News Archive

From Refugee Camp to College Campus, Rina Cummings Redefines Her Future

SLU student Rina D. Cummings comes across as even keeled and self-possessed, even though her life has been shaken by profound transitions. Born in Liberia, she spent part of her childhood in a Ghanaian refugee camp before immigrating at 12 to America.

Publications and Media: The Latest by SLU Faculty

Sofya Aptekar published “Indebted Heroes: Debt Extraction and Military Labor in the United States” in South Atlantic Quarterly and co-authored “For Collective Liberation: Anticapitalism in the Migrant Justice Movement” for the Spring 2025 edition of Spectre …

Greetings From Our New Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Rita “Kiki” Edozie

On my first day of work, as I walked onto the 19th floor of SLU’s campus, I was pleasantly struck by Helen Keller’s famous quote displayed on the wall: “It’s a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” …

Welcome the new Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Dear SLU Community,
I am very happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Rita “Kiki” Edozie as Associate Dean for AcademicAffairs at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies …

The State of the Unions 2025: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States

Organized labor has taken center stage in the 2020s, with workers leading successful organizing drives at Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, and across a range of industries from health care to higher education …

New Scholarship Launched in Honor of Labor Leader Jay Mazur

SLU and the 21st Century ILGWU Heritage Fund are proud to announce a new scholarship to support labor leaders of exceptional promise to complete their undergraduate or graduate studies at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies …

Charge to the Graduates: Students’ Commencement Speeches

Commencement is an exciting time and a feast for all the senses — it’s understandable if one’s attention sometimes flickered away from the oratory onstage …

Here’s What Students Investigated In Their Capstones This Year

“Capstone” is a word often heard in the halls of SLU — yet most of us never learn about the content of these important student projects …

The Ultimate Education: Anna Tresvalles on Motherhood and Urban Studies

Leading up to Commencement, Anna Tresvalles knew that when she crossed the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies, she wanted her 9-month-old baby daughter Tala to be with her …

The Natural: Organizer and Future Lawyer Kaarthika Thakker

In life and work, you never know when you’ll need a good lawyer. So you may want to remember the name Kaarthika Thakker …

The Education of a Changemaker: Valedictorian Joseph Newswander

Labor Studies B.A. student Joseph Newswander is this year’s Valedictorian and will speak at Commencement on May 28. Joseph has not only excelled academically …

Q&A With Professor Kafui Attoh: A Geographer in the Right Place

Associate Professor of Urban Studies Kafui Attoh is the longest-serving professor in his department …

Elee Ballinger: Immersed in NYC’s Queer Past, Present and Future

When Elee Ballinger decided to leave her small town amid the redwood forests of northern California for college, she opted for a true urban experience: attending Hunter College, living in Brooklyn …

From Social Entrepreneur Dani Lopez, an App to Help Feed Families

For Dani Lopez, a social entrepreneur and student in the Urban Studies Master’s program, the challenges of her youth plus lessons learned from working as a financial aid administrator led her to co-found a company …

Women’s History Month: Professors’ Recommendations & Reflections

Women make up half the world’s population. How does one even begin to learn women’s history …

From Custodian to College Student: Joana Oliveras’s Journey to Labor Studies

Every weekday at 7 a.m., Joana Oliveras punches in for her shift at Baruch College …

Local 79 Intern Fights for Union Wages at Empire State Building

Adin Feder lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. After getting a bachelor’s degree in English, Feder is now a participant in Union Semester, taking classes at SLU and interning at Laborers Local 79 …

For Super-Citizen Sonia Rodriguez, Public Service Knows No Bounds

Sonia Rodriguez has held one job for 26 years, and she loves it. She’s a senior registration clerk in the Bureau of Disease Control of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene …

Insights from Election Season: Students Reflect on Campaign Experience

Below are reflections from students who worked on this fall’s political campaigns, and who responded to outreach from SLU staff. We welcome additional input, especially from those who worked for other political parties …

Climbing the Job Ladder, Natasha Bartley Aims to Lift Others

Natasha Bartley is near the home stretch of obtaining her master’s degree in Urban Studies at SLU. An employee of the city Department of Transportation for a decade …

SLU Professor Cameron Black Wins BRES Fellowship to Explore the Labor Legacy of Black Student-Athletes

College athletes bring in millions of dollars of revenue to their schools, but only in recent years have legal authorities opened the door to viewing them as college “employees” …

NSF Awards Researchers Grant To Examine AI Impacts On Transportation Workers

The transportation industry has seen rapid technological change over the past decade, much of which has been enabled by the advancement and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) …

SLU Alumni Featured In CUNY’s Inaugural 50 Under 50 Alumni List

Two SLU alumni have been recognized in CUNY’s inaugural 50 Under 50 alumni list, which celebrates exceptional graduates who have made significant strides in their respective fields over the past year …

Alumni Spotlight: Kerwin Simon

For Kerwin Simon, the chaos of Covid led to clarity around his academic and professional pursuits …

Alumni Spotlight: Koffi Bentum, Doorways and Dreams

“To get from there to here, it is about persistence, yes, but it is also about the support I’ve gotten along the way,” says Koffi Bentum, who graduated from SLU with a Bachelor of Arts in 2021 …

Alumni Spotlight: Eugene Patron Putting His Certificate to Work

Eugene Patron’s enthusiasm and positivity about his CUNY SLU experience shines brightly. “What I learned in the program was spot on!” he says …

Student Spotlight: Steamfitter Brian Hunt Steaming Toward the BA Finish Line

Steamfitting – and union membership – are in Brian Hunt’s blood. Raised in a union family, his father was a steamfitter …

California Dreamer: Pedro Freire heads west with an M.A. from SLU

For Pedro Freire (Class of 2022, MALS) the journey has been long from South America to Connecticut to CUNY to California …

Partnerships Expand Education For Worker Cooperatives!

The semester has taken off with some strong partnership with the Community and Worker Ownership Project …

CUNY SLU announces the publication of Prof. Steven Attewell’s People Must Live by Work: Direct Job Creation in America, from FDR to Reagan

Steven Attewell, a policy historian whose primary interests are U.S. social and economic policy of the 20th century, teaches Urban Studies majors …

Arthur Cheliotes, Chair of CUNY SLU’s Labor Advisory Board, received the New York City Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Arthur Cheliotes, President Emeritus of Local 1180, Communications Workers of America AFL-CIO, where he was elected as president 11 times …

Greg Mantsios

Gregory Mantsios, Dean of CUNY SLU, Receives Award from The UALE

The UALE has recognized Gregory Mantsios, Dean of CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLUS), with the 2018 UALE Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Labor Education Award …