Futures Initiative

The Futures Initiative advocates greater equity and innovation in higher education at every level of the university. Housed at the Graduate Center and reaching throughout the CUNY community, the Futures Initiative empowers the next generation of intellectual leaders with bold, public, and engaged teaching and learning. With an emphasis on student-centered practices, the Futures Initiative redefines graduate preparation to include translation of specialized research into the best undergraduate teaching, including for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Futures Initiative also fosters greater understanding of the complexities of the higher education landscape by spearheading data-driven research in areas critical to institutional change. Through HASTAC@CUNY (a hub of the online network Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory), the Futures Initiative extends its collaborative peer-to-peer practices across institutions, disciplines, national boundaries, and economic and social disparities, promoting reinvestment in higher education as a public good.
On the FI Blog
More Like ThisCall for Team-Taught Courses (Fall 2022/Spring 2023)
Apply now to teach a team-taught course at the Graduate Center and serve as a Futures Initiative Faculty Fellow! Read the post.
- Announcement
2020-2021 Lennihan Arts & Sicences Grant Winners
Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Louise Lennihan Arts and Sciences grants! Each recipient will present about their work in a Fall 2021 event. Read on to learn more about each interdisciplinary project. Read the post.
- Congratulations/Kudos
Latest News
Nov 15, 2021
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR CATHY N. DAVIDSON RECEIVES THE 2021 ARTS & SCIENCES ADVOCACY AWARD
Distinguished Professor Cathy N. Davidson (English), founding director of the Futures Initiative, and a leading scholar and innovator in education, was awarded the 2021 Arts...
- Faculty News
Sep 24, 2021
THE 95TH BIRTHDAY GIFT PROFESSOR CATHY N. DAVIDSON GAVE TO HER FATHER WILL KEEP ON GIVING
By Bonnie Eissner To celebrate her father, who turned 95 this month and whose life was changed by the GI Bill, Distinguished Professor Cathy N...
- Faculty News
- Student News
Jul 1, 2021
TIME TO TRANSFORM: PRESIDENT ROBIN L. GARRELL AND PROFESSORS CATHY DAVIDSON, ANN KIRSCHNER, AND VAN C. TRAN SHARE THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON THE GRADUATE CENTER’S FUTURE AND ITS ROLE IN NYC
President Robin L. Garrell and three faculty members shared their visions for ways that the Graduate Center can transform and can contribute to the future of New York City, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
- Faculty News
- Podcast
Jun 1, 2021
For Siqi Tu, the Center Is Always Changing: A Class of 2021 Graduate on Relocating from China to New York To Germany, and Her Next Move
Her research — which also examines the effects of the increasing geopolitical tension between China and the United States, and the surge of populist anti-immigrant and anti-globalization sentiments — is particularly timely.
- Alumni News
- Student News
Who We Are

Cathy N. Davidson
Founding Director
- Futures Initiative
Distinguished Professor
- English
Distinguished Professor
- Digital Humanities
Distinguished Professor
- Data Analysis and Visualization
Distinguished Professor
- American Studies
Director of HASTAC@CUNY

Lauren Melendez
Administrative Specialist, Director of Undergraduate Leadership Program
- Futures Initiative

Adashima Oyo
Executive Director
- Futures Initiative