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

Bene Merenti Medal | Forty Years
Janis Barry • Joseph J. Lawton III  • Hans V. Minnich
Robert K. Moniot • Hrishikesh Vinod

Bene Merenti Medal | Twenty Years
Elaine Black • Andrew H. Clark  • George E. Demacopoulos
Sebastian Douglas • J. Andrew Foster • Caroline M. Gentile
Mary T. Harrington • Debra Wallace Hertz • Amir Idris
Maureen Janeski • Javier Jiménez Belmonte • Gregory Jones
James Russell Kelly • Thomas H. Lee • Damian M. Lyons
Catherine Powell • Monica Rivera Mindt • Casey Ruble
Booi Themeli • Karen E. Williams

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Forty Years 
Anna Maria Conte • Carol Murabito

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Twenty Years 
Renaldo D. Alba • John Bach • Alan Cafferkey
Jessica Collins • Tara Czechowski • Denise Daniel-Mack
Stafford Davis • Ursula J. Duran • Janeira Farrano-Martinez
Francoisline Joy Freeman • Audrey Glassman • Raul Herrera
Patrick Holt • Claudia Mancia Parone  • Abel Ponce Montez
Darin Neely • Francis Petit • Francesca A. Riese
Gerald A. Salvador • Charles-Henri Sanson • Gil Severiano
Michael Szabo

Sursum Corda Award
Robert F. Dineen • Verenika Lasku • Carolyn Velazquez-Atis

Though the events were virtual, the unique contributions, talents, and personal dedication of the honorees came through in the citations that were read aloud. Attendees also got to hear personal anecdotes about the award recipients, learn more about their families, and hear about the kindness they’ve shown to colleagues over the years.

At the University Convocation ceremony, Fordham deans Maura Mast, Ph.D., of Fordham College at Rose Hill, and Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, read the citations for faculty who received Bene Merenti medals in celebration of 20 and 40 years of teaching. Administrators celebrating those anniversaries were honored with the Archbishop Hughes medal, and their citations were read aloud by Vice Provost Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D.; Chief Financial Officer Martha Hirst; and Jeff Gray, senior vice president for student affairs.

In his invocation, Michael McCarthy, S.J., vice president for mission integration and planning, took note of the challenges and tragedies brought by the pandemic and asked God to “deepen our gratitude” for the honorees.

“Give us gratitude. For our lives, for our breath. For our common mission for each other. Deepen our gratitude for those we are honoring today,” he prayed. “Who have set down roots in this place for some 20 or 40 years. And give them the gift of personal satisfaction in the fruits of their labors.”

At the 1841 awards, which celebrate the University’s longtime support staff, the honoree’s citations were read by members of Fordham’s senior leadership, including John Buckley, vice president for admission and student financial services; Marco Valera, vice president of administration; and Gray. The ceremony was originally scheduled for fall 2020, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.

In his closing remarks, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, said that despite the remote format, “this gives us an opportunity to be welcomed into your homes.”

He told the honorees how grateful he was to them for being the University’s “frontline workers” in a difficult year.

“Every year you do great things. Every day you do great things. But this year, I have to say, you outdid yourselves.”

The names of all the honorees are below.

Convocation

Bene Merenti Medal | Forty Years
Mary E. Procidano • Robert Wharton

Bene Merenti Medal | Twenty Years
Eva D. Badowska • Jane Bolgatz • Dennis Cappello
Jeannine Hill Fletcher • Esther Lomas Sampedro
Elizabeth Maresca • Dana B. Marlowe • Dawn Akemi Saito
David Storey • Eileen van Buren • An Yan

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Forty Years 
Roberta B. Willim

Archbishop Hughes Medal | Twenty Years 
Javed Ahamad • Yevgeniya Alkayeva • George Bodarky
Russell Borris • Stephen G. Brown • Brendan H. Cahill
Alexander Del Rosario De La Cruz  • Jose A. Deleon
Charles D. Elwood • Scott J. Kwiatkowski • Richard Miranda
Mary Nolan • Kate O’Brien-Nicholson • Catherine A. O’Hara
Laura Gibney O’Shea • Edward Palermo • Midge Quinn
Janeen Shaitelman • Dawn M. Silvestri • Christian P. Steriti
Carolyn Velazquez-Atis

