Global Dimensions

News and notes from across NYU's Campuses and Sites

NYU Shanghai Professor Heather Lee Honored with Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award

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For her pursuit of teaching excellence and cultural understanding, Assistant Professor of History Heather Ruth Lee of NYU Shanghai was conferred the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award on February 7, as part of a cherished tradition at the NYU community — the annual MLK Week.

The award, sponsored by the Provost of NYU, recognizes outstanding faculty who exemplify the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through leadership, social justice activism and community building. The winners have all made a positive impact within the classroom and in the greater NYU community.

Tuesday’s award ceremony at NYU Kimmel Center saw Professor Lee — joined by four other winning faculty, past winners and university leadership–giving an emotional and inspiring acceptance speech, in which she recalled a deceased friend who dedicated her life as an undocumented immigrant to political activism for equality.

Professor Lee said she held onto the phrase “exemplifies the spirit,” which reminded her of “how much more there is to do and how great the challenges we face in this world are.”

Recipients of the Martin Luther King, Jr. award are selected by a committee of previous winners and a student leader, based on essays about faculty candidates authored by student nominees.

In her letter nominating Professor Lee, NYU Shanghai sophomore Chelsea Polanco recalled a “memorable moment” in which the professor met criticism from another student in a talk about the burkini ban in France.

“She took that opportunity to coordinate a class of faculty and students devoted to the issue of identity and how people in society view us,” Polanco said. “She created a safe space in which students could gather together to talk about how their position in society affects how they are viewed by others and themselves.”

According to NYU Shanghai Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen, Professor Lee brought attention to issues of cross-cultural misunderstanding and encouraged students to air their differences without fear of retribution.

“We are proud that she has won the award and grateful for her leadership. At NYU Shanghai, learning to build community and function in a multicultural context is part of our DNA,” she added.

This post comes from NYU Shanghai and is available here.

NYU Sydney Faculty Explore Issues of Diversity with Monroe France

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Monroe France with Yuri Ogura, Academic Programs Coordinator at NYU Sydney at Sydney Harbour.

By Marcus Neeld, Assistant Director, Student Life, NYU Sydney

Late last year, NYU Sydney faculty met with visitor Monroe France, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Diversity Initiatives. The meeting was the keystone event of Monroe’s invaluable trip to the Sydney campus, augmenting what had already been a jam-packed week of professional development experiences for administrative staff and informal engagements with students.

Monroe provided staff with some base tools in order to identify microaggressions along with strategies to practice allyship.

Town Hall meeting spurs broader dialogue on diversity

Concerns raised during a 2015 Town Hall event acted as a catalyst for NYU Sydney’s administrative team to apply for CMEP’s Global Diversity and Professional Development Grant. Eager to learn more about the experiences of minority students within the NYU community, the team lodged a request to learn more about ways to support students of colour and how social movements are affecting change on college campuses throughout the United States.

Faculty relished the opportunity to engage with Monroe, requesting the seminar focus on the efforts NYU is making to address matters of diversity, equity and inclusion. This request was made to discuss and formulate ways in which local instructors can enhance cultural competency and further support NYU’s institutional mission.

The training Monroe designed encapsulated themes of social identity, social justice and privilege. These topics were contextualised by a corresponding screening of portions from last year’s listening event. The clips shown of featured students provided a succinct focus on core topics central to the meeting, acting as an icebreaker for local faculty and staff to reflect on these important themes. As the meeting progressed it organically moved towards a discussion of individual teaching experiences and plans for future semesters.

The teaching staff were in consensus that future classes should act as an open, safe environment for students to discuss their salient social identity and preferred gender pronouns, a suggestion that Monroe recommended also be integrated into early semester introductions.

Social spheres and identities are malleable and non-uniform

Arguably the most compelling insight into matters of diversity and inclusion was offered by former NYU-Sydney student Ishani Dugar. The speech, which was performed during one of President Hamilton’s inauguration sessions, revealed misconceptions of universal communities. Ishani discussed original intentions to continue activism while in Sydney only to find that the local LGBTQ community was, although connected in solidarity, focusing on addressing different issues. The message served as a reminder of the nuances that exist between marginalised groups across the globe.

