HEMPSTEAD, NY VOL. 81 Issue 5
The Hofstra
Chronicle
Tuesday October 27, 2015
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935
Convocation marks inauguration of Kalikow school By Michael Ortiz NEWS EDITOR
After $12 million in financial contributions to Hofstra’s academic development, Peter Kalikow’s name will forever be tied to those students who pursue studies in public policy. Hofstra celebrated the naming of the new Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs at the school’s convocation on Oct. 26. “We recognize the enormous importance of this naming, and the many contributions of Peter Kalikow through this formal academic gathering this morning,” said Provost Gail Simmons who served as master of ceremonies at the event. She continued, “We further recognize the transformative nature of his gift, which creates a milieu in which the social sciences can become ever more prominent
at Hofstra University through an interdisciplinary engagement among students and faculty in the most pressing issues of our global world.” Kalikow’s reason for wanting to establish this new school and curriculum was simple. “The students,” he said. “When I would come to these seminars I would say ‘wow, these guys are pretty sharp.’” Many distinguished guests were in attendance to celebrate the new beginning in how Hofstra educates its civically engaged students. “I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to give young people insights [into] the government, how it works, and to study the pitfalls of when things can and should be done in a better way,” said former New York State
Senator Alfonse D’Amato, who was one of the distinguished guests. Among those present in the Student Center Theater on Monday morning were former
Governor of New York George Pataki, Congressmen Peter King, Lee Zeldin, Daniel Donovan Jr. and Kalikow Center fellows Howard Dean and Ed Rollins. Dr. Bernard Firestone, dean of
the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which this new school is part of, gave the audience some insight into what the new school aims to achieve. “Broadly speaking, the mission encompasses three equally important goals,” he said. “First, to encourage in all students the habits of intellectual inquiry that are central to the social sciences and the liberal arts in general.” He continued, “Second, to prepare all students for lives of civic responsibility, and third, to nurture in some students their passion for public affairs.” The school will approach a specific realm of study in an interdisciplinary way, incorporating all eight residing departments in the curriculum for the public policy
program. “Your just not stuck doing one thing or another. The government isn’t just the three branches of government.” Kalikow said. “There’s everything else, there’s the press, there’s the business community, the religious community. So you’re going to be able to get all of them in your view as you’re doing it.” Students in attendance understood the importance of a program like this as well. “All of the disciplines work together. You can’t really focus on a present-day issue and not know the history of that issue or the political approach to that issue or the social implications. Those are all different fields of study and departments,” said Bernard Coles, a junior sociology and global studies major. President Stuart Rabinowitz
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N.O.A.H. program celebrates 50th anniversary By Kimberly Donahue SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
On Friday, Oct. 23, Hofstra University welcomed Dr. Bernice King, daughter of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., for a conversation on various topics with the Hofstra community. Dr. King was invited to speak in response to the 50th Anniversary of Hofstra’s New Opportunities at Hofstra Program (N.O.A.H.). N.O.A.H. is an advantage program to help New York residents, mostly minority students living in poverty or those that did not receive the best educational opportunities. The program provides students with opportunities for a head start to receive credits throughout the summer, enroll in special classes during the year and participate in unique events. “The biggest thing we want is
for the students to have confidence in themselves as well as for them to enjoy a collegiate experience … and to have the opportunity to be role models for the Hofstra community and the global community as well,” said Roosevelt Smith, the executive director of the program and a N.O.A.H. alumni. Dr. King answered questions previously submitted by students from visiting high schools and covered a variety of topics from her father’s nonviolent philosophy to challenges within minority communities. She described her role at the King Foundation as the visionary – to spread the philosophy and to build a global summit. The King Foundation helps train several kinds of groups, including police officers and others from all walks of life, to handle things in a
nonviolent way. King found that some of the challenges in the AfricanAmerican community have “a lack in unity in the community’s common challenges. They have not come to a place to understand why we face those common challenges. We are going to have to create strategy and collaboration in order to face these challenges.” Bill Hendricks, a global studies teacher at Metropolitain Expeditionary Learning School in Forest Hills and a Hofstra alum, described King’s conversation as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I could not have my students miss out on.” He added that he wishes the N.O.A.H. program could be extended to other schools across the country and
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Xavier Edwards/The Chronicle President Stuart Rabinowitz awards Dr. King a medal.