LIGHT LANDSCAPE - KIDI, PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN'S AFFILIATE IN JAPAN, TO EXHIBIT AT THE ISAMU NOGUCHI SCULPTURE GARDEN MUSEUM

Contacts:

Lauren Erlichman, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 206
[email protected]

Gloria Gottschalk, New School University
212-229-5667, ext. 239
[email protected]

MILANO GRADUATE SCHOOL ANNOUNCES NEW FELLOWS PROGRAM
AND FINANCE LAB FOR MINORITY LEADERS IN COMMUNITY FINANCE
AND GLOBAL CAPITAL MARKETS

(New York, NY – July 31, 2001) Beginning in fall 2001, the Milano Graduate School at New School University will begin offering a fellows program to develop minority leaders with expertise in community finance and global capital markets. Dean Edward J. Blakely, a national authority on community finance, will lead the Milano Fellows Program along with an outstanding faculty at the Milano Graduate School. The program will include three complementary components: academic, research and practical field experience.

"What makes this program truly unique is that the selected students, the Milano Fellows, will enter graduate school as college seniors and will complete their undergraduate requirements through the Milano Graduate School," said Edward J. Blakely, Dean of the Milano Graduate School. "Upon completion of certain courses, the student will be granted credit toward graduation at their home institution and be given a year of credits towards the Milano Graduate Degree in Urban Policy with a concentration in Community Economic Development. This approach means the Milano Fellows will be ready to take on professional roles in only one year after their official graduation date from their undergraduate college."

As urban areas are quickly transitioning from impoverished to "emerging markets," the inner city is now being viewed by the private sector as a target for new economic opportunity. For the first time in half a century, the inner city faces a dearth of human, rather than financial capital. Most community development organizations lack the financial talent essential to building businesses and capturing necessary wealth. The Milano Fellows Program initiative aims to expand the pool of minority leaders with expertise in community finance and global capital markets.

Students will receive, both in the classroom and via internships, a firm grounding in global finance forms and agencies and an introduction to capital market strategies for low-income communities. Arrangements have also been made for students to attend a three-week program in either London or Berlin, focusing on global capital markets between their first and second year of the program. At the conclusion of the program, students will complete an internship in a major international financial institution and a community development corporation in New York.

The Milano Fellows will receive full two-year tuition scholarship, and dormitory housing will be provided. For further information on the program, call Kathleen Gunn at 212/229-5311, ext. 1813.

All Milano Fellows will participate in the newly formed Finance Lab, where they will be engaged in various research projects related to the financial aspects of community development projects and programs. The Finance Lab focuses community based organizations on how to become active participants in the new market. The new Finance Lab will be the portal to nonprofit organizations for high quality and timely information on capital markets. The uniqueness of the Finance Lab, a private-public partnership, is demonstrated by the interest expressed by private capital finance institution in community building. The Advisory Board comprises Wall Street and Community Development Executives.

The Milano Graduate School helps train management professionals for urban centers around the world who are committed to advancing the vital role urban institutions – including government, nonprofit organizations and corporations – play in invigorating and strengthening American society. The School holds as its special responsibility the development of leaders who will stimulate improvement in the quality of life in New York. The School also responds to the intellectual and professional challenges on a wide range of issues in rapidly changing global organizations.

Edward J. Blakely (Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles) is Dean of the Milano Graduate School and Professor of Urban Policy. He was most recently Dean and Lusk Professor of Planning and Development at the School of Urban Planning and Development of the University of Southern California. Dr. Blakely is an internationally recognized scholar in urban community development, and has also been a successful practitioner in strategic planning, financing, real estate development and project management. Additionally, Dr. Blakely has co-authored a book with Susan L. Giles on Fundamentals of Economic Development and Finance (Sage Publications, June 2001).

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The Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy is a division of New School University and its mission is consistent with New School University’s tradition as an innovative urban university. Committed to enabling its students to respond effectively to the intellectual and professional needs of the 1990s and beyond, the Milano Graduate School has structured its curriculum to encourage creative thinking about progressive social, economic, and political change. Free from narrow academic traditionalism, the Milano Graduate School’s students pursue Master of Science degrees in fields of critical importance to urban areas. For further information on the Milano Graduate School, call 212/229-5400 orgo to the Web site at www.newschool.edu.

New School University, with 7,000 matriculated students and 25,000 continuing education students, is comprised of seven academic divisions: The New School, the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College, Mannes College of Music, the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, and the Actors Studio Drama School, as well as the University's B.F.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music. New School Online University offers one of the largest selections of online courses in the nation. For further information about admission to New School University, call 877-528-3321 or go to the Web site at www.newschool.edu.