On March 3, 46 employees were celebrated at present-day Fordham for 60, 40, or 20 years of service during the annual University Convocation ceremony at the Rose Hill campus.

Forty-six faculty, staff, and administrators were recognized in Keating Hall, with their family, friends, and colleagues in attendance. 

The longest-serving honoree was Constantine “Gus” N. Katsoris, a former Greek olive oil and cheese salesman turned tax law expert. Katsoris earned his bachelor’s degree from the Gabelli School of Business in 1953 and graduated first in his class from Fordham Law School in 1957. For more than three decades, he led the law school’s annual Supreme Court bar induction ceremonies, which have admitted more than 1,000 alumni and faculty. This year, he is celebrating his 60th anniversary as a faculty member at Fordham Law, where he holds the title Wilkinson Professor of Law Emeritus. 

Other honorees include a professor who was a Truman Scholar, a duty supervisor who shepherded the University community through the pandemic, an analyst who previously worked at several Fortune 100 companies, and a department leader who is also an award-winning filmmaker. 

The honorees’ accomplishments at Fordham are wide ranging and diverse, from directing scholarships and financial services for thousands of students to conducting research on marginalized communities and mental health data. They hail from across the world, including Italy, Ireland, and Bulgaria. All of them arrived at Fordham in the 1900s, remaining for decades at the University they now call home. 

Bene Merenti Medal | Sixty Years 

Constantine N. Katsoris

Bene Merenti Medal | Forty Years 

Esther Solomon 

Bene Merenti Medal | Twenty Years

Gregory Acevedo • Ipsita A. Banerjee • Robert Henry Borrero • Melkana A. Brakalova-Trevithick • Elizabeth P. Cosenza • Anne E. Fernald • Paolo Galizzi • David D. Hamlin • Evangelos Katsamakas • Winnie W. Kung • Michael E. Lee • Sara L. Lehman • Christopher R. Maginn • Jennie Park-Taylor • Alessandro Polcri • Rosa Romeo • Nina A. Rowe • Mark F. Street • Kelly Ann Ulto • Alessia Valfredini • Gary M. Weiss • Akane Zusho 

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Forty Years 

John W. Buckley • Frank McLaughlin 

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Twenty Years 

Dennis Cassidy • Rien Chy • Steven M. D’Agustino • Jennifer Giorgio • Jaime Lyn Harkin • Dean K. Mavrovitis • Kevin D. Munnelly • Lynn Parliman • John D. Williams • Tsvetelina T. Zlatareva 

1841 Award | Forty Years 

Linda M. Perri 

1841 Award | Twenty Years

Joseph J. Arenas • Marie Hall • Robert Heihn • Robin R. Joseph • Vinetu Mamudoski • Susan K. Perciasepe • Matthew N. Peters • Maria V. Totino • Michael Woods

Some of them began working at Fordham in 1983, the same year that the internet was born. The smartphone had not yet been invented, and the gigantic Motorola mobile phone was still a “revolutionary new device.” Others arrived at Fordham in 2003. “The most popular song, which shows my age because I’ve never heard of it, was 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club,’” Fordham President Tania Tetlow said, to laughter from the audience.

Over the past few decades, all 65 Fordham honorees played their part in Fordham’s legacy. Faculty taught, mentored, and inspired generations of students, said Tetlow, while staff and administrators cared for the campus—the buildings, grounds, digital infrastructure, finances—and our community. In total, their years of service add up to 1,340. 

“One of you was actually raised on this campus,” Tetlow said, referring to Robert T. Allinger, a mail clerk who is from the Bronx and is the son of longtime Fordham employee Patricia Allinger. “Many of you went to Fordham and sent your children to Fordham. You are part of a longstanding and lifelong commitment—and the work that you do is remarkable.” 

Max Rodriguez, a 40-year employee who was born and raised in the Bronx, started working as a stockroom clerk at the Rose Hill campus when he was 23 years old. He spent most of his time in the biological sciences department, where he became a “jack-of-all trades,” acting as the departmental receptionist, handling packages, stocking the office and labs, supporting the animal care facility, and assisting the departmental administrator and chair, said Kay Turner, vice president for human resources, reading from scripted remarks. Rodriguez said his favorite part about working here is his colleagues—the “best people he’s ever worked with.” 

Rodriguez considered retiring in 2020, but decided to stick around for a little longer. 

“Today is the best opportunity to celebrate 40 years,” said Rodriguez, who is now 63 years old. “This is my second home from home.” 

Bene Merenti Medal | Forty Years 

Nancy Busch Rossnagel • Allan S. Gilbert 

Bene Merenti Medal | Twenty Years

Evelyn Bush • Su-Je Cho • Ayala Fader • Shirley Gatenio Gabel • Jennifer Gordon • Frank Handelman • Harold Daly Horell • James Y. Kim • Kathryn Kueny • Rafael Lamas • Anita Lightburn • Jason Z. Morris • Guy Robinson • Patricia E. Romero • Aaron Jay Saiger • Petr V. Shibayev • Troy L. Tassier 

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Twenty Years 

James S. Cirillo • John D’Angelo • Jenny Dumet • Laura Esposito • Calvin Brian Ghanoo • Carol A. Gibney • Rosario Gil • Anthony M. Grono • Thomas M. Kaczorowski • Joanne C. Kupidlowski • Liz Manigan • John McDonagh • Lek Ndoj • Joseph J. B. Rienti • Nelson J. Roman • Yahaira Elizabeth Toribio • Johnny Torres •  Jennifer N. Trujillo • Stacey R. Vasquez • Frances Zurinaga 

1841 Award | Forty Years 

Max Rodriguez 

1841 Award | Twenty Years

Robert T. Allinger • Peggy Baratta • Susan Brucculeri • Gilberto S. Cascante • Luigi A. D’Arco • Pascual Delvalle • Alexander Dourthe • Melanie Fairfax • Eve A. Foti • Ruben Gomez • Ejl Jankovic • Steve Madigan • Adriana Magnotta • Alejandro Martinez • Christopher ONeill • Deni Pichardo • Silvia Ramirez • Aleksander Rebisz • Jonathan J. Rodriguez • Charles F. Signorile • Tawanna Twine • Jean Walsh • Arthur O. Wanek • Gerard M. Woods