Funds Will Uplift Communities Hit Hardest by Environmental Stressors


NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2023 - Fordham University has been awarded a $50 million grant focused on environmental justice, issued through a competitive grant process by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Fordham will serve as a grantmaker to community-based groups in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and will also fund the environmental research of its own faculty.

Fordham will receive the funds over three years, working with partner organizations to help uplift disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities as well as those disproportionately affected by climate change, pollution, and other environmental stressors. Fordham is one of just 11 institutions nationwide selected to manage $550 million in federal funds earmarked for the program.

"Fordham University stands for impact on the world and finding solutions to the most urgent problems," said President Tania Tetlow. "Fordham combines cutting-edge research with a deep connection to community, building on 182 years of engagement with the Bronx and expanding outward across the globe. This project embodies Fordham's mission. We believe in the power of community-driven solutions to climate change to capture the insights and ingenuity of the people on the front lines of global warming."

Approximately $10 million of the award will be designated for the grantmaking operation and related programming, as well as for Fordham's own research. Serving as the EPA Region 2 grantmaker for the project, called the 2023 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, Fordham will allocate the remaining $40 million in subgrants ranging from $75,000 to $350,000 to foster various environmental justice initiatives. Fordham's Center for Community Engaged Learning is leading the initiative, which will be directed by Julie Gafney, Ph.D., and Surey Miranda.

Community and Academic Partners

The University is collaborating with key community and academic partners, including the New York Immigration Coalition, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, ConPRmetidos in Puerto Rico, Community Foundation Virgin Islands, Business Initiative Corporation of New York, and several universities across the target regions. This collaborative approach will ensure a broader impact and integrate the University's research and teaching with real-world environmental justice efforts.

Communities will be able to apply to Fordham for a subgrant to fund a range of different environmental project activities, including small local clean ups, local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs, environmental workforce development programs, air quality and asthma related projects, healthy homes programs, and projects addressing illegal dumping. Each subgrant will be bolstered by a Community of Practice group that includes faculty, community leaders, and graduate assistants, ensuring comprehensive support and maximizing effectiveness.

"We are grateful to have worked alongside our partners across EPA Region 2 to ensure accessibility to this much-needed funding for all. We aim to ensure that the most impacted communities can leverage the funding and technical assistance available through the program. This will help build their capacity and strengthen the work already taking place in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands," said Miranda.

This award from the EPA underlines Fordham's commitment to public impact research and STEM curricular development, as well as the University's engagement with communities as they respond to the most pressing issues facing our city and our nation.

"This grant is the direct product of Fordham's commitment to center environmental justice and sustainability in our public impact teaching, learning, and research," said Gafney. "In Fordham's Flourishing in Community (FIC) Grantmaker Initiative, we created a transformative approach that offers a new vision of higher education: one that values community impact alongside cutting-edge research. Our initiative not only provides grants to disadvantaged and disproportionately impacted communities, but also extends to comprehensive wraparound support, ensuring the sustainability and impact of these crucial community-led projects."

To learn more, visit the Fordham News website.

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition across nine schools. Fordham awards baccalaureate, graduate, and professional degrees, and enrolls approximately 17,000 students in Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, the Gabelli School of Business (undergraduate and graduate), the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, the Graduate School of Social Service, and the School of Law. The University has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan; the Westchester campus in West Harrison, New York; the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, New York; and the Fordham London campus in the United Kingdom.

Those interested in learning more about the program—including how to apply for grants—can fill out this form.

SOURCE Fordham University