News at Adelphi

In Spring 2022, Associate Professor Jacqueline Olvera, PhD, became director of Latin American Studies.

Many consider the American South as the place where the struggle against Jim Crow laws, school segregation and civil rights took place. Yet, racism was just as deeply rooted in the North—and in Boston. Despite its reputation as the historic “cradle of liberty” and headquarters of the abolitionist movement, racial conflict exploded in Boston in…

In 2020, Carolina Cambronero Varela ‘09 and adjunct faculty member and artist Argie Agelarakis, MA ‘00, began working on a special project—to harness the power of art in support of social activism. Together, with the critical support of Stephanie Lake, PhD, director of Adelphi’s criminal justice program, they inaugurated Artivism in the spring of 2021.

Longtime Adelphi political science faculty member Regina Axelrod, PhD, died on November 3, 2022, with a legacy as an esteemed professor, campus leader, and faculty and student advocate. 

Carole Katz-Fetner ’68 honed her leadership and communications skills as an English major at Adelphi and had a powerful mentor and lifelong friend in Dean Emerita Ruth S. Harley ’24, ’50 (Hon.), alumna and namesake of our University Center in Garden City, New York.

The Hunter Performing Arts Scholarship will help propel the careers of drama majors in Adelphi’s Department of Theatre.

Adelphi University has received the prestigious Innovative Academic Support Initiative award from the American College Personnel Association's Commission for Academic Support in Higher Education (CASHE).

Recent Adelphi field hockey graduate Jackie Brown ‘21, MBA ‘22, was recognized as an NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 Nominee at the 2023 national NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on January 12, 2023. She is the third Adelphi student-athlete to make the Top 30, following Alison Johnson ‘20, MA ‘21, and Chelsea Abreu ‘19, MBA ‘21.

A multidisciplinary team's research could inform the way zoos and other groups design new homes for wildlife.

Honors College alumna Camille Pajor ’09, MBA ’16, shares her inspiring life story and explains how her career brought her to the war-torn Ukrainian border to assist refugees. It’s a story of determination, compassion and strength.

Melanie Bush, PhD, professor of sociology and an expert in teaching methods around the globe, has been awarded a Fulbright Specialist Award. During her three-year tenure, she will develop new insights into the ways we can make education more just and equitable for all.

Chuck D ’84, ’13 (Hon.), who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Adelphi, is rediscovering his college roots as an illustrator. The hip-hop pioneer is releasing his first fine art book this month, Livin’ Loud. An homage to legendary musicians in hip-hop, rap and rock, it features more than 250 of his works.

Malika Burieva, a first-generation Uzbek American, is passionate about the cultural heritage that she said has “made me into the person that I am today."

Kirsten L. Ziomek, PhD, Adelphi University associate professor of East Asian history and director of Asian studies, has been awarded a $60,000 Fellowship for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan by the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities (JUSFC-NEH).

For David Machlis, PhD, an associate professor of finance and economics at the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business and inaugural recipient of Adelphi President's Humanitarian Award, “fighting hatred is a team game and can't be done alone." As a national leader in this fight, he is piloting an exciting new program that will bring Adelphi's Black and Jewish students together to make a difference in the world.

Isuri Wijesundara '18, is a perfect example of how an arts education at Adelphi can lead graduates to careers as working artists. The combination of strong professors, talented classmates, the proximity of New York City, and a legacy of accomplished, supportive alumni guides a student's journey from their first day to beyond graduation.

"A Nation of Others," the latest work by Pulitzer Prize-winning University Professor Paul Moravec, DMA (left), explores the lives of refugees arriving at Ellis Island on a single day in 1921. It recently premiered at Carnegie Hall.

It's been another great year of academic achievement and recognition at Adelphi.

When Bharat Bhisé, MBA ’78, CEO and founder of Bravia Capital, established a distinctive new program for the Levermore Global Scholars program at Adelphi University, he said one of his objectives was to help students learn to be critical thinkers.

Little America, an acclaimed anthology series on Apple TV+, is inspired by the true stories of U.S. immigrants. All eight episodes will become available on December 9 on Apple TV+. And the third episode, “The 9th Caller,” is about a young Sri Lankan woman who is played by Isuri Wijesundara ’18. Like the title character, Wijesundara…

Adelphi is committed to transforming the lives of our students, and conducting research or working in depth on a creative project can be one of the most transformative experiences undergraduates can have at college.

“No matter how much information there is in Google, one needs the ability to ask questions, because education is an interactive experience. I believe in hands-on learning and mentorship programs.”

The Adelphi community lost a longtime professor, campus leader and student advocate with the death of Regina Axelrod, PhD, on November 3. Colleagues and alumni share their recollections.

This fall, Adelphi proudly welcomed a renowned alum back to campus. Eduardo Vilaro '85 is the CEO and artistic director of Ballet Hispánico, the largest Hispanic arts organization in the United States.

In the Fall 2021 semester, across all of higher education, faculty members sought ways to keep students safe and engaged amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Organized by two Adelphi Department of Mathematics and Computer Science assistant professors, the inaugural session of the Adelphi Summer Institute in Mathematical Epidemiology gave Long Island high school students an opportunity to conduct original research projects in mathematical epidemiology that focused on COVID-19 and cancer.

Cara Lynch ’12 has made mural magic again, this time in Long Beach, New York. Lynch’s particular brilliance is not merely eye-catching, site-appropriate public art. She has been creating public art since she graduated from Adelphi and, last semester, began teaching as an adjunct in the Department of Art and Art History. She also includes…

Graduates with an MS in applied mathematics and data science are breaking down barriers and taking on careers in STEM. One of them was advised in high school not to study science—and is now working in the Collider-Accelerator Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Recent communications alumna Ana Lyz Rodriguez ’22 created five powerful video profiles of Hispanic students at Adelphi. Watch their stories, and read about her own story as a filmmaker and advocate.