“Barbara has quietly been a groundbreaking figure in the field of Catholic feminist ethics. In a non-flashy way, she has been ahead of the curve on so many issues since the 1980s,” said Christine Firer Hinze, Ph.D., chair and professor in the theology department. “This lectureship refracts much of the work that Barbara has done over the years and ensures that light will continue to shine on those issues, especially at Fordham.”

This past January, Andolsen made a bequest that will support an endowed fund for the Barbara Hilkert Andolsen Memorial Lectureship. Every year, Fordham’s theology department will host a prestigious scholar to speak on a topic related to economic, racial, or gender justice, with special attention given to marginalized racial and cultural groups. The endowed fund for the lectureship will soon be open to other contributions from the public. 

Andolsen is a feminist theologian and ethics scholar. From 2008 to 2019, she held several positions at Fordham, including the first James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics, associate director of the Center for Ethics Education, and professor of theology. Andolsen previously taught at Monmouth University, Rutgers University, and Harvard Divinity School. She earned her Ph.D. in religion from Vanderbilt University, with a specialization in Christian ethics. 

Andolsen’s research was ahead of her time, said Hinze. In her book Daughters of Jefferson, Daughters of Bootblacks: Racism and American Feminism (Mercer University Press, 1986), Andolsen wrote about how the women’s rights movement in the U.S. could have been different if more attention had been given to Black feminist perspectives. Andolsen also wrote The New Job Contract: Economic Justice in an Age of Insecurity (Wipf and Stock, 2009), the “first feminist analysis to connect religious understandings of economic justice with the issues facing both workers and the wider community,” according to the book publisher. 

“Much of her work has brought together economics, business, feminism, Catholic ethics, and social thought in distinctive ways that were really pushing the field forward. She drew attention to many issues—including racism in the women’s movement, caring for the frail elderly, technology, and job insecurity—that were on the cusp of what was happening in society and in ethics,” Hinze said. 

In a phone interview, Andolsen said the annual lectures were inspired by the work of her successor, Bryan Massingale, S.T.D., the current James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics. 

“His work made me aware that in our discipline, attention to racism as an issue has been surprisingly rare, given its social urgency. Not only is it rare, but also serious social analysis of racism appears only episodically in the official documents of the American Catholic bishops. Something will happen in society that focuses our attention on racism, and we’ll hear an idealistic statement from the bishops that denounces racism. But there won’t be any sustained attention,“ Andolsen said. 

In response, she said she decided to support an annual event that would bring consistent attention to racism and theology—both at Fordham and beyond. 

“Racism has frequently been called America’s greatest sin. I hope this lectureship gives insights to everyday people that help inform their conscientious stance on racism. It would also be wonderful if material from this lecture series came to the attention of the American Catholic bishops,” Andolsen said. “And I hope that this stimulates research among Fordham graduate students, faculty in the theology department, and other departments in the University. The scholarship available on questions of justice for African Americans and Native Americans is less than it should be in North America. There needs to be much more of it.” 

Barbara Hilkert Andolsen, Ph.D., a feminist theologian and ethics scholar, was installed as Fordham’s first James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics in a ceremony on Feb. 11.

The new chair within the Department of Theology was established through a $2 million gift from James Buckman (FCRH ’66), vice chairman of York Capital Management, and his wife, Nancy M. Buckman. The couple joined Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in welcoming Andolsen before a gathering of friends, family and faculty who filled Tognino Hall on the Rose Hill campus.

“We present you with this medal to acknowledge your position as a most accomplished researcher, educator and mentor, and to signify your special place within the Fordham family of scholars,” Father McShane said. “We are also honored that Jim and Nancy have endowed this chair. They are extraordinary benefactors, great lovers of our University, great friends of our students and believers in what we do here.”

Following the ceremony, Andolsen delivered an inaugural lecture, “Unyielding Hope: Racism and Catholic Social Thought in a New American Moment,” in which she called on American Catholics to enlist the virtue of hope in fighting against racism.

Andolsen called the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first African-American president a “new moment” in race relations, but cautioned that racism still represents a “major moral issue” in the nation.

She cited instances of Catholic moral thought addressing racism, such as the pronouncement by United States bishops that it is an “evil which endures in our society and in our church.” Recently, she said, John Paul II and Benedict XVI have acknowledged the institutional nature of racism.

However, she said that church documents addressing racism were too few and far between.

“The record of Catholic moral theology in the post-Vatican II period on racism is abysmal,” said Andolsen, borrowing a quotation from theologian Charles Curran.

A cause for concern, Andolsen said, is that even in 2009, shifting patterns of racial inequality still exist. For example, while black women and white women had achieved virtual wage parity by 1980, in the last 25 years white women have pulled ahead in professional positions. Today, Andolsen said, black women working full-time earn 15 percent less than their white counterparts.

It is through the virtue of hope, rooted in a God of infinite love, Andolsen said, that a society will advance racial justice.

