More than 280 people representing approximately 110 organizations gathered in downtown Syracuse recently for the 2026 Lender Expo. This is the second year the communitywide convening and dialogue has been hosted by the University’s , and the expanded schedule was made possible by a new sponsorship from .

The Lender Center addresses important social issues through interdisciplinary research, community engagement and faculty and student fellowships. The expo is among the most visible expressions of that mission, offering organizations an opportunity to share resources, build partnerships and engage in dialogue about the area’s most pressing needs, says , director.

The program opened with a “State of the Region” panel discussion featuring Syracuse Mayor , Onondaga County Executive , U.S. Rep. and Syracuse City Court Judge .

Also addressing the group was , chief administrative officer and president of health plans at , who discussed the company’s efforts to address community health needs. Workshops covered grant writing, mental health, data collection, legal services, artificial intelligence and conflict resolution. A session, “Where Service Meets Progress,” drew a wide audience on the second day.

The convening also included recognition for , president emerita of InterFaith Works and founding member of the Lender Center Advisory Group, who was honored for her many years of social justice advocacy and community service.

More Event Photos

The Lender Center for Social Justice is now accepting applications for the 2026-28 Lender Faculty Fellowship. The two-year research fellowship, now in its eighth year, supports faculty work on the causes of and solutions to complex contemporary social justice issues.

Application Deadline Is April 10

• The fellowships are open to full-time ������ faculty.
• Applications are due by Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m.
• Details about the and required materials are available on the .
• Questions can be directed to��lendercenter@syr.edu.

What Support Does the Fellowship Provide?

• A stipend of $15,000 covering the faculty member’s work for two summers.
• An additional $5,000 per year allocated to support research initiatives ($10,000 total).
• Another $5,000 dedicated to cover costs of hosting a public symposium at the conclusion of the fellowship, when faculty and student fellows present their work.

Who Are Recent Faculty Fellows and Their Research Topics?

Recent fellows studied these issues:

• , associate professor of mathematics and mathematics education in the and , looked at how data literacy skills can be developed and how data can provide insights into community quality-of-life issues.
• , assistant professor of public health in the , examined economic policies that shaped housing and employment opportunities in Syracuse and the importance of community input and engagement in social issues
• , assistant professor of magazine, news and digital journalism in the , studied post-9/11 news media coverage and how it impacted specific communities.
• , professor of anthropology and Ford-Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies in the��Maxwell School, led a team that studied how AI systems can transform the concepts of autonomy, accountability, human rights and justice.
• , associate dean for strategic initiatives and research and Georgia Miller Associate Professor in the School of Design at the , assessed how building design impacted accessibility and use of a new women’s wellness center.
• , associate professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School, who , particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Good Results, Engaging Research

“Over the past eight years, Lender faculty fellows and their student teams have taken innovative approaches to exploring a wide spectrum of social justice issues,” says , Lender Center director. “We are grateful for their good work and the up-to-date knowledge they have produced, and we are pleased that they have regarded their projects as engaging and transformative research opportunities.”

, a provider of ��home and community-based care across New York state, is partnering with the to support the 2026 Lender Expo on Wednesday, March 11, and Thursday, March 12, at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

The convenes public officials, nonprofit organizational leaders, service providers, community members and ������ faculty, researchers and students for conversations ��about social justice issues affecting the region and ways to address them.

Featured Activities

• A “State of Our Region” panel discussion with several elected officials: Syracuse Mayor , Onondaga County Executive , U.S. Representative , Syracuse City Court Judge and Nascentia Chief Administrative Officer and President of Health Plans
• A , “Where Service Meets Progress”
• Workshops on grant writing, mental health, data collection, legal services, artificial intelligence and conflict resolution

Full Schedule, Tabling

View the . The expo is free and open to the public. Attendee is required; the sign-up deadline is Friday, Feb. 27.

Nonprofit and other organizations offering public services and information are welcome to host information tables. for tabling is required; details are available on the .

Last year, more than 200 people attended the expo and 80 nonprofit organizations showcased program information.

“We are thrilled that Nascentia Health has invested in this important communitywide gathering and excited about the essential conversations and ideas it will generate,” says , Lender Center director. “Nascentia’s support has expanded the expo’s impact and assures that the critical conversations this event enables are more sustainable for the future.”