Marginalisation through multiple lenses

More broadly, the week’s training helped elucidate which groups feel marginalised at an institutional level. Familiar with local systemic oppression within an Australian context faculty were less attuned to the American experience. Monroe discussed student activism at NYU and progressive discourse as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement.

As the NYU-Sydney team prepare for future semesters, Monroe’s visit has provided a solid contextual framework to work within. Faculty will be encouraged to select reading materials that help students further interrogate social identity from an Australian perspective. With better understanding of the lenses visiting students employ to understand these issues through, the NYU-Sydney team will endeavour to create supportive environments and further opportunities for the examination of social identities from a global perspective.

Singer-Songwriter Kate Yeager Reflects on Studying at NYU Berlin

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Today we are in conversation with Kate Yeager, who studied at NYU Berlin for the fall semester of 2016.

What is your school affiliation and what year are you? What is your major?

I am a student at The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in Tisch majoring in Recorded Music as a Junior.

What inspired you to study in Berlin?

My program was moving to make Berlin mandatory for all students. I always wanted to study abroad in either Prague or London, so I decided this was the best fit for me as a transfer because it was giving me both the experience of studying away while maintaining my the push of my curriculum.

How was your experience? What was most inspiring, surprising, or moving about your time there? What did you find challenging?

My experience was every bit inspiring, surprising and moving. The history is what really did it for me. Every day, Germans walk on the street and are faced with their history– A constant reminder of a really troubled past and how it shaped who they are today. The ability to experiment out of this is incredible. It’s the idea that the abundance of cheap space and abandoned space gives. Like after the wall fell, everyone was on a search for interesting spaces to express themselves without judgement. “Oh there is an abandoned Nazi bunker…let’s turn it into queer night club.” Now that bunker holds the most incredible private art collection I’ve ever seen, while still maintaining its history as one can see the graffiti inside from the bunkers club era. The mentality of creation is invaluable there. It is truly priceless. It’s a constant search to make somethings and everythings and to make a place where you can loose yourself, or find yourself, or be yourself. It’s a special mentality.

It was challenging for me to do music in Berlin because of the varying genre popularity. In New York, I can pretty much go everywhere with my guitar and I and be fine. The majority of people aren’t seeking out singer-songwriters in Berlin, they’re seeking out techno, which is wholeheartedly fine. That was genre the city was built on and I am not trying to change the places I go, just try to hold hands with the places I’m with. But I did grow incredibly found of the folks I met in the open mic circuit in Berlin. I will never forget them, they have given me some of the best nights of my life.

I understand that you are a singer-songwriter and that you developed new content while in Berlin. Did your experience studying at NYU Berlin influence this content and your work?

Absolutely. I absorbed as much as I could while I was there. Both feeling submerged in one culture and isolated from my own. It’s a polarizing feeling that contributed to a lot of creative moments. I got to experience spaces I never thought I would like attending music festivals and recording sessions at Funkhaus, to recording at Red Bull Music Studios to going to a concert at my favorite artists house since I was 12 years old. These things change you and the way you work and create. I write about people, places, and things– nouns if you will, and when all of that changes, so does all of the vocabulary around those things. So it becomes an entirely new vernacular to work with.

Were you able to perform while in Berlin? How did being there influence your development as an artist?

I was. I was truly lucky to be able to perform in Berlin. I had a couple of solo shows. I played a Sofar Sounds while I was out there and got to perform in other countries in Europe.

Well for Germany in particular, I was able to experiment more. It turned from, I am Kate the girl with an acoustic guitar to, let’s try these electronics and this effect on my instrumentation here. Let’s really see how to make this music mine. It pushes you and its accessible there. Time away makes you find a different part of yourself and your artistry.

