Ask Provost Dennis Jacobs about the complementary nature of science and the humanities and you’ll hear a perspective informed by his decades teaching chemistry, researching semiconductor processing, painting for enjoyment, and patronizing the arts: “Curiosity, creativity, and learning how to think beyond our current understanding are key characteristics in creating new things and in discovering new things,” he says.
You can imagine, then, that this scientist, artist, and higher education leader sees great promise—given Fordham’s existing strengths—in the University’s strategic decision to expand its expertise in STEM disciplines.
Why is Fordham investing in the sciences now?
Fordham is a comprehensive research university, and part of its strength is its range and scope of academic disciplines. What draws our students is both excellence and the opportunity to study across disciplines.
We have long-standing strengths in the humanities, social sciences, law, and business, but the sciences have not achieved the standing of some of our other academic departments. And you might say, “Well, that’s OK, we don’t need to be everything to all people.” But today, roughly half of college-bound high school students want to study in the sciences. And as we think about the challenges in the world—the quality of health, the climate, our planet, the future of AI—they are often at the intersection of science, technology, humanities, social science, business, law. Fordham is well represented in many areas; it’s in the sciences that we now need to focus.
What can Fordham bring to STEM education?
Our approach to education, which is very holistic and deeply rooted in the humanities, builds graduates of all disciplines who ask critical questions, both in their fields and about the world. As society advances so rapidly in technology, it’s even more pressing for leaders across the sciences to be honed to think about the larger philosophical and ethical questions. The care, compassion, and concern of Fordham graduates, along with their technical and scientific expertise, will uniquely position them to be leaders for the future.
Does our location offer distinct advantages?
Being situated in New York City, a global capital, allows us to engage with the whole breadth of sectors—from finance to biotech to marketing to every aspect of commerce and more. Growing in the sciences positions us to partner with the city and state as they think through the role AI, for example, can play in innovating new industries.
We are already part of the AI Alliance, formed by IBM and Meta, in part because we bring deep knowledge and understanding of the ethical considerations that go along with advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
How do these plans align with workforce trends?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that 10 years from now, the growth of jobs that require STEM education will be three times higher than the growth of jobs that do not require it. For example, with an aging population, there will be extraordinary job growth in health care. And the advent of AI will affect many occupations of the future. Not that it will replace humans, but humans will be able to converse and engage using AI as a tool. So as we prepare future generations, which will enter the world with new challenges and opportunities, degrees across the sciences will help supply that future workforce. And in the innovation economy of tomorrow, they will be responsible for much of the spark and creativity that this nation and the world will depend on.
What role is philanthropy playing in the University’s focus on STEM fields?
This vision of creating an integrated science complex cannot happen without it. We are infinitely grateful to the Cunniffes and trustee Kim Bepler and her late husband, Steve Bepler, and to the future donors who will join us in this extraordinary investment.
Philanthropy enables us to dream boldly and to create an environment for our students that we could not fund without the generosity of alumni and friends. This isn’t an investment at the expense of something else. It is an enhancement to what we are as a University and will put us on a new course for the future.
How is the uncertainty of federal funding for university-based research affecting Fordham?
We are not as exposed as universities that historically have received much more federal funding, where hundreds of millions of dollars or even billions of dollars are at stake.
But maybe more important is what the future looks like. I would say we, as a society, have to come to a deeper understanding of the benefits and opportunities of investing in basic and applied research in the sciences. Prior to recent developments at the federal level, 95% of the nation’s $30 billion investment in research and development was in the natural and applied sciences. While to date Fordham hasn’t been able to compete, we will be in a much stronger position going forward.
Five or seven years from now, when the integrated science center opens, I firmly believe we will have less ambiguity than we have today about the value of that kind of investment, both in preparing future generations of creative thinkers in this realm and in advancing innovation and technology that drives our economy and has made the United States really the destination of scientists all over the world. I think we’ll find our way back to that.
How do you see STEM expansion affecting the University as a whole?
I want to emphasize just how transformative it will be for the University at large. The integrated science complex will be on the Rose Hill campus. Yet across our network of campuses in New York, we’re making investments. We’re expanding computer science programs at Lincoln Center. We’re active in research at our Louis Calder Center, where students are engaged in botany and biology involving insects, mammals, birds, and more in a pristine environment. We want to fit out our Westchester campus for health science programs.
All of that creates an integrated science system across Fordham’s campuses and the ability for students to be part of a university that has sophisticated conversations about how science intersects with other disciplines. That makes Fordham a stronger institution overall.
Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Mary Alice Casey.
RELATED STORY: STEM Education with a Conscience—New Programs Meet Demand