Ryan Pyland, Nascentia Health associate vice president, marketing and communications,�� says, “We are proud to partner with ������ and the Lender Center for Social Justice for the 2026 Lender Expo. As a community-based health care organization, we see every day how collaboration strengthens outcomes for individuals and families across Central New York. Supporting this event reflects our commitment to meaningful dialogue, shared strategy and collective action that advance the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”

Five students have been selected as and will work with the project, an initiative that helps ��(SCSD) youth build math and data literacy skills to address pressing issues in their community.

The fellows will work with Nicole Fonger, associate professor of mathematics and mathematics education in the and . Fonger is the 2025-27 faculty fellow.

The student research fellows are:

G’23, ’25, a third-year doctoral student in sociology in the who also earned master’s degrees in both sociology and geography. The Syracuse native graduated from SCSD and has been involved in the Data Warriors program for four years. Her work blends ethnography, interviews, GIS mapping and youth participatory action research to explore how young people address segregation and inequity.

’27, a dual economics and international relations major in the Maxwell School with a minor in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises. She serves as a University student ambassador and is part of the Renée Crown University Honors Program. She founded the Ikya Women’s Health Foundation to promote women’s health awareness and wellness in her home country of Zambia.

’28, a double major in policy studies and law, society and policy in the Maxwell School with minors in business and information management and technology. She is the founder and president of the ������ chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

G’27, a master’s student in communication and rhetorical studies in the . Her research focuses on how rhetoric shapes language policies and narratives of grief, trauma and belonging. She is the founder of the Disorders Collective, a community platform on mental health in South Asia.

Shavonne Jacobs ’27, an information management and technology major in the with a minor in architecture. Her interests bridge technology, architecture and environmental science.

Started in 2021, the Data Warriors project now includes 21 researchers from two SCSD high schools. They use math, maps and data analysis to study lead poisoning, code violations, housing conditions, car thefts and income disparities, as well as current immigration policies and historic parallels in Syracuse. The high schoolers aim to train as community-engaged scholars; support community-engaged math education; and inform local government officials about their research findings.

Data Warriors students and their teachers visited campus recently to attend mathematician and musician Eugenia Cheng’s lecture and performance, “The Logic of Creativity: Music, Mathematics and Expression,” part of the School of Education’s Ganders Lecture Series. The group will present their research on lead poisoning in Syracuse at the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State conference in Rochester this month.

was an Iraqi Kurdish refugee and respected imam living in Albany, New York, when as part of a controversial FBI sting operation in 2004. Though critics argued that the government failed to provide evidence of Aref’s guilt, he was before to Iraq.

What role did media coverage play in Aref’s story? That was the focus of a research project sponsored by the and conducted by and five Lender Student Fellows.

Their findings, which will be presented at a symposium, “: The American War On Terror,” on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, showed how local and regional news coverage shaped public understanding in ways that supported prosecution narratives and made conviction more likely.

The findings are also being showcased as an exhibition on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 at . That event is sponsored by the Lender Center with support from the New York Humanities Center, Coalition for Civil Freedoms, Muslim Counterpublics Lab and Syracuse Peace Council.

The research team’s comprehensive examination of news coverage around the case found the following themes and patterns.

Over-Reliance on Official Law Enforcement Sources

• Reporting contained official government narratives and cited law enforcement and government officials more frequently than any other source, an imbalance that presented readers with primarily one perspective on the case.
• Coverage failed to question the legitimacy of the sting operation via independent experts.
• Alleged connections to terrorist organizations in news reports were based on weak or unverified evidence.

• Most media misreported, and then failed to correct, a claim by federal government translators that Aref’s name was found with a Kurdish word meaning “commander” in front of it; the word actually means “brother.”

Uncritical Framing of Sting Operations as a National Security Necessity

• 60% of articles portrayed terrorism stings as essential to national security and helped normalize controversial law enforcement practices.
• Coverage celebrated the sting as a counterterrorism success before the trial had concluded.
• Articles linked the arrest to heightened terror alerts, even when officials said cases were unrelated.

Direct Impact on Public Perception

• An emphasis on potential terrorist connections influenced how the public viewed Aref’s credibility.
• News coverage emphasized Aref’s identity as a Muslim more than any other identity he held.
• Most reporting was incomplete and did not include the voices of his family, community or even his lawyer.

Gauging Fair Reporting

Husain, an assistant professor of magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School, examines and reports on the ongoing “war on terror,” including the impacts of its news coverage. She believes that newsrooms have the potential to use their resources to assure more accuracy in reporting, and that the public has the ability to assess the reliability of news coverage they see.