Do you feel as though you were able to engage with Berlin’s artistic community, explore the city’s cultural landscape, and connect with local artists?

Yes and no. I was such a lucky person to as submerged as I was in the local community and cultural landscape. When I entered the open mic circuit, they truly welcomed me with open arms as they literal brought me into their homes and hearts. I drank whiskey with people from 5 different countries and a couple of locals as we talked about queerness and politics and art. We all wound up in Berlin for the creative prospects. Berlin is a hub for artistic people and being welcomed into that environment by people who have been there far longer than I have was so special.

No, because that was a very specific subculture of Berlin’s landscape. I am not an electronic artist and that is such a big part of the culture there, that I didn’t get to connect with local artists involved in that world on the same level as I did with other non-electronic musicians.

How do you feel your experience performing complemented your academic experience at NYU Berlin?

I was really lucky that sometimes the two over lapped. I was able to perform at places like Machinenhaus and the Hamburgerbanhof because of Recorded Music performance workshops. Hamburgerbanhof is such an iconic place in Berlin and I would have never thought to play there if not for the NYU Berlin team.

Has your time studying at NYU Berlin, your experiences there, or the content you developed there informed your thinking about your future plans? If so, how?

When I was gone I travelled to over 14 cities and 10 countries. The most important take away from traveling and living that much in other areas of the world, is how vital the music culture is to me when picking a future place to live. I can’t be in a place that doesn’t embrace music. It’s so vital in locations like Berlin and Dublin, that when I go there I feel the pulse of the city through the music. I can’t really say if its effect my future plans. My google calendar only goes so far, but it definitely has and will inform my choices in the future. To be in a completely different music industry, however, made me realize how different cultures care for music. That will inform the way I carry myself back in the states always.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time in Berlin or while at NYU?

I grew up on a tree farm, so never in my life did I think I was going to live in Berlin. It is a time in my life where I learned a new level of creativity, responsibility, and independence and I am really excited to let that come through all the new music and projects coming up this year.

NYU Washington, DC Hosts Conference with Environmental Journalists and Others on Reporting During the Trump Administration

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On Saturday, February 4, NYU Washington, DC and the Society of Environmental Journalists presented a mini conference, The Trump Administration and the Environment: A Reporter’s Primer, to discuss water and energy issues, EPA policies, environmental advocacy and public opinion in the new Trump Administration.

Speakers included Myron Ebell, the head of the Trump transition team for EPA; Scott Segal, a fossil fuels industry attorney for Bracewell; Bob Perciasepe, Center for Climate & Energy Solutions and former Obama and Clinton EPA appointee; and a panel of reporters who have covered Donald Trump and his appointees to head EPA and the Department of Energy.

NYU Abu Dhabi Scientists Develop a New Water Purification Method

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1484831621273Efficient removal of contaminants like oil and toxic dyes from water sources is an issue of global importance. Oil spills can be devastating to both the environment and the economy because cleanup is costly and damage to the ecosystem is sometimes irreparable.

Marine oil spills are typically contained and removed using booms and skimmers, or chemicals are dumped into the water to break down the oil and speed up natural biodegradation — processes that can be expensive, time consuming, and not always 100 percent effective.

Toxic dyes — common water pollutants in the textile industry — tend to escape conventional wastewater treatment because of their chemical properties.

To address these problems, NYU Abu Dhabi scientists have come up with a new way to remove toxic contaminants from water they believe could be more efficient and less costly than current methods.

Dinesh Shetty, lead researcher and chemist at NYUAD, said CalP — a light brown powder — “offers a new way to remove toxins from water sources and can absorb up to seven times its weight of oil from an oil and water mixture.”

The basic material has been around for decades, he explained, but this is the first porous organic calix[4]arene-based polymer synthesized in the lab for the purpose of purifying water.

Inside the the Trabolsi Research Group chemistry lab in the Experimental Research Building at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Inside the the Trabolsi Research Group chemistry lab in the Experimental Research Building at NYU Abu Dhabi.