Sursum Corda Award
Anthony Fata • Maureen Keown • Gil Severiano

1841 Awards

Twenty Year Medalists
Roberto P. Acebo | Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Gilbert Arocho | Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
William J. Bandiera | University Libraries
Carlos M. Beltre | Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
Napoleon R. Canete | Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
Melissa Cintron | Development and University Relations
Angela L. Flynn | Office for Student Involvement
Antonio Gomez Jr. | Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
Thomas J. Iaccarino | Grounds & Transportation
Carmen Jimenez | Custodial Services, Rose Hill
William Milite | University Libraries
Karl M. Mitchell | Facilities Operations, Rose Hill
Carmen Ortiz | Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Kathleen K. Piekarski | Enrollment Services Operations
Gerard P. Rafferty | Facilities Operations, Rose Hill
Diane L. Roche | Academic Summer Session
Ramiz Rugovac | Custodial Services, Rose Hill

Forty Year Medalists
File Gazivoda | Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Nikolla Zadrima | Facilities Operations, Rose Hill

Photos were contributed by the award recipients.

“I believe with all my heart, therefore, that the present challenging moment is an opportunity, an opportunity to listen and to heal, an opportunity truly to become what our founding documents promised at the time of our national beginnings,” Father McShane said to more than 700 viewers watching his lecture live. 

In a 34-minute speech broadcast from Bepler Commons, Father McShane outlined the University’s diversity efforts, new appointments, admissions data, fundraising results, finances, rankings, and accomplishments from the 2019-2020 fiscal year. 

Diversity and Anti-Racism Efforts and Initiatives

George Floyd’s May 25 murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, triggered “a call to a national examination of conscience on race relations and on racism itself,” Father McShane said, adding that Fordham must answer the call, too. 

“The heartfelt testimony given by members of our community in the course of the summer have made it searingly clear that racism is present here at Fordham. As painful as that admission may be, we must face up to it,” said Father McShane. “Therefore, let me be clear: anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion are institutional and mission priorities at Fordham.” 

This summer, the University developed and published an Action Plan for Confronting Racism and Educating for Justice, which contains nearly 40 concrete action steps that Fordham will take in the coming months and years. Father McShane stressed that this plan is only the beginning and that it will evolve over time with the input of members of the Fordham community. 

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize from the heart to those members of the Fordham family who have suffered the painful sting of racism here at Fordham,” he said. “Let us now take up and meet the challenges that lie before us.”

Financial Ups and Downs in the COVID Era

Father McShane also addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on the University.

To prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, he said, the Fordham Forward Task Force worked with deans, faculty, and staff to create a flexible hybrid model of instruction, ensure that facilities were safe and sanitized, and outline a detailed approach to monitoring the health of the community. To create a contingency budget, Father McShane and the cabinet studied 18 different scenarios and found that the University needed to close a gap of $105 million. Thanks to several different steps, including the utilization of unspent money from endowment funds, the University is now approximately $16 million away from a balanced budget for the 2021 fiscal year. 

Fordham raised $52,338,612 in donations last year, down substantially from the $67 million that was raised the previous year when it closed the $175 million Faith and Hope Campaign for financial aid. Father McShane noted that planning has begun for Fordham’s next campaign, which will focus on the student experience. While donors have shown enthusiasm for the campaign, he said, “there is also some hesitancy about entering the public phase of the campaign before late in the fall of 2021.”

Admissions

Last year, the University experienced its 28th year of application growth. As a result of the pandemic, 2,059 students enrolled at the end of the cycle—a decline of roughly 200 from last year. Fordham offered admission to 52.5% of those who applied. The incoming class has an average GPA of 3.64, Father McShane said, and boasts greater diversity than last year’s new cohort. Thirty-nine percent of incoming students are from traditionally underrepresented groups, up two percentage points from last year’s count. And 108 students were enrolled in the University’s HEOP program. 

In light of the pandemic, Father McShane said the University had to increase its financial aid budget in order to enroll the entering class and make it possible for many upper-class students to return.

New Appointments

Fordham also made several key new hires, including Tyler Stovall, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The University welcomed 45 new scholars, including six endowed professors and 34 tenure-track faculty members. More information about them will be available shortly in a traditional opening-of-school memo. 

Rankings 

In his address, Father McShane said that this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings were embargoed for a few more days, but that he would share the results soon.

