Faculty and friends of the Graduate School of Social Science (GSS) gathered on Dec. 1 to welcome the inaugural recipient of a fellowship funded by Lloyd H. Rogler, Ph.D., Fordham’s Albert Schweitzer Professor Emeritus in the Humanities (above, left).
The endowed fellowship was awarded to Donna Dopwell (above, right), a second-year doctoral student of social work who is specializing in the study of Hispanics. Going forward, the endowed fellowship will completely fund one GSS doctoral student per year.
Rogler, who spent more than 50 years as an author, academic and medical researcher, said he made the gift to help advance the social work profession’s cultural competence by funding doctoral students studying Hispanic life and culture.
Dopwell will be working with Claudia Moreno, Ph.D., associate professor of social work, on the effects of HIV Aids within the Latin American community, with a special emphasis on those of Puerto Rican heritage.
During his 27-year teaching career at Fordham, Rogler founded the Hispanic Research Center with funding from competitive grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He is the author of eight academic books and, most recently, a fictionalized memoir, Barrio Professors: Tales of Naturalistic Research (Left Coast Press, 2008).
“Lloyd has always been a pioneer in cultural competence,” said Peter Vaughan, dean of the GSS, “and someone who has always supported students who can carry on the research that he began.”
— Janet Sassi