CalP Explained

Ali Trabolsi, NYUAD assistant professor of chemistry, said CalP is able to remove “oil from water so efficiently, in just minutes, because it has several distinct properties:

  • it floats, has high surface area, and low density;
  • it has pores both from calix[4]arene cavity and hypercrosslinked 3D structure that collect toxins inside;
  • the material is superhydrophobic which means it repels water and it has an excellent ability to absorb a range of pollutants.”

Lab experiments were conducted using two types of oil: used engine oil and commercial grade crude oil.

Its ability to absorb oil so quickly leads the researchers to believe that this process of removing contaminants from water is potentially more efficient than other similar methods because the results are “significantly higher than most absorbent materials reported to date, including commercial activated carbon.”

Further experiments using different types of dyes — anionic and cationic — had the same impressive results and are especially promising because dyes are chemically designed to withstand degradation.

In one test, about 80 percent of toxic dye poured into a glass of water was absorbed within five minutes and the rest was completely gone after just 15 minutes.

They have developed the first calix[4]arene based superhydrophobic, porous material that repels water and attracts oil and dye kind of like a sponge. They call it CalP.

1484831031526It’s Reuseable

Another distinct quality of CalP is that it can be washed and reused to absorb oil products over and over again with the same efficiency, potentially reducing the cost of cleaning large oil spills.

“It’s an important part of our discovery,” said Ilma Jahovic, NYUAD chemistry major and student researcher, “because we found it was very easy to regenerate the material” even after it was soaked in oil or dye. “We did multiple cycles and its efficiency was maintained.”

“Other similar materials can be reused but require cleaning at high temperatures and it’s expensive,” she explained, whereas this material requires only mild washing with diethyl ether, ethanol, or a light acidic solution.

What’s Next?

The next step in the research is to improve the absorption efficiency of oil products even further, and find ways to make production cheaper. CalP could also be used to further other areas of petroleum research such as gas separation to make cleaner fuel, added Jahovic.

The material is not yet practical for cleaning large oil spills, she stressed, because “we are only at gram scale” in the lab environment.

This post is by Andy Gregory, NYUAD Public Affairs, and originally appeared here.

NYU Florence Focuses on Constructions of Gender in the Acton Collection and Contemporary Society this Spring

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02SITOStarting on February 1, 2017 and continuing throughout the spring semester, NYU Florence’s La Pietra Dialogues will host an array of events as part of the program Picturing Women – Constructions of Gender in the Action Collection and Contemporary Society. The program opens with a poetry talk and then a poetry workshop for students and concludes with a student exhibition to open on May 2, 2017

The images of women within the Acton Collection of Villa La Pietra are numerous and richly varied. From a predominance of religious iconography in fine and decorative arts, to mythological and allegorical depictions, portraiture and scenes of domesticity, every room in the collection of some 6000 objects provides documentation through which to explore the symbolic function of gender roles and relationships across centuries. While we can enjoy the Acton Collection on the level of an aesthetic experience, a display of collecting taste, or an archive of historic art, as active viewers we become aware of a crucial tension between the gender constructions these images represented when created and their meaning and resonance in contemporary social and political contexts today.

Using the Acton Collection as both a productive and discursive site, this project examines the depiction of women with a transhistorical perspective, adding into the Villa’s collection contemporary responses by artists and poets in an effort to investigate, challenge and expand upon received art historical categories of iconography, patronage, material and function. With the undergraduate population of NYU Florence and La Pietra Dialogues, this project will explore the issues of gender, power and representation evident in the collection and search for reverberations of this visual history in contemporary artistic, social and political contexts.

The program details are available here via the La Pietra Dialogues website.

NYU Abu Dhabi Student Wins Top Prize at UAE’s Young Arab Awards

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1481087913789NYU Abu Dhabi student Dubai Abulhoul has already accomplished more at the age of 20 than many people do in a lifetime of academic pursuit and service to their communities.

