Category Archives: Uncategorized

by: Donovan Hotz ’19

On October 29^th 2018, Fordham IPED along with the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, Enterprise Community Partners, and University Neighborhood Housing Program sponsored the CRA at a Crossroads Forum: Understanding the Impact and Ensuring the Future of the Community Reinvestment Act. The event, held at Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus included an array of speakers including two IPED alumni: Elizabeth Strojan, VP for Government Affairs for the NYC Housing Development Corporation and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (IPED ‘13) and Will Spisak, Director of Programs at Chhaya CDC (IPED ‘14).

Following IPED Director and University Neighborhood Housing Program Vice President, Dr. Henry Schwalbenberg’s opening remarks, Martin J. Greunberg (Member of the Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) gave a speech entitled The Community Reinvestment Act: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future. In it he discussed the changes to the Community Reinvestment Act since its enactment in 1977 and its goal of fighting against the effects of redlining and disinvestment by obligating banks to meet local needs. Panelists included the aforementioned IPED alumni along with Jaime Weisberg, (Senior Campaign Analyst at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development) and Jim Buckley (Executive Director of University Neighborhood Housing Program).

Martin J. Gruenberg. Member of the Board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), giving the keynote address

Weisberg discussed ANHD’s work on preserving and improving the CRA. ANHD conducts research on the “State of Bank Reinvestment in NYC”, regularly comments on CRA exams, and advocates for banks to have “forward-looking CRA plans”. ANHD works towards addressing the “predatory equity” crisis and advocating for banks to engage in responsible multifamily lending to ensure that their loans do not lead to more displacement in the city.

Buckley discussed how organizers and Bronx tenants in the 1970s were able to use the CRA to improve housing conditions and in have continued to use it as a means of aligning banks with their community development efforts. Currently, UNHP promotes further improvements in financial services for Bronx residents and for targeted private investment in the area. Some of their recent work can be found and the following links: CRA’s Bronx Impact, The Bronx Banking Guide, Bronx Financial Services Survey, improved financial access for immigrants, and the impact of alternative financial services.

Conference Panelists (L-R) Elizabeth Strojan (IPED ’13), Jim Buckley, Will Spisak (IPED ’14), and Jaime Weisberg discussing the impact and future of CRA

Strojan discussed the role of the CRA in affordable housing preservation in NYC and how it leverages bank loan investments for affordable housing and allows the City’s investments to have a more meaningful impact.

Spisak discussed the benefits of the CRA for immigrant communities, especially the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities that Chhya represents in Queens. Additionally, he touched on the importance of working towards providing more banking and loan services for small businesses.

Written by Guestblogger:  Stephanie Swinehart, IPED 2019

2018 Borlaug Food Security Summer Institute participants. Stephanie is on the 2nd row (standing row), 8th from the left.

I recently represented Fordham at the 2018 Borlaug Food Security Summer Institute at Purdue University from June 3-16 in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Institute, now in its seventh year, is an annual two-week program for graduate students interested in developing a holistic understanding of the conceptual challenges around global food security. Discussion topics ranged from genetics & plant breeding, ecology, and funding agricultural research to climate change, pastoralism, and the global challenge of meeting future energy demands. The two-week summit featured presentations from a team of experts in the academic and private sectors including Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, 2009 World Food Prize winner; Shenggen Fan, Secretary General of the International Food Policy Research Institute; and Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of Norman Borlaug, the Institute’s namesake and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

Stephanie with Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, 2009 World Food Prize winner

Stephanie presenting on her research at Fordham and on her work with UNDP

While there, I presented research that I have been conducting with a team at Fordham on pastoralism in East Africa and on my work as a program assistant at the United Nations Development Program in New York City. This opportunity not only allowed students to increase knowledge in new areas, but facilitated unexpected opportunities for collaboration between the social and agricultural sciences. While the challenges to global food security are great and often feel discouraging, the goal of the institute was to empower students with the multidisciplinary tools to be the next generation of changemakers in the field of food security and climate change.

Stephanie with other Institute participants

Millet variety test fields at Purdue University’s research farm

Written by guest blogger Carlos Baeta

For the 9th summer in a row, the IPED commons had witnessed a cacophony of activity that directly corresponded with the arrival of 22 African students to our picturesque Rose Hill campus. The students above, have been selected to attend IPED’s flagship advanced certificate in Emerging Markets and Country Risk Analysis program.  This year’s cohort consisted of twenty South African students that included eight top-performing economics students from the University of Pretoria as well as twelve middle management employees from the National Treasury, The South African Reserve Bank, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), amongst others. What separates this years program, however, is that it has been extended to include two students who are Economics and Finance lecturers at the Catholic University of Ghana in West Africa.

Throughout their six weeks in New York, the 22 students  took two rigorous courses in Strategic Financial Management and Political Risk Analysis. These courses were completed alongside local IPED and Economics graduate students and taught by Professor Rengifo and Entelis respectively. Beyond interacting with Fordham faculty members, the students had the opportunity to engage and network with real business leaders and policymakers through several organized site visits in New York and Washington D.C respectively. These included meetings with large international institutions at the World Bank, the Council on Foreign Relations and at multinational corporations such as IBM, Bank of America, Merill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

After returning to South Africa,  the students will by joined  by Fordham IPED and Economics graduate students at the beginning of August to complete the third and final Emerging Markets course at the University of Pretoria in South Africa’s capital city.

2018 represents the 9th year in which students from South Africa participated in this dynamic academic and cultural exchange program. The impact of the program is seen from the successes of its alumni. Many have gone on to represent leadership positions in both the public and private sector across Africa and the world soon after receiving their qualification from IPED. They continue to reference their experience in New York as an important experience in  their career development and education.

Carlos Baeta was among the participants of the Emerging Markets South African Exchange Program in 2015.  He later returned to Fordham to complete the  MA IPED (2017) and MA Economics (2018) programs.