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October 21, 2026 By Sonia Rodriguez, Urban Studies BA student As a BA student in the Labor Studies program here at SLU, I am constantly looking for credible sources that help me connect classroom learning with real labor history and current workplace issues. One especially valuable resource is the New Labor Forum, the national labor […]

Some people go to university and can’t wait to get their degree and move on. And then there’s the people like me: you can’t keep me away from the classroom. And believe me—people have tried!   

In most professional circles, a conversation about economics is a conversation about the stock market, bonds, interest rates and dividends. For Jaylin Ward, it’s about something else: solidarity. The Bronx native’s fascination with building a solidarity economy is rooted in experience as an activist.

This fall, the SLU Urban Studies department welcomes two new faculty members. Fanon John Howell joins as a Substitute Assistant Professor and Interim Program Director for Undergraduate Studies. As a sociologist, educator and institutional leader, he focuses on urban education, educational technology and institutional change.

If you asked me five years ago whether I thought I’d be a year into my B.A. in Urban Studies at a school in Midtown Manhattan, I might have laughed. And yet, here I am, with my eye set on a big career change.

At Sushi Yu, a no-frills Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, there’s a menu option called the Ramos Sushi sandwich. It’s named for Rafael Ramos, who would gather union shop stewards and other union folks from Local 1501 of DC 37 to meet there regularly on Thursday for about a decade.

One of the most special events of the SLU year occurred on Tuesday, June 9th: the reception and award ceremony for winners of the Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship for Diversity in Labor. Awardees, their families and friends, and SLU faculty and staff mingled and celebrated on the 18th floor.

In the spring semester at SLU, “Capstone” is the buzzword! Students work hard on their biggest research projects – but most SLU community members are unaware of what’s being researched.

 A spirited Commencement ceremony for the School of Labor and Urban Studies took place at Town Hall on May 28. Graduates from all Labor Studies and Urban Studies programs strolled — and in a few cases, danced and strutted – across the stage to accept their certificates and bachelor’s or master’s degrees from Founding Dean Greg Mantsios.

This semester has been a powerful chapter in my journey as a student, union member, and emerging leader. At CUNY SLU, I’ve made meaningful progress toward my Bachelor of Labor Studies major, and I recently learned that I only have 14 credits left before I graduate. This realization has been incredibly motivating and reminds me of how far I’ve come.