She is a bestselling author and journalist, college senior who’s deeply involved in Emirati youth community initiatives, and will soon be studying for her master’s as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. And that’s not all.

She also won the top prize at the UAE’s 2016 Young Arab Awards — a celebration of young leaders ages 18-30 that recognizes outstanding achievements in science and medicine, entrepreneurship, sports, social media, journalism, and philanthropy.

Thomas Fletcher, NYUAD visiting professor and one of several panel judges, presented the first-ever Young Arab of the Year Award to Abulhoul at an event in Dubai and said, “We have chosen her … because she has been so successful in so many different fields:

  • An author of the first Emirati fantasy novel in English, a bestseller;
  • A humanitarian who has volunteered in the UAE and overseas;
  • A future leader — the youngest person on the Dubai Government’s list of the 100 most influential Emiratis;
  • A journalist who has published articles encouraging people to read more, to debate, and even to question their professors and I am one of them;
  • A citizen who is a member of the Emirates Youth Council and has worked at the UAE Mission to the United Nations and United States.”

Abulhoul, Class of 2017, is majoring in political science and currently researching the effect of gender roles and culture on political participation in the UAE as part of her senior Capstone project.

By Andy Gregory, NYUAD Public Affairs; This post originally appeared on NYU Abu Dhabi’s Salaam blog and can be accessed here.

In Conversation with Politics Professor Patrick Egan: A J-Term Course Considers the Causes and Consequences of the 2016 Election

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16-0399

Patrick Egan, Associate Professor of Policy and Public Policy in NYU’s Department of Politics, discusses the January Term course he taught at NYU Washington, DC, The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election – Causes and Consequences, and more.

How did you come to teach at NYU Washington, DC? Is this your first time teaching at an NYU location outside of NYC? How have you found the experience?

This is my first time teaching at a site beyond NYC. However, I have been associated with the site for awhile as I am the chair of the site specific advisory committee for NYU Washington, DC. So I am a big believer in NYU DC and the unique role it can play in providing students a real world view of politics and policy that you can only get in the nation’s capital. I have long admired the staff and the site so it has been gratifying to teach here. The experience has been inspiring and rewarding, especially seeing how well we were able to leverage the resources of the site to put together a great course for the students.

As a professor in the NYU Department of Politics, how have you viewed the establishment of NYU Washington, DC? Do you think that time in the nation’s capital is valuable for students’ academic and personal development? If so, how do you think that value manifests?

In the NYU Politics Department in New York, I am one of a community of faculty committed to teaching politics in a fairly analytical and social scientific fashion. We are focused on statistics, economic analysis, data – all of which are very important for gaining insight to questions about politics and public policy. NYU Washington, DC is thus an important complement to our studies in New York because it provides students with direct exposure to people and issues that also inform politics and policy. It can give students real-world experience in putting analytical tools into practice and to see how they can effect positive change.

The class at the Supreme Court.

The class at the Supreme Court.

I understand that you taught a January term course at NYU Washington, DC – The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election – Causes and Consequences. Can you describe how you decided to develop this course?

As the 2016 campaign began in earnest after Labor Day, a number of us working with the NYU Washington, DC site tossed around idea of a January Term course. Our thinking was that the goal would be to provide students with the opportunity to assess what happened during the campaign and what we might expect to come due the result. Our vision was to provide standard political science treatments of politics and public policy while integrating them with the resources and people that are part of the NYU Washington, DC network. We thought this would be a powerful and illuminating combination for our students. In planning the course, despite the pundits’ focus on a Clinton victory, we kept in mind the real possibility that Donald Trump could win, so we made plans that anticipated either outcome. There was an unexpectedly large enrollment for the course before the election even happened–and very few students dropped the course after the result was clear. This demonstrated to me that students were interested and on board regardless of which candidate won. I should note that the schedule we put together for the course is really a tribute to NYU Washington, DC’s wide-reaching network of people in Washington who have experience in all aspects of politics and public policy. If you look at our syllabus, just about every day students are meeting people with expertise in campaigns, policy-making, and strategy from across the political spectrum. Bringing in such a rich array of experts is a testament to what a tremendous site NYU Washington, DC has become in a short time.