“One of the big solutions is to give journalists enough time to properly report a story using objective and investigative methods,” she says. “It’s Journalism 101, but reporters speaking to many and varied sources about a situation is an important step in getting as close to the truth as you can.”

News outlets can also guard against poorly reported stories and assure better accountability to their audiences “by making sure their reporting is driven not by those in power, but by the people who are most affected by the decisions of those in power,” she says.

Journalists can also audit their own systems to make sure their reporting is not harming communities, she says. “When newsroom leadership fails to do this, it falls upon individual journalists to take responsibility. Reporters have always been able to push editors and higher-ups to change coverage or to pursue certain stories.” Husain also cites the resource ��and its as a tool for news consumers.

The student fellows for the project are:

• Mohammad Ebad Athar (College of Arts and Sciences/history); and Azadeh Ghanizadeh (College of Visual and Performing Arts/writing studies, rhetoric, and composition); both current doctoral candidates
• Olivia Boyer ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/magazine, news and digital journalism)
• Mary Hanrahan ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
• Tia Poquette ’25 (Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs)

Three undergraduate students combined a traditional study abroad experience with an international research opportunity last spring, exploring biodiversity, ecology, green space design and climate justice across the United Kingdom.

The trio, based in London, was the first cohort of student fellows. Created last year as a partnership between and the , the Lender Global program supports undergraduate research in international locations.

The students will discuss their work at the along with a presentation of the media project research completed in 2023-25 by Lender Faculty Fellow and her student team.

Research Highlights

Abdulai Jibril Barrie ’26, an industrial and interaction design major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, examined the environmental impact of Muslim pilgrimages. He found that during , millions of people converging in Mecca produces 1.86 million kilograms of CO2—equivalent to 400,000 cars driving for an entire year. His research explored how Islamic teachings about environmental stewardship can guide pilgrims to offset their carbon footprint through the initiative, which promotes tree planting donations, clean energy use, resource conservation, litter-free public spaces and reusable travel items like toiletries containers, tote bags and portable prayer mats.

Jude Bazerman ’26, a dual major in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School of Public Communications and geography and the environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, investigated climate vulnerability among immigrant populations. His research revealed that Bangladeshi immigrants who fled to London to escape poverty and environmental devastation from flooding ended up in Tower Hamlets—one of London’s neighborhoods most at risk for flooding. His findings underscore how, without aggressive safety and regulatory interventions, the impact of climate change may follow vulnerable populations to their adopted locations.

Gabrielle McCafferty ’25, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, studied how international tourism threatens biodiversity. Assessing tourist activity in France, Spain, England, Italy, Singapore and Chile, she documented tourism’s environmental toll and developed recommendations for travelers: minimize waste through recycling and mindful eating, consider how tours impact ecosystems and wildlife, choose walking or public transportation over car services and avoid products that pollute local environments.

The fellows presented their findings at an environmental justice symposium held in London for April’s Earth Day.

Comparative Perspectives

The students observed striking differences between British and American approaches to environmental conservation.

“In the U.K., environmental justice is embedded in the law,” Barrie says. “I was struck by how much effort goes into making sustainability a lived reality, not just a policy goal. The U.S. often treats sustainability as an afterthought.”

Bazerman notes a fundamental cultural difference: “The U.K.—and Europe as a whole—have a ‘we’ approach. The U.S. tends to think through the lens of ‘me.’ In the U.K., environmental issues are much more at the front of people’s minds.”

McCafferty agrees.

“The U.K. certainly has a tighter grasp on the magnitude of the issues facing our environment and stands apart from the U.S. in its willingness to try lots of initiatives to minimize waste and pollution,” she says.

Challenging Assumptions

The research experience challenged the students’ preconceptions about sustainability and environmental practices.

For Barrie, studying the international revealed how maritime zones are divided and showed that “sustainability is about governance and accountability, not just good intentions.”

Bazerman’s assumptions about migration and climate safety were upended.

“I assumed that living in London would be a significant improvement for people who had migrated from Bangladesh,” he says. “Instead, it was the most at-risk spot for climate change.”

McCafferty was encouraged by what she observed.

“It was pleasantly surprising to see signs on the beaches in Cornwall asking visitors not to disturb the wildlife,” she says. “The ecosystems seemed successfully conserved and people truly cared about protecting them.”