“Hope enables action,” Andolsen said. “In turn, courageous moral action inspires further hope.

“We must . . . say plainly and persistently—especially persistently—that racism must be fought because it assaults the fundamental dignity of people made in the image of God, and because it constitutes a turning away from the God whose love and reconciliation is held out to each person.”

Andolsen acknowledged that for whites, it is uncomfortable to look at institutional structures that have made life easier for them. “My theological point tonight is that in the present U.S. context, the journey toward full community with God must be an arduous journey toward restoring unity with all our brothers and sisters,” she said.

The Buckmans were honored at a dinner for their generosity and interest in Christian ethics following the inaugural lecture.

James Buckman, a Bronx native who works in top-level management, spent his formative years on the Fordham campus—first at Fordham Prep and then at the University, where he earned a degree in history. He said that one only had to look in the newspaper today to recognize that “the sensitivity to social ethics has dulled over the last several decades.”

Buckman credited his time at Fordham with instilling in him the value of a classical education; the Jesuit influence taught him to look at things differently than others in the world of finance did.

“My years at Fordham absolutely distinguished my experience,” said Buckman, a member of Fordham’s Board of Trustees. “It became part of my DNA—how I see things; how I view right and wrong; the truth and the moral dimension of everything I encounter.”

In creating the chair, he and his wife, Nancy, a devoted volunteer in church and education activities, sought to help ensure that an excellent liberal arts education at Fordham will be available for generations.

“I’ve always felt that Fordham University in particular, and Jesuit universities in general, can make their greatest contributions in the areas of theology and philosophy—those two areas where they historically have a great deal of strength, and where they act as the lights of the world,” he said.

“Hopefully, this chair will give Fordham a competitive advantage in staking out this particular academic and intellectual area of expertise.”

The new chair within the Department of Theology was established through a gift from James Buckman (FCRH ’66), vice chairman of York Capital Management, and his wife, Nancy M. Buckman. The couple joined Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in welcoming Andolsen before a gathering of friends, family and faculty who filled Tognino Hall on the Rose Hill campus.

“We present you with this medal to acknowledge your position as a most accomplished researcher, educator and mentor, and to signify your special place within the Fordham family of scholars,” Father McShane said. “We are also honored that Jim and Nancy have endowed this chair. They are extraordinary benefactors, great lovers of our University, great friends of our students and believers in what we do here.”

Following the installation, the new chair delivered an inaugural lecture, “Unyielding Hope: Racism and Catholic Social Thought in a New American Moment,” in which she called on American Catholics to enlist the virtue of hope in fighting against racism.

Andolsen called the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first African American president a “new moment” in race relations, but cautioned that racism still represents a “major moral issue” in the nation.

She cited instances of Catholic moral thought addressing racism, such as the pronouncement by United States bishops that it is an “evil which endures in our society and in our church.” Recently, she said, John Paul II and Benedict XVI have acknowledged the institutional nature of racism.

However, she said that church documents addressing racism were “too few and far between.”

“The record of Catholic moral theology in the post-Vatican II period on racism is abysmal.” said Andolsen, borrowing a quotation from theologian Charles Curran.

A cause for concern, Andolsen said, is that even in 2009, shifting patterns of racial inequality still exist. For example, while black women and white women had achieved virtual wage parity by 1980, in the last 25 years white women have pulled ahead in professional positions. Today, Andolsen said, black women working full-time earn 15 percent less than their white counterparts.

It is through the virtue of hope, rooted in a God of infinite love, Andolsen said, that a society will advance racial justice.

“Hope enables action,” Andolsen said. “In turn, courageous moral action inspires further hope.

“We must . . . say plainly and persistently—especially persistently—that racism must be fought because it assaults the fundamental dignity of persons made in the image of God, and because it constitutes a turning away from the God whose love and reconciliation is held out to each person.”

Andolsen acknowledged that for whites, it is “uncomfortable” to look at institutional structures that have made life easier for them. “My theological point tonight is that in the present U.S. context, the journey toward full community with God must be an arduous journey toward restoring unity with all our brothers and sisters,” she said.

The Buckmans were honored at a dinner following the inaugural lecture. James Buckman, a Bronx native, spent his formative years on the Fordham campus—first at Fordham Prep and then at the University. It instilled in him the value of a classical education.

“My years at Fordham absolutely distinguished my experience,” said Buckman, a member of Fordham’s Board of Trustees. “It became part of my DNA—how I see things; how I view right and wrong; the moral dimension of everything I encounter.”

In creating the chair, he and his wife sought to help ensure an excellent liberal arts education at Fordham will be available for generations to come.

“I’ve always felt that Fordham University in particular, and Jesuit universities in general, can make their greatest contributions in the areas of theology and philosophy—those two areas where they historically have a great deal of strength, and where they act as the lights of the world,” he said.

“Hopefully, this chair will give Fordham a competitive advantage in staking out this particular academic and intellectual area of expertise.”