What are the major themes you will cover in the course? What kinds of students are enrolled?

We are covering two broad questions in the course. The first is understanding what happened: what created the extraordinary campaign of 2016 and the result, and what it means for elections and politics going forward. The second is focused on what the election means for public policy in DC and across the fifty states: understanding elections and voting as well as the consequences for American public policy at federal and state level.

I have been delighted to see interest from a wide range of students. We have 51 students enrolled. This is a much larger group than originally envisioned, but we were able to engineer the course to accommodate more students. The student group is quite diverse. We have freshman as well as seniors, many politics majors, but also those who have never taken a politics course. If has been a very nice opportunity to work with a really heterogeneous group of students. Some have been to DC before, have interned on Capital Hill or elsewhere, and others are new to Washington and learning from their peers.

The class at the State Department.

The class at the State Department.

Being in Washington, I understand you have structured the course to include many significant guest lecturers and visits to key institutions. How does that influence the learning process for students? What have been the greatest learning experiences of this course, both for you and for the students?

I think the best way to demonstrate how this has enriched the course is to mention just a few of the people who have come to speak and whom we have met with. This included Tad Devine, chief strategist for Bernie Sanders and a long-time Democratic strategist, who also teaches at NYU Washington, DC. We recently had Jonathan Capehart, a prominent columnist at The Washington Post. We also heard from Ron Christie, a former advisor to the Bush White House, who will also teach a course at NYU Washington, DC starting in February. We visited Capitol Hill for briefing sessions with two members of Congress who are also NYU Alums – Diana DeGette of Colorado and Martha Roby of Alabama. It was great to hear from two women in Congress, and it was also fascinating because they represent very different districts. Representative DeGette’s district includes Denver and its suburbs and is very liberal. Representative Roby’s district is conservative and includes Montgomery as well as military bases and rural areas of Alabama.

The class visits Capitol Hill

The class visits Capitol Hill

In addition to your research and work on public opinion and institutions in American politics, the formation of political attitudes, and LGBT issues and politics, I understand you regularly comment on such matters in the media, including as an elections analyst for NBC news as part of the network’s Exit Poll Desk team. Can you give us any insights as to what the 2016 election means for the future of US politics? And can you tell us about your experience at NBC this year – what was the most interesting moment doing that analysis?

The most interesting moment was late on election night, or rather early the next morning at about 1:30 a.m.. Several states were still uncalled and everyone at the Decision Desk was trying to understand and explain an election result that very few people had seen coming. The most interesting and important aspect of this was how much professionalism everyone on the team exhibited. Everyone was dedicated in the moment to getting it right and thinking through the consequences of a big decision – calling the election for Donald Trump, which NBC finally did shortly after 2 a.m.. It was an exhausting night, and we didn’t leave the room until 4:00 am, but the professionalism and objectivity of everyone on the team was inspiring.

In terms of the future of US politics, probably the biggest development we saw in terms of voting in the 2016 election was a complete about-face in trends among white voters. In 2016, there was a clear distinction between white voters without a college education and those with a college education. Typically these groups move in concert with one another: if one group swings to the Republicans, so does the other But this is the first time since we’ve been doing exit polling that shows working class and educated white voters moving in opposite directions: compared to 2012, less-educated whites moved to Trump while more educated whites moved to Clinton. Is this the new normal or was there something specific about the Trump – Clinton match up that lead to this change in voting? This is the $64,000 question we’ll need to watch over next few years

What has been most rewarding for you about teaching at NYU Washington, DC?

Definitely working with the students. It is a special kind of student who wants to spend three weeks of their winter vacation studying politics and public policy: a young person who is really interested in these issues and maybe thinking about a career in public service. Many of these students arrived with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of what happened during the election, a real intellectual interest in the subject matter, and a commitment to understanding. This makes my job as a teacher all the more delightful.

