicine and the director of research in the Department of Medicine. SEE BRICS, PAGE 4
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James Conway Leaves Behind Records and a Blueprint