The Lender Global program partners with a different Syracuse Abroad center each year. The second cohort of student fellows is currently studying human rights and historical memory in Santiago, Chile.

Eight ������ students and alumni were named as 2025 recipients of awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Five students were also chosen as alternates.

The ��funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries.

The 2025 recipients are the following:

• Phoebe Ambrose ’22 (food studies in the former David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and citizenship and civic engagement in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), study grant, United Kingdom
• Sofia DaCruz ’25 (citizenship and civic engagement in the Maxwell School, selected studies in the School of Education and women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)), English teaching assistantship (ETA), Slovak Republic
• Alexandria Johnson ’24 (international relations in the Maxwell School and A&S), ETA, Belgium
• Morgan Meddings ’25 (inclusive elementary and special education in the School of Education), ETA, Madagascar
• Jessie Norton ’25 (Spanish language, literature and culture and Spanish education in A&S and the School of Education), ETA, Spain
• Kerrin O’Grady ’25 (biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and neuroscience in A&S), study grant, United Kingdom
• Zoe Prin, a graduate student in international relations in the Maxwell School, ETA, Moldova
• Virginia Walker ’25 (international relations and policy studies in the Maxwell School), ETA, Mongolia

The 2025 alternates are the following:

• Yesmine Chikha ’25 (communications design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA)), ETA, Spain
• Sacha Norton ’25 (selected studies, School of Education), ETA, Kenya
• Katarina Sako ’24 (biology and neuroscience in A&S), study grant, United Kingdom
• Lindy Truitt ’25 (communications design in VPA), study grant, United Kingdom
• Neha Tummalapalli ’23 (architecture in the School of Architecture), study grant, Italy

Phoebe Ambrose

Ambrose was a 2021-22 Lender Center Fellow. She contributed to several projects in the areas of food security, justice and sovereignty, including a Farm to School initiative��with the Syracuse City School District and the creation of a Food Justice Atlas. She also was an active volunteer with Pete’s Giving Garden.

After graduation, Ambrose joined the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. She was based in Key West, Florida, and worked with the Star of the Sea Foundation (SOS), the largest hunger-relief nonprofit in the Florida Keys. As an agricultural specialist, she created hands-on curriculum for local elementary schools on sustainable agriculture using an in-classroom aeroponic Tower Garden and built and managed the SOS Eco Farm, an urban aeroponic farm comprising 60 nine-foot-tall Tower Gardens.

SOS was awarded an Urban Agriculture Innovative Production grant in 2023 to bring local agriculture to the Florida Keys, as the environment there does not support traditional in-ground agriculture. In addition to growing 15,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs annually, Ambrose conducted farm tours, community events, school field trips and mini-agricultural lessons, and worked with a partner nonprofit to build agricultural skills and knowledge for adults with disabilities. “It was an absolute joy to be part of a powerhouse organization that made such a profound impact on the community,” she says.

In her Fulbright experience, Ambrose will attend Royal Holloway, University of London, to pursue a master’s degree in Global Health: Food Security, Sustainability and Biodiversity. The program partners with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which conducts leading botany research and has the world’s largest plant conservation program.

“I’m excited to build on my knowledge of plants/agriculture and explore emerging agricultural technologies and practices,” Ambrose says. “For my dissertation, I plan to study crop wild relatives (plants that are closely related to our current crops but have evolved naturally and therefore contain more resilient traits and qualities), specifically corn’s crop wild relative, teosinte and its impact on soil health.”

Morgan Meddings

Meddings was a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and completed an award-winning thesis on how book banning of children’s literature is affecting classrooms. She also worked as a substitute teacher in the Syracuse City School District after completing her student teaching.

After spending the spring 2024 semester in Strasbourg, France, she knew wanted to teach abroad in a French-speaking country after graduation.

“I also wanted to find an experience outside of the westernized classrooms I had already been exposed to,” she says. Meddings will be an English teaching assistant at Le Centre National d’Enseignement de la Langue Anglais (CNELA) in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital city, and engage with the community through additional engagement and service projects. She is especially eager to engage with initiatives that promote literacy in Madagascar—an interest she developed while volunteering for her local library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“I am beyond excited to bring my passion for teaching abroad and cannot wait to learn from the teachers and students I will be working with in Madagascar,” she says.

Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising at 315.443.2759 or cfsa@syr.edu.