On Sept. 14, Father McShane announced that Fordham “saw a significant turnaround,” rising from #74 to #66, a rise of eight spots in one year. Looking more closely at the numbers, this year Fordham is at #41 among private research universities in the country; #7 among research universities in New York state; #6 among Catholic research universities; and #4 among Jesuit research universities.

Over the course of the year, U.S. News released other rankings for Fordham schools, including the School of Law, which jumped from #39 to #27. (Read more about Fordham’s rankings.)

At the end of his speech, Father McShane thanked the Fordham community for their tireless work for the University and its students, especially at an unprecedented time in history. 

“Your generosity of heart and devotion to the mission of the University fill me with hope, as we face this most challenging year in our history together,” Father McShane concluded. “My friends, my sisters and brothers, my colleagues, my companions in mission: we will get through this … Of that I am certain.” 

Read the full text of Father McShane’s 2020 State of the University address here.

Welcome back. Welcome to the opening of the 180th academic year in the University’s history, a year that promises to be one of the most challenging years (if not the most challenging year) in our history. As we begin, I would invite you join me in praying for several of our colleagues who died in the course of the past six months: Fr. Joseph O’Hare, S.J., the longest serving president in our history; Dr. Joseph Cammarosano, a distinguished professor of economics who served for a period of time as our executive vice president (who is widely credited with saving the University in a period of financial peril); Fr. Daniel Sullivan, S.J., a longtime member of the Department of the Biological Sciences; Fr. Raymond Schroth, S.J, a former member of the Department of Communications who was a great and towering presence on campus for many years; Fr. Donald Moore, S.J., a longtime member of the theology department who was known and loved by many; Professor Joel Reidenberg, a peerless educator and a dear friend to all who were blessed to know him; and Professor Joseph Sweeney, another legendary member of the law school faculty. Let us pray in thanksgiving for their lives and their service to our beloved University.

In the course of our time together today, I would like to cover the topics or areas that I normally cover in the State of the University address, namely: New Appointments, Admissions, Fundraising, Diversity Efforts and Initiatives, Rankings and Accomplishments, and Finances, all of which are covered in detail in the customary letters that I send out at the beginning of every academic year.

Before turning to those topics, however, I would like to reflect with you on the two major issues/events of the past year: the pandemic and the blossoming of a new civil rights movement aimed at addressing racism in our country.

Confronting Racism and Educating for Justice

401 years ago, the first enslaved Africans were brought to America against their will. 157 year ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 155 years ago, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. 56 years ago, the Civil Rights Act was passed. 55 years ago, the Voting Rights Act was passed. 108 days ago (on 25 May), George Floyd was killed on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

401 years. Our nation is at an inflection moment in its history. After centuries, we still have not created the kind of nation that our founding documents promised to create. That is to say, we have not succeeded in creating a country and a culture in which all of our citizens are truly equal, a nation in which each citizen is treated with dignity, respect, reverence, and supportive affection, rather than with brutality, disrespect, and exclusion. Sadly, and tragically, the Black community has never enjoyed the kind of respect, and has never had access to the range of opportunities that other communities in our country have had. Therefore, the heartfelt protests that have occurred across the country in the aftermath of the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd are both a cry of the heart from a community that has been the victim of systemic racism for our entire history, and a call to a national examination of conscience on race relations and on racism itself. This is, then, indeed an inflection moment for us. This is a moment for hard, uneasy but absolutely necessary conversations, conversations that can (if we listen attentively to what the protesters are saying) lead to the creation of that “more perfect union” spoken of in the preamble to the Constitution.

I believe with all my heart, therefore, that the present challenging moment is an opportunity, an opportunity to listen and to heal, an opportunity truly to become what our founding documents promised at the time of our national beginnings. I may be wrong, but I think that the peaceful protests that have taken place all over our country in the course of the summer are the beginning (or the first sentences) of our necessary national conversation. They have brought together people from every race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and age group in our country, all united in the strong belief and an urgent message that Black Lives Matter, that Black Lives Are Sacred. They have called us to understand, in this inflection moment in our national history, that attention must be paid, and that change must be effected.

