Name: Michelle Snipe Email: snipe@fordham.edu Phone: 212 636-7013 NEW YORK: John Hollwitz, Ph.D., vice president of academic affairs, has appointed John P. Lehner director for the Office of Research. He will fill the vacancy left by John Cosgrove, Ph.D., an associate dean at the Graduate School of Social Service, who served as interim director for 10 months last year. Lehner joined Fordham on Aug. 29. “Lehner’s experience will serve to enhance Fordham’s cutting-edge research by exploring the many options for funded research,” Hollwitz said.
“His strong commitment to one-on-one contacts with faculty, staff and academic administrators will reinforce the University’s commitment to academic excellence and raise its national reputation as a research institution.” Lehner has served as the director of research administration for the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, as director of grants and contracts for the American Health Foundation Cancer Institute and as director of grants administration at McLean Hospital. One of Lehner’s goals at Fordham is to find additional funding to support research projects, including further investigation of Familial Dysautonomia (FD), a genetic disease that affects one in 30 individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent; technology to enhance distance education; and surveying for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus.
This funding will generate knowledge across various disciplines, enrich the educational experience of students, and enhance the University’s reputation. “I plan on putting systems in place to aid faculty who are interested in doing research and to secure funding in support of that work,” Lehner said. This will provide the infrastructure to facilitate a growth in research at the University.