The , is the setting for a semester-long student research project focused on human rights, historical memory and social justice.

The project, conducted by student fellows Ohemaa Asibuo and Ayanna Hyatte under the direction of Santiago Center Director , is centered on the 1973–1990 Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, during which more than 3,000 people died or disappeared, 200,000 suffered exile and 27,000 were tortured.

While in Santiago, the student fellows will take the course Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical��Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone, taught by Paredes.

They will also make hands-on enhancements to an exhibition at the (Museum of Memory and Human Rights) that memorializes during the Pinochet dictatorship and illustrates how commemorative education can help redress and prevent human rights abuses.��The fellows also plan to share their research findings with community audiences in Santiago.

Learning from Experts

Paredes is an expert on Chilean nationalism, internment camps, political memory and Latin American dictatorships—not just as a scholar but also as a former political prisoner of the Pinochet government.

He says the course will offer the fellows an unusual opportunity to discover the serious human rights violations that were committed by the Chilean dictatorship and others, and the ability to confront the issues of victims being forgotten and a veil of invisibility that has sometimes been created about state violence in Chile.

“Their work at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights research center will be with a team of experts in the field and with access to one of the largest databases in Chile for studying these topics. In addition, they will have the privilege to meet with and interview Chileans who are related to or are victims of political violence, which will undoubtedly contribute to the students’ immersion in this painful but necessary experience,” he says.

Program’s Academic Fit

Both Asibuo and Hyatte say the Lender Global program in Santiago fits well with their academic interests. Asibuo, a junior from Accra, Ghana, and Hyatte, a master’s student from Washington, D.C., are both international relations majors at the .

Asibuo previously studied in South America through the ������ Abroad . Hyatte, as a former fellow in the Council for Opportunity in Education in The Hague, has experience in commemorative education and memorialization to address past injustices.

Lender Global is a collaboration between the and that aligns with the University’s vision of preparing students as citizens, scholars and leaders in a changing global society.

Spring Fellowship Open

The Santiago project will continue in Spring 2026 with a new cohort of study-abroad students building on the research of the Fall 2025 Lender Global fellows.

Students who are interested in the Lender Global fellowship and study at the Santiago Center can apply for the semester abroad in Chile . The Syracuse Abroad application deadline for the Spring 2026 semester is Wednesday, Oct. 1.

After that date, all students accepted for the abroad semester in Chile will receive more information about applying for the Lender Global fellowship. In the spring semester, the fellowship offers a special opportunity for students having an engineering and/or technical background to support a public installation exhibition that will showcase the research project at a partner museum in Santiago.

Nearly 30 ������ faculty and postdoctoral researchers and nationally known thought leaders who study the in America explored the issue at a recent event in New York City hosted by the .

The two-day event was the latest in a series of talks, symposia and convenings on the topic organized by the Lender Center over the past three years. The initiative is supported by a $2.7 million grant from .

The gathering involved the sharing of resources and building the knowledge base about the root causes of the wealth gap, as well as innovative ideas for addressing the problem, says , Lender Center director and professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

“In New York, we centered on the need to think about the issue from multiple perspectives and look at systems that provide access to all kinds of resources—corporate systems, information and culture systems, those that provide access to health and wellness and those that offer economic mobility opportunities,” he says. Lender Center Wealth Gap Thought Leader Advisory Group members who participated included:

• Marcelle Haddix, Lender Center co-founder and dean of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education
• Pablo Mitnik, assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Inequality Dynamics
• dt ogilvie, former dean at the Rochester Institute of Technology
• Gregory Price, JP Morgan Chase professor of minority and emerging business at the University of New Orleans
• Blane Ruschak, president of The PhD project
• Thomas M. Shapiro, Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy and director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University

This photo gallery presents a recap of the event and those who participated.

, faculty affiliate and part-time instructor with the and a co-investigator at the , has been named a research associate of the .

“Corri is an amazing thinker and has a great strategic mind. She has the ability to integrate various perspectives into a coherent agenda for the future. The Lender Center is fortunate to have her joining our team,” says center director .

Zoli joins , associate professor of management in the , who was named Lender Center senior research associate in Fall 2022. They will work together with Phillips to bring existing research to culmination, maximize impact and find new research opportunities focused on social justice.

Zoli is also an affiliated faculty member with��the . Her research and teaching focus on U.S. military veterans and national and international security, with an emphasis on law and policy challenges, problems of new technologies in warfare and the role of cross-cultural dynamics in conflicts and humanitarian efforts.