We at Fordham have not been immune to these tensions and this pain. The heartfelt testimony given by members of our community in the course of the summer have made it searingly clear that racism is present here at Fordham. As painful as that admission may be, we must face up to it. Therefore, let me be clear: anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion are institutional and mission priorities at Fordham, priorities that grow out of our identity as an American, Catholic, and Jesuit institution located in the City of New York. As a result of our roots, our mission calls us to treat not just every member of the Fordham community but indeed every human being with respect, affirmation, reverence, and affection. That same mission calls upon us to confront racism and to educate for justice. (With regard to confronting racism, let us be honest. This is and will be an ongoing challenge, for we will be called upon to confront both the kind of blatant, brutal racism that was behind the deaths of George Floyd and so many others of our sisters and brothers, and the racism of indifference that gives blatant racism its real power: the racism of the blind eye, the racism of silence, and the racism of self-absolution.) In the course of the summer, the University developed and published an Action Plan for Confronting Racism and Educating for Justice. The plan contains nearly 40 concrete actions that we will be taking in the coming months and years. I want to stress, however, that the plan is just a beginning. I also want to stress that it will (and must) evolve over time—with the input of the members of the Fordham community. For my part, I want to take this opportunity to apologize from the heart to those members of the Fordham family who have suffered the painful sting of racism here at Fordham. Let us now take up and meet the challenges that lie before us.

The Pandemic and Its Fallout

Six months ago yesterday, we made the difficult but necessary decision to send our students home and to complete the 2019–2020 school year remotely. As you know, after only two days (to give the faculty time to adjust their courses to an online format and to allow the students time to get home), we resumed the semester remotely. Initially, we thought that we might be able to return to normal at the end of spring break. By that time, however, it was clear that the national health emergency would not be over in such a short period of time. Therefore, the final third of the semester was completely online.

I cannot thank the faculty enough for the energy, creativity, and generosity of heart that they showed as they made the difficult transition to online instruction. I also cannot thank the staff of the University enough for all that they did to make the students’ departure from our campuses so smooth. (I would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary work done by the study abroad office staff to get hundreds of students back to the United States and to place them in online courses at Fordham.)

When it became clear that we would not be able to complete the semester on-ground, we had to face the task of balancing a budget that suddenly had a $38 million hole in it ($25 million of which was devoted to refunding room and board charges for our resident students). In order to close the gap, we suspended all University travel, froze all salaries and hiring, and swept as much of the money in discretionary accounts as we could to the bottom line. As a result, we were able to finish the year with a balanced budget.

As the pandemic continued to rage (and as the metropolitan area saw catastrophically high numbers of cases and fatalities), we faced a new set of challenges: drawing up a plan for reopening for the fall semester; creating a contingency budget that would be based on a set of informed assumptions concerning enrollment and expenses; and preparing the campuses to receive students back.

With regard to the planning, informed by the guidelines drawn up by the state and the CDC, the Fordham Forward Task Force drew up a plan that would (we believed) make it possible to resume our work and fulfill our educational mission. Dr. Jacobs worked with the deans and the faculty to develop a hybrid flex model of instruction; Mr. Valera worked with his staff to ensure that our facilities would be up to the codes that the state and the city developed; Mr. Gray worked with his staff to prepare for the safe return of our students. Since the health and well-being of every member of the community was our first and central concern, the task force worked especially hard on developing a layered approach to monitoring the health of the community, an approach that included preliminary education, universal testing (followed by surveillance testing), universal daily screening and contract tracing, as well as a universal mandate for the use of face coverings on campus.

With regard to creating a contingency budget, the cabinet and I went through an extended period devoted to scenario planning, during which we looked at 18 different scenarios. The general headings for the exercise were three:

-On-ground for the full year;
-Online for the full year;
-Online for one semester, and on-ground for one semester.

Under each of these headings, we considered the following variations:

-Full enrollment (based on the preliminary budget that we had built, which was itself based on last year’s budget); then budgets based on projected enrollment declines of 5%, 10%, 12%, 15%, and 25%.

After taking the temperature of our admissions markets, the experience of our peer and aspirant schools, as well as the situation in metropolitan New York, we focused our attention on the scenario that assumed that we would have one semester online and one semester on-ground, and that we would experience a 12% drop in enrollment. (As it turns out, we seem to have landed where that scenario predicted that we would. That meant that we had to close a budget gap of $105 million—the gap between the budget that we had planned to present to the Board in April and a budget that would be based on the conditions I just outlined.)