Finally, to students who were unable to take your J-Term course on the election but want to learn more about its causes and consequences, what resources would you suggest?

They should come and take courses in the Politics department at NYU! We have a lot of offerings that will help students understand the 2016 election and its consequences. I would of course also say that they should consider spending a semester at NYU Washington, DC. Beyond NYU, most of the standard resources out there are good. For example, the New York Times still has a great set of resources available: maps, graphs, tables of data, analysis of numbers on exit polls. Another place to look to is a blog hosted at The Washington Post called The Monkey Cage. It was co-founded by a colleague of mine in the NYU Politics Department, Josh Tucker, and is a well-regarded resource for up-to-the-minute developments in politics and public policy.

NYU Madrid Director Robert Lubar’s Exhibition on Miró Receives High Profile Visitors

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NYU Madrid Director Robert Lubar’s exhibition “Joan Miró: Materiality and Metamorphosis” at the Museu Serralves in Oporto has been visited by high level dignitaries, heads of state, and royalty.  The exhibition opened on September 30th and closes on January 28th.  It is a show of the Portuguese State’s collection of 85 works by Joan Miró, and inaugurates what will now be a permanent installation of Miró’s works at the Serralves.
jc16This photograph includes, from left to right, the President of Portugal,Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, me, the President of Spain, Mariano Rahoy, the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, the President of the Fundacao Serralves, Ana Pinho, the Mayor of Oporto, Rui de Carvalho de Araújo Moreira, the Minister of Culture of Portugal, Luís Felipe Castro Mendes, and, Professor Lubar’s partner Graeme Williams. Professor Lubar is explaining the significance of Miró’s work to the guests.
img_6507This photography features Professor Lubar with the King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia of Spain, who came to the exhibition for a private viewing in December. The royals are clearly impressed.

NYU Shanghai Seniors Earn Schwarzman Scholarships, Along with Graduates of NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU

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The 2018 Schwarzman Scholars, founded by Blackstone Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, include students from 30 countries and 75 universities with 45 percent from the United States, 20 percent from China, and 35 percent from the rest of the world.

“I am overjoyed with the caliber of students who will make up the second class of Schwarzman Scholars,” said Schwarzman. “It has been truly inspiring for me to meet these people, who at such a young age have already started to make an impact on the world.”

Roxanne Roman is a social science major at NYU Shanghai. She will graduate this year having served as Shanghai’s first full-term student body president and founder of the school’s 2013 Fund. A first-generation American and advocate of women’s political advocacy, she has worked in the Office of the First Lady at the White House, the Hillary for America Presidential Campaign, and the Senate of the Philippines.

Jacko Walz is majoring in business and finance at NYU Shanghai. Interested in political risk, he will pursue a concentration in international studies as a Schwarzman Scholar. He has interned at London’s BBC Worldwide and worked as an analyst at IoTOne. At NYU Shanghai, he founded the NYU Shanghai American football team and has served in the Undergraduate Business Association and TEDxNYU Shanghai.

In addition, Mohammed Omar, a 2014 graduate of NYU Abu Dhabi, and Anushka Prasad, a 2013 graduate of NYU’s College of Arts and Science, were also among the 129 chosen.

Mohammed Omar graduated from NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) in 2014 with a double major in mechanical engineering and mathematics. He was a member of the inaugural class at NYUAD and was instrumental in establishing the university’s student government, having been elected student body president twice. He then went on to complete his M.S. in mechanical engineering at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, where he worked on analyzing composite materials. His group is the first to successfully create a metal matrix syntactic foam core sandwich composite; the results were published in Material Science & Engineering. In 2015, Omar joined the professional services firm AlphaSights as an associate in its Dubai office.

Anushka Prasad graduated with a degree in economics (with Highest Honors) from NYU in 2013. After graduation, she moved to New Delhi to be a part of building India’s first liberal arts university, Ashoka University. At Ashoka, Anushka leads various strategic initiatives to build the university’s governance structure, policies, women’s leadership and India’s first archive focusing on contemporary India. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she hopes to learn from China’s education policies to lead education reform and institution-building in India and other developing countries.