“I’m thrilled to be appointed as a research associate at the Lender Center and to be working with Kendall, Kira and our many dedicated colleagues who have made the Lender Center’s mission of interdisciplinary, community-engaged research a priority,” Zoli says.

Representatives from some 80 regional community-based organizations gathered at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown March 27 for an expo event hosted by ������’s . About 300 people attended.

The event was designed to facilitate dialogue and strengthen collaboration between individuals and organizations that serve Central New York, according to Lender Center Director Kendall Phillips. “The Lender Center is focused on increasing economic inclusion for all people and allowing them to create intergenerational wealth and stability. These organizations are on the front lines of providing support, resources and opportunities for all the communities in our region,” Phillips says.

Participants included organizations like Peace Inc., Syracuse Housing Authority, Vera House, Alzheimer’s Association of Central New York, Helio Health and InterFaith Works. Roundtable discussions, open forums and breakout sessions focused on the unique opportunities and challenges facing community-based organizations, including funding, burnout and effective advocacy. The event also featured tabling and networking opportunities.

The event was part of the Lender Center’s ongoing focus on the racial wealth gap, funded by a three-year, $2.7 million grant from MetLife Foundation.

A daylong symposium hosted by ������ Artist in Residence will bring together artists, poets, scholars, activists and theorists to explore contested sites of memory and monuments.

“Monumental Concerns 2”—a continuation of the first “Monumental Concerns” symposium held on campus in fall 2023—is scheduled for Friday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at The Museum of Modern Art’s Titus 1 Theatre, 111 West 53 Street, New York City. The event is free and open to the public. .

“As artists we are all profoundly engaged in our mutual practices, yet the water gathers us into a single pool,” Weems says. “I invite you to stand on the bridge as we consider contested sites of memory and monuments.”

The symposium seeks to evoke an examination of the politics of disagreement in order to collectively create a framework for moving towards a sense of belonging for all. Questions to be addressed include: How might we understand the stakes of the dialogue and debate around monuments and the sites they commemorate? How do we negotiate among multiple—and often conflicting—narratives and the way they show up in public space? Is disagreement crucial to transformation?

In addition to Weems, event participants include:

• , art historian and director of research programs, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
• , curator and director, Monument Lab
• , director of transformative art and monuments, City of Boston
• , civil rights lawyer and founder, 14th Amendment Center for Law and Democracy, Howard University
• , composer and pianist
• , assistant professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences, ������
• , founder and principal strategist, Equity Empowerment Consulting
• , artist and associate professor of art, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
• , professor of communication and rhetorical Studies, College of Visual and Performing Arts, and director, Lender Center for Social Justice, ������
• , founder and CEO, Beyond Conflict
• , composer and 2025 Adobe Creative Resident, MoMA
• , poet and playwright
• , historian and director, Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
• , composer and trumpeter
• , lawyer and founder, Equal Justice Initiative
• , architect and Nancy and George Rupp Professor of Architecture Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
• , assistant professor of art, architecture and design, Lehigh University

The event will conclude with “Defiant Life,” a musical performance by Iyer and Smith, from 6 to 7 p.m.

“Monumental Concerns 2” is co-organized by ������ and The Museum of Modern Art, and supported in part by the Mellon Foundation. For more information, contact Kate Schwartz at 315.443.8017 or kschwa03@syr.edu.

From late 2007 until mid-2009, economies around the world plunged into a market decline known as the Great Recession–the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In the United States, unemployment rates skyrocketed, housing prices and stock portfolios plummeted, and the lives of millions were disrupted. More than 30 million individuals lost their jobs, and the rate of long-term unemployment doubled its historical high.

This past summer, , an assistant professor in the in the , received a (NIH) grant to conduct a two-year study on the effect of the Great Recession on older adults.

Specifically, the project aims to assess the combined impact of pre-recession and Great Recession precarity (uncertainty/insecurity) on employment and working conditions for older workers. In addition, the study is investigating how these economic factors–together with psychosocial working conditions–have differently influenced health biomarker trajectories and mortality outcomes by race, potentially shedding light on the disproportionately adverse outcomes observed among Black adults post-recession.

This study builds on Mutambudzi’s established research program, which views work as an important structural determinant of health. She will publish the findings of this NIH-funded study, and examples of her past publications can be found on her .