In drawing up the contingency budget, we were guided by three principles:

1. People come first. Therefore, we have done all we can to hold on to our people, the treasure that makes the University what it is and has always been.
2. We will do all we can to protect and preserve the University and its mission, the mission of providing our students with a world-class Jesuit education that is informed by our commitment to excellence, rigor, and cura personalis.
3. The need to emerge from the pandemic with the strength needed to fulfill our mission and to confront the challenges of the future with renewed hope and vigor.

All of our budget discussions, debates, and tussles have been guided by these principles. I wish that I could tell you that it was a painless exercise, but that would be a lie. The discussions were at times tense. At times, they were hard and painful. The budget that we put together is also a hard one, and one that includes a number of painful but necessary cuts.

Among other things, we have:

-Continued the hiring and salary freezes that we imposed in March;
-Suspended all University-sponsored travel;
-Suspended our overseas operations;
-Pared discretionary spending to the bone;
-Cut back on part-time work;
-Cut back on the use of outside consultants;
-Introduced voluntary separation plans for clerical workers and administrators;
-Reduced University events;
-Reduced hourly labor;
-Utilized unspent endowment funds;
-Tapped all contingency funds;
-Reduced capital spending.

At the present moment, we are approximately $16 million away from a balanced budget for the 2021 fiscal year. We are watching enrollment figures, expenses, and residence hall occupancy (which is now down by 33%—with 1,595 empty beds on our campuses) by the day to see if we will have to seek additional cuts to the budget on top of the $16 million that I just mentioned. For my part, I have to tell you that I stand in awe of the generosity of heart, the patience, and the devotion to Fordham and its mission that every member of the University has shown in the face of these challenges. And my heart is filled with gratitude to all of you. Every day. We will get through this. Of that I am certain. That, of course, is not enough. We have to come through standing tall and ready to continue the sacred mission of the University, a university that has withstood the Civil War, the World Wars, the Great Depression, and a host of other challenges.

Endowment

As a result of the careful policies adopted by the board, a market that has proven to be rather turbulent and resilient at the same time, and conservative budging, the endowment and operating investments now stand at approximately $810 million, down $30 million from $840 million last year.

Fundraising in the COVID Era

Although we were in good shape on the fundraising front for the first three quarters of the fiscal year, the pandemic had a negative impact on the final quarter (the quarter during which we usually close many of the gifts that we have been working on). As a result, when we closed the books on the fiscal year, we had raised only $52,338,612, down substantially from the $67 million that we had raised the previous year when we closed out the $175 million Faith and Hope Campaign for Financial Aid.

As I mentioned at last year’s Convocation, as soon as the last campaign was over, we began to plan for our next campaign, a campaign that will focus on raising money to enrich the student experience in all of our schools, and whose goal has tentatively been set for between $350 and $400 million. We engaged the services of Community Counseling Services to assist us in the preparations for the campaign. Their research has indicated that there is great enthusiasm among our donors for the campaign, but that there is also some hesitancy about entering the public phase of the campaign before late in the fall of 2021.

Fundraising was not the only Development casualty of the pandemic. Our traditionally full calendar of alumni visits had to be pared down considerably after 9 March. (This meant that we were not able to hold “fusion” events to which we invite both our alumni and our prospective students. Since our yield from the student groups who attend our fusion events on the road is around three times higher than our overall yield rate, this had an impact on our admissions efforts as well.) We intend to return to the road as soon as the national health emergency is over.

Admissions in the COVID Era

Undergraduate Admissions:

Last year, we had our 28th year of application growth. In fact, this past year, we received and processed 47,884 applications for admission to our three traditional-age undergraduate colleges, 16 more than last year. We offered admission to 52.5% of those who applied. At the end of the cycle, we enrolled a total of 2,059 students, a decline of roughly 200 from last year. (In order to enroll the entering class and to make it possible for many of our upper-class students to return, we had to increase our financial aid budget. As a result, our discount rate rose, putting further strain on the budget.) The quality indices for the class are very strong: the average entering SAT for the class is 1336, down 19 points from last year’s average, and the average entering GPA is 3.64. The number of National Merit Scholars is 43 (down from 54) and the number of National Hispanic Scholars is 57 (down from 62). The number of Presidential Scholars is 6 (even with last year).

