Adams Calls on University Community to Meet U.N. Challenge

Now that Fairleigh Dickinson University has earned “special consultative status” from the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the University community has an extremely rare opportunity to meet the challenges and seize the benefits of this first-ever distinction, said FDU President J. Michael Adams.

“Students, faculty and staff have an unprecedented opportunity to become involved with important international efforts and help address challenging global issues,” Adams said. “It is now up to all of us to be proactive and take full advantage of this extraordinary privilege.”

FDU was granted the special status by the United Nations’ NGO (nongovernmental organization) Committee of ECOSOC on January 23. FDU joins more than 2,000 international organizations that have special consultative status with ECOSOC — including such groups as Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity — but it is the first comprehensive university in the world to earn the rank.

This status is granted to NGOs with special competence in the fields of activity covered by ECOSOC. The U.N. council, made up of 54 representatives from U.N. member nations, deals with such matters as human rights, crime, poverty, HIV prevention, sustainable development and population issues.

Special consultative status will allow FDU to send delegates to international conferences and meetings, and students will have access to volunteer and internship opportunities in the NGO sector. In addition, President Adams will be able to nominate faculty experts as consultants on issues under study by ECOSOC.

Gaining the consultative status has been in the works since April 2008, when Adams agreed to seek the highest level of access available for NGOs within the U.N. system. FDU’s Office of Global Learning submitted the application, and the project was led by U.N. Program Coordinator Jo Anne Murphy, with strong support from Associate Provost for Global Learning Jason Scorza.

“We had been advised that special consultative status would be difficult for us to acquire as a university and might take three to five years,” Murphy said. She represented the university throughout the complex process, which included an in-depth presentation on the university and its history, affiliations, certifications and financial profile, highlighting its global education program and activities.

“An especially challenging question in the application was regarding what we could do to support the mission of ECOSOC,” Murphy said. “During the review process, it turned out to be the most important question of all.”

New opportunities for students include access to potential internships with ECOSOC agencies, NGO committees and other initiatives that FDU may create within the ECOSOC network, Murphy said. “There will also be future opportunities for active, dedicated students to be selected by FDU to attend global conferences and events accessible only to ECOSOC-accredited NGOs,” she added.

Possible opportunities for faculty and staff with expertise of interest to ECOSOC include paid and unpaid consultancies; advisory service for specific projects, symposia and conferences; research in collaboration with U.N. teams; presentation of papers at major global conferences and events; and participation in specialized task forces.

“This special U.N. status is a tremendous honor for Fairleigh Dickinson University,” Adams said. “But it comes with an important responsibility: Our progress will be closely scrutinized because we have broken new ground with both our application and its subsequent approval. With our many passionate and talented individuals committed to global issues, I am confident we will fulfill the promise of this recognition.”