The impact of Mutambudzi’s research on the social determinants of health is felt throughout the campus as she is a Faculty Affiliate of the , the , and the in the .

This past fall, Mutambudzi was selected as the 2024-26 ��Faculty Fellow. In that role, Mutambudzi and Lender Student Fellows are exploring how Black adults who reside in historically redlined neighborhoods can experience a disadvantaged occupational life course and subsequent health consequences.

We reached out to Mutambudzi to learn more about her current research project.

Why is this research important to you?

This area of research highlights how structural inequities, particularly in the labor market, perpetuate health disparities. By examining the cumulative impact of work-related disadvantages, i.e., precarity and poor working conditions, I aim to show the pathways through which these factors exacerbate racial and gender-based health inequities��among older adults.

Understanding these mechanisms aligns with my broader commitment to addressing health inequities as structural issues rooted in systemic injustice.

What is the scope of your current study and how are you collecting your data?

The study focuses on older adults aged 50 and above. Data are drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from 2006-2020, supplemented with HRS-linked Occupational Information Network Data (O*NET).

What are you looking for when you examine this data?

I am looking to better understand how pre-recession and Great Recession precarity independently and cumulatively affect health biomarker trajectories such as hbA1c, cholesterol, C-reactive protein and systolic blood pressure, as well as all-cause mortality. I am particularly interested in identifying racial and gender disparities in these effects and understanding how job strain and cumulative precarity interact to influence health outcomes.

How can your findings be used to help mitigate the impact of economic factors on older and Black adults?

The findings can be leveraged to inform policy interventions that address the structural barriers that perpetuate health disparities among older��vulnerable populations. For example, policies aimed at improving working conditions and strengthening social safety nets during economic downturns.

How does this research tie in with your role as the Lender Center for Social Justice Faculty Fellow and your project with Student Fellows?

Both projects underscore the long-term health consequences of structural racism and economic marginalization. Insights from this R03 can improve our understanding of how occupational inequities compound the challenges faced by residents of historically redlined neighborhoods (a R03 grant is an NIH-funded program that supports smaller-scale research projects over a two-year period).

Among the students studying in the program this semester are three undergraduates who were selected for unique research opportunities as Lender Global research fellows. Since the semester began, they have engaged in hands-on learning by visiting famous environmental sites and examining social justice topics focused on the environment.

The program expands existing , offered on campus or at sites in the U.S., by broadening the scope of social justice research to include examinations with global dimensions. The research is customized to students’ interests and location. London is the inaugural site for the Lender Global program, which was announced last fall.

After arriving in the U.K., “Green Britain” course participants visited several environmentally designed and redeveloped sites in Wales, led by London Center instructor and Syracuse Abroad’s community engagement specialist, and Lender Center Director . They toured the , , , , and to learn about geographies, ecosystems, climate challenges, environmental preservation policies and cultural practices, as well as sustainable design.

The Lender Global student research fellows describe how their involvement in the program and participation in the course is already enlightening them on how environmental issues are treated worldwide.

Jude Bazerman ’26 is a dual major in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School of Public Communications and geography in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He believes his study abroad experience in the U.K. and Europe in general—regions he says have long been at the forefront of positive environmental change—will support his goal of becoming a TV news reporter whose focus is consumer and environmental stories.

“This experience has been hands-on, and that’s how I like to learn, rather than in a classroom with a couple hundred other people. As someone studying outside the U.S. for the first time, I would not have put Wales and Cornwall on my bucket list. But interacting with Welsh people and exploring various sites in Wales has been fantastic.”

Bazerman says his experience so far has taught him how to pivot and how to keep an open mind about new possibilities. “Leaving London and traveling in Wales just a few days after our arrival here has helped me learn to adapt quickly. Becca Farnum has taught me not to write anything off before you’ve had the chance to learn about it and experience it. I’ve learned that you have to adapt on your toes and roll with whatever comes your way. Those are skills I will use after I graduate and in my career.”

Gabrielle McCafferty ’25,��a dual biology and psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, plans to eventually earn a doctorate in physical therapy. She says she comes from an environmentally conscious family that has long participated in sustainability practices.

Her time in London and trip to Wales have provided a new awareness of how other countries approach environmental concerns, she says. “I’ve seen a lot of sustainability features here that you don’t see as much of in the United States. Recycling bins are located everywhere. There are no paper towel dispensers, only electric hand dryers. The Welsh parliament’s windowed design and water-operated heating and cooling system is the most sustainable building I’ve ever seen. It has shown me how the little things add up here and that the United Kingdom has a very firm grasp on the environment. It is obviously working on a very sustainable future.”

