NEW YORK — After collaborating informally for nearly 40 years, Fordham University and the Center for Migration Studies of New York have formally joined forces to facilitate cooperation in the multidisciplinary study of human migration.
On May 22, the Rev. Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., University president, signed an agreement with the leadership of the Staten Island-based center, which will allow Fordham faculty and graduate students to more effectively collaborate on interdisciplinary migration research.
“With migration research and policy making becoming increasingly complex, we hope to tap into the knowledge of our colleagues involved in the social sciences, pastoral work, social service and law,” said Mary Powers, Ph.D., professor of sociology and the interim associate director of the center. “Although our past collaborations resulted in valuable contributions to the field, a more formal alliance provides the structure and focus needed to approach this complicated area.”
Fordham began collaborating with the center in the 1960s, when one of the center’s founders, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, C.S., now permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, was studying at Fordham. The center’s current executive director is Father Joseph Fugulo, C.S.
Founded in 1964, the Center for Migration Studies examines sociodemographic, historical, economic, political, legislative and pastoral aspects of migration and refugee movements. It also generates and facilitates the dissemination of new knowledge and fosters effective policies. More information on the center and its publication, the International Migration Review, can be found at www.cmsny.org.