As for demographic breakdown, the following are our top 10 feeder states:

New York: 37%
New Jersey: 14%
Connecticut: 7%
Massachusetts: 5%
California: 5%
Pennsylvania: 4%
Texas: 3%
Illinois: 2%
Florida: 2%
Maryland: 1%

In addition, we have 114 international students in the freshman class, down from 168 last year.

As for gender breakdown: the class is 41 percent male and 59 percent female.

As for ethnicity, 39 percent are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society. While total enrollment fell from 2,236 to 2,059, Asian enrolls went up from 286 to 310.

Finally, we enrolled 108 students in our HEOP program.

New Hires and Appointments

I would like now to turn to the first topic that I mentioned a few moments ago, namely the introduction of a key new hire:

Dr. Tyler Stovall, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Stovall comes to Fordham from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he was dean of the Humanities Division and Distinguished Professor of History. Before arriving at UCSC in 2015, he served as dean of the Undergraduate Division of Letters and Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2016–2017, Dr. Stovall served as president of the American Historical Society, the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. He earned a Ph.D. in modern European/French history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Internal Promotions and Appointments

Ms. Margie Ball has been named Secretary of the University and General Counsel of the University.
Dr. Akane Zusho has been named the Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Education.
Mr. Edward Kull has been named the Interim Athletic Director of the University.
Mr. Nicholas Milowski has been named the Assistant Treasurer of the University.

Faculty Hiring

This year, we have welcomed 45 scholars to the faculty of the University. They include 6 endowed professors, 34 tenure-track faculty members, and 5 non-tenure track visiting scholars. (You will find more information on these new scholars in one of the traditional opening-of-school memos that I will send out next week.)

Rankings and Accomplishments:

Rankings and rating first. As you know, in the course of the past several years, we have seen our U.S. News ranking among national research universities fall from a high of #53 to a disappointing #74 last year. Thanks to the hard work of many members of the University community, this year we saw a significant turnaround: we rose from #74 to #66, a rise of 8 spots in one year.

Looking more closely at the numbers, this year we are #41 among private research universities in the country; #7 among research universities in New York state; #6 among Catholic research universities; and #4 among Jesuit research universities.

Overall: #66

• Rankings in the Categories Behind the Overall Ranking:
• Peer Assessment: 3.3 (up from 3.1)
• Undergraduate Teaching: #44 (down from 34 last year)
• Student Excellence/Selectivity: #69 (up from 70 last year)
• Pell Graduation: 80%
• Faculty Resources: #56 (down slightly from 54 last year)
• Financial Resources: #108 (up slightly from 110 last year)
• Graduation and Retention: #73 (up from 78 last year)
• Veterans’ Ranking: #38 (up from 45 last year)
• Alumni Giving: #45 (up from 52 last year)
• Best Value Ranking: #82 (up from 87 last year)
• Social Mobility: #203 (which puts us at #23 among the top 70, and #34 among the top 100; as well as #6 among private schools in the top 70 and #8 among all schools in the top 100)

In addition, I remind you that The Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked us #15 among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of very modest means.

The Gabelli School of Business

• Undergraduate Program: #67 (down slightly from 66 last year)
• Entrepreneurship: #15
• Finance: #14
• International Business: #10
• Marketing: #20

Graduate Program:

• Full-Time MBA: #80
• Part-Time MBA: #58

The School of Law

• Overall: #27 (up from 39 last year)
• Part-Time Program: #2 (up from 3 last year)
• Trial Advocacy: #9
• Dispute Resolution: #13
• Clinical Training: #17
• Intellectual Property Law: #21
• Business-Corporate: #17
• Contracts-Commercial Law: #23
• Criminal Law: #17
• Constitutional Law: #25

Separately, in the recently released National Law Journal’s “Go-To Law Schools” ranking, Fordham Law ranked 21 overall and 11 in alumni promoted from associates to partner. This ranking is based on law schools that sent the highest percentage of the J.D. class of 2019 to the largest 100 law firms.

The Graduate School of Social Service: #25

The Graduate School of Education: #39

Achievements and Accomplishments

Student Achievements

Prestigious Fellowships and Scholarships: 235 Awards, 2 Alternates, 14 Finalists, 5 Semifinalists.