Abdulai Jibril Barrie ’26, an industrial and interaction design major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, plans a career in footwear and product design geared toward addressing community challenges and creating solutions.

He says past visits to Ecuador, Senegal, Egypt, Germany and Jordan, and time living in both Guinea and the United States, have informed him on how differently various countries can regard environmental issues. Visits to museums and historic sites since he’s been in London have shown him how history, culture, natural resources and politics affect the ways a locale addresses environmental issues, such as the coal industry’s importance in Wales, yet its eventual shutdown due to environmental concerns.

“I’ve learned that preserving the environment is not just about recycling. It’s also about saving the trees and the oceans, where much of our air comes from. I think educating kids from an early age about the environment can be quite impactful, too.”

The second Lender Global location, announced earlier this month, is Santiago, Chile. Students studying there during the 2025-26 academic year will focus on social justice reparations and remembrances for hundreds of thousands of victims of human rights violations during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet from 1973-90.

������’s and have chosen the as the next location to host a new globally focused student research initiative.

The Lender Global program was launched last year to offer students innovative research opportunities to examine social justice issues from a global perspective. The first cohort is studying environmental issues at the Syracuse Abroad center in London now. In Santiago, student fellows will study the impact and consequences of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, which lasted from 1973 to 1990, during which more than 3,000 people died or disappeared, 200,000 suffered exile and 27,000 were tortured.

Three student fellowships will be awarded to students who plan to during the 2025-26 academic year. All students who have been accepted to study there via the OrangeAbroad portal will be invited to express interest in the fellowship project.

Information Session

An online information session about the program is scheduled Thursday, Jan. 30, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. ET, with Mauricio Paredes, Santiago Center director. Students. interested in studying Spanish, human rights, engineering and/or collective memory in Santiago can register for the session .

for Fall 2025 semester Syracuse Abroad programs are currently open and have a deadline of March 15. Applications for Spring 2026 abroad programs open on May 15.

Redress, Prevention

Student fellows will take courses about that period in Chilean history and will also work on a hands-on project at a memorial museum. They will also get involved with community members, share their new findings, enhance how victims are remembered and gain an understanding of how commemorative education can help redress and prevent human rights abuses.

The initiative will be led by Director , an expert on Chilean internment camps, nationalism and U.S. involvement in Chilean politics who teaches courses about human rights, political memory and Latin American dictatorships. He will teach the course, “Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone” and lead examinations of how the country has rebuilt art, culture and institutions since 1990. ��Paredes will also guide student fellows in enhancing a current display of victims of that time at Santiago’s (Museum of Memory and Human Rights). The museum documents the human rights violations committed by the State of Chile between 1973 and 1990 and provides those .

Parades’ viewpoint on the topic is unique. He is not only a scholar of the Pinochet dictatorship and the outcomes of that era, but was also a political prisoner of that government, so understands firsthand the impacts of political violence and the importance of social justice.

“One of the most important aspects of this project is its potential to demonstrate that abolishing democracy and installing terror as a means of accomplishing political goals will affect not only one’s political enemies but can also put everyone’s safety and integrity at risk,” Paredes says. “[This project] can serve as a reminder that once terror is unleashed, nobody is safe.”

Specialized Interests

Due to its unique nature, students who have specialized capabilities and interests that align with the project are encouraged to apply.

They include:

• A Spanish-speaking fellow to conduct an archival project exploring motivations for collateral killings and work with local collections and organizations to understand what happened to victims of the dictatorship (Fall 2025)
• An engineering fellow to work with a local technician to enhance a lighting system for the museum’s exhibit of victims’ photographs (Spring 2026)
• A design-centric fellow to develop materials that will be used to share research findings with broader audiences, comprising an enhanced display at the museum (and for later exhibit on the ������ campus) (Spring 2026)

, Lender Center director, says the Santiago program’s location and structure provide students a rare opportunity in the field of social justice studies to learn about the victims of political violence and mass death and get involved with the communities that experienced those atrocities. “This is such a powerful project and it brings together many of the key topics the Lender Center has engaged with in the past. It is exactly the kind of global perspective on social justice we seek to foster with the Lender Global partnership,” he says.