The 2018 scholars follow last year’s inaugural Schwarzman Scholars, who included Kes Rittenberg, a 2016 graduate of NYU’s College of Arts and Science.

“The second class of Schwarzman Scholars is a remarkable group of people who are committed to broadening their worldview and encouraging peace and friendship between the east and the west,” added Nigel Thrift, executive director of the program. “I continue to be amazed by these students and how Schwarzman Scholars is creating global citizens who will be well equipped to succeed and lead in whatever field they choose.”

An Interview With Roxanne Roman And Jacko Walz

The Shanghai Gazette spoke to Roxanne and Jacko shortly after the announcement of 2018 Schwarzman Scholarship, see how they responded to the wonderful news:

What Does The Winning Of This Scholarship Mean To You?

Jacko: For me, this scholarship represents an unmatchable opportunity to further my global education while surrounded by some of the most accomplished young individuals in the world. The Schwarzman Scholarship has been on my radar since Spring 2014, when Stephen Schwarzman held a Skype conference at NYU Shanghai. I immediately recognized the potential of the program and realized that it aligned very neatly with my goals. Since then, I have considered Schwarzman Scholars the optimal path for me following graduation.

Roxanne: Being named a Schwarzman Scholar tells me the future is invested in an inclusive, aware, and dynamic global community. I’ve been honored with an incredible opportunity to participate in innovatively changing the world for the better while learning and working alongside future leaders. It’s really meaningful to me to have my story involved in this endeavor.

How Do You Foresee This Opportunity Contributing To Your Personal Development, Future Goals And Broadening Your Perspectives On China?

Jacko: Living in China has provided me with countless opportunities for growth and learning. Most importantly, my time here has helped shape my perspective on China and the world, which has, in turn, helped me formulate my goals for the future. I hope to delve deeper into Chinese and international studies through the Schwarzman Scholarship in order to be able to explore some of the major challenges facing the international community in the coming years.

Roxanne: At 18, I had no idea how impactful the decision to move to China would be. At 22, I’m excited to engage with China from new perspectives in Beijing. One day, I hope to use my experiences to contribute to conversations of mutual benefit between the United States, the Philippines, and China.

Has Your Experience At NYU Shanghai Equipped You With The Qualities Exemplified By The Schwarzman Scholarship, And How?

Jacko: As a member of the inaugural class at NYU Shanghai, I’ve been fortunate enough to have a blank canvas to work with, molding the school in any way we saw necessary. From the start, NYU Shanghai has strongly encouraged us to take influential positions and leadership roles at the university which have enabled us to truly impact the development of the school. Furthermore, NYU Shanghai has deeply emphasized developing an international and culturally cognizant perspective on the world. I believe these leadership and cultural experiences have given me the tools become a member of the “next generation of leaders,” as the Schwarzman Scholarship insists.

Roxanne: NYU Shanghai taught me the power of initiative, courage, and perseverance in growing as a person, as a leader, and as a community member. NYU Shanghai propelled my personal growth and cultivated my potential by challenging me to build bridges over walls.

About Schwarzman Scholars:

Schwarzman Scholars was inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship, which was founded in 1902 to promote international understanding and peace, and is designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. Blackstone Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman personally contributed $100 million to the program and is leading a fundraising campaign to raise an additional $350 million from private sources to endow the program in perpetuity. The $450 million endowment will support up to 200 Scholars annually from the U.S., China, and around the world for a one-year Master’s Degree program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s most prestigious universities and an indispensable base for the country’s scientific and technological research. Scholars chosen for this highly selective program will live in Beijing for a year of study and cultural immersion, attending lectures, traveling, and developing a better understanding of China. Admissions opened in the fall of 2015, with the first class of students in residence in September 2016.

This post was originally published in the Shanghai Gazette and is available here.