Highlights include seven Fulbright U.S. Student Program (with two alternates); one Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship in Cote d’Ivoire; one Fulbright Hays Fellowship in Senegal and Burkina Faso; one Coro Fellowship; three Critical Language Scholarships; one Henry Luce Fellowship (declined); one Boren Fellowship; one MacArthur Fellowship; one Goldwater Fellowship; two Department of Defense (DoD) Cybersecurity Scholarships; two Truman
finalists; one University of St. Gallen’s Wings of Excellence Award; two U.S. Presidential Management Fellows; one Horatio Alger Award; one Technology and Public Purpose Fellowship; one NYC Urban Fellowship; two U.S. Department of State Student Internships (Undergraduate); four U.S. Department of State Student Internships (Graduate); one DHS Honors Internship Award; one American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship; one U.S. Foreign Service Award; three continuing Clare Boothe Luce Fellows; one Clare Boothe Luce Fellow; four continuing Clare Boothe Luce Scholars; six Clare Booth Luce Scholars; and four Clare Boothe Luce Summer Research Scholars.

Acceptances into Medical and Law Schools

Doctoral-level health professional admissions: 114 students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the College of Professional and Continuing Studies applied for admission to doctoral-level health professions programs last year. (These programs include M.D. and D.O. programs, M.D./Ph.D. programs, dentistry, veterinary, optometry, and other health professions schools.) To date, 78% of those applicants were admitted to at least one program, up just slightly from last year.

Law school admissions: 228 students or alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the Gabelli School of Business applied for admission to law school. As was the case last year, 84% were admitted to at least one program. (Nationally, admissions were somewhat lower this year, so Fordham’s admissions rate is 14% above the national average.)

Faculty Achievements

Scholarly Work: In the past year, our faculty published 202 books and book chapters and 554 articles, with the following breakdown:

• Arts and Sciences: 130 books and book chapters, 252 articles
• Business: 10 books and book chapters, 116 articles
• Education: 2 books and book chapters, 37 articles
• Religion and Religious Education: 4 books and book chapters, 5 articles
• Social Service: 15 books and book chapters, 78 articles
• Law: 41 books and book chapters, 66 articles

In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $11.55 million.

Let me close now, if I could, by thanking all of you for all that you do for the University and its students every day. Your work on behalf of our students has always been extraordinary. During this past very challenging year, however, you have outdone yourselves. Every one of you. Every member of the University community: faculty, staff, and administration. You have given of yourselves generously. You have given of yourselves selflessly. You have worked as if there were no clock. (In fact, I know many of you have worked long into the night every night to make sure that the work of the University could continue, that the mission of the University might be accomplished every day in these difficult times.) Your generosity of heart and devotion to the mission of the University fill me with hope, as we face this most challenging year in our history together.

As I said before, I will repeat now. My friends, my sisters and brothers, my colleagues, my companions in mission: we will get through this. We will get through this. Of that I am certain. But as I also said before, just getting through is not enough for us. We’re Fordham. Therefore, we are what I refer to as a necessary university, a university that takes upon itself the great and challenging work of educating students who become graduates with a difference: graduates whose lives are lived by a sense of purpose, the noble purpose of transforming the world. The work of educating hearts and minds to take on that task is always necessary, but especially at this time—for the good of the whole human family.

And so, my dear friends, Fordham is necessary. And if Fordham is, it is necessary for us not merely to get through this; we have to come through standing tall, ready, and strong to continue the sacred and transformative mission that has always been Fordham’s. With your grit, your determination, your devotion, your love, and with the help of God, we will do just that. Fordham. The Jesuit University of New York. The Jesuit University of the Capital of the World. Fordham, the necessary university for this moment in human history, will do great things. Will continue to do great things. Will continue to astound the world with the goodness of its graduates, the excellence of its faculty, and the generosity of everyone associated with it. Thank you. May God bless you all. May God reward you for all that you do. And may God bless Fordham.

In a 70-minute speech in Keating Hall’s first floor auditorium, Father McShane took time to reflect on some of the difficult times in the recent past, including the painful loss of five students last year, and look to the future, with introductions of Dennis Jacobs, Ph.D., the University’s new provost, and Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., the new dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

“It was a hard year, but a year in which the University was at its best: a community marked by mutual respect, reverence, and affection, and by a deep and abiding faith,” he said.

Admissions

Though “the admissions scene is getting more competitive,” Father McShane said, Fordham saw its 27th year of application growth, with 47,868 applications for admission—a 3.7% increase over last year.

Of the 2,265 entering students, the number of National Merit Scholars increased from 45 to 54 and the number of National Hispanic Scholars increased from 57 to 62. The average high school GPA for entering students was 3.64. Connecticut and Massachusetts overtook California this year to tie for the state contributing the third-most students in the nation, after New York and New Jersey.

These numbers, he noted, are all the more impressive given the fact that in the Northeast, the college-age population is shrinking. At the same time, New York state alone has 64 SUNY campuses, 24 CUNY schools, and roughly 140 private colleges and universities.

“Quite honestly, we have more colleges and universities than we need, or that we can fill with students,” he said.

“As a result, we are seeing schools missing their budget targets and raising their discount rates rather precipitously. We are also seeing mergers, partnerships, and closings.”

Forty fewer international students enrolled this year, for a total of 167. This was caused by a decline in enrollment by Chinese students, Father McShane said, with 59 fewer than last year. That decline was offset somewhat by a growth in enrollment from other counties, notably Vietnam. As with last year, 37% of students in the class of 2023 are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society, he said.

On the graduate level, the picture remains similar to last year, as the Law School, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School of Social Service continue to grow or maintain steady rates of enrollment. The Graduate School of Education, the graduate division of the Gabelli School of Business and the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education continue to deal with challenging national and regional trends.

Rankings

Father McShane said that rules governing the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking system, which dropped Fordham from 70 to 74 this year, had “mystified” him. In addition to changes in its methodology, the magazine also added another 100 institutions to the pool in which Fordham competes.

Nonetheless, Fordham was the fifth-highest-ranked Jesuit university in the country, the seventh-highest-ranked Catholic university in the country, and the 45th highest ranked private national research university. Also notable, he said, is that the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Fordham 15th among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of very modest means.

Father McShane also said the University has taken steps to keep students on the path to graduation.

“The Retention Task Force has outlined for us an action plan that promises to enhance both our first-to-second year retention rates and our graduation rate,” he said, “both of which carry great weight with U.S. News.”

Progress on Diversity

Among one of the brightest spots of news, Father McShane said, is the University’s effort to become a more accepting and affirming community of scholars and learners. After asking a task force to recommend ways to make the university more welcoming, he proposed embedding diversity efforts into three key areas: academic affairs, student life, and human resources.

As a result, the University has in the last two years welcomed three new administrators devoted to diversity: Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer; Juan Carlos Matos, assistant vice president for student affairs; and Kay Turner, vice president for human resources. The creation of a first-year experience course containing a significant diversity component is also underway.

“While progress has been made, there is still much to be done to bring the University to the place it wants to be,” he said.

Fundraising, Facilities, and Finances

In the course of the past year, the University had the second-best fundraising year in its history, and the $67 million raised helped bring a conclusion to Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, with more than $175 million raised for student scholarships, Father McShane said. He also noted that the University’s endowment currently stands at $840 million, the highest it has ever been.

Planning for the next campaign has already begun, he said.

“We have already entered the very silent phase of our next campaign, a campaign that will seek between $200 and $300 million for the student experience at Fordham. One of the major foci of the campaign will be to raise money to build an extension to the McGinley Center and to renovate the original building. This will enable us to create a university gathering and event space that can serve our whole community,” he said.

The Walsh Family Library will also soon be the site of a joint venture with Fordham IT called Learning and Innovative Technology Environment (LITE). When complete, the facility will provide collaborative workspaces for faculty and students and a Makers Space, where visitors can access innovative and specialized technology such as virtual reality, podcasting rooms, and 3D printing.

A Defense of Liberal Arts

Father McShane also had sharp words for those who accuse colleges and universities of being reckless spenders and of being out of touch with what the nation’s needs are.

“Some of our critics would say that the perfect college would be one that understands that it is devoted to workforce development, with boards composed of the members of their local chambers of commerce,” he said.

“It is no wonder, then, that some are especially critical of liberal arts education—which they dismiss as divorced from real life. We, of course, would fall into the category of schools that are especially suspect, since we value liberal arts as the way to a full and satisfying life, and the perfect vehicle for producing educated, critical citizens who both value and devote their lives to developing civic virtue.”

The 2019 Convocation, held in the School of Law’s Costantino Room at the Lincoln Center Campus, paid tribute to the recipients of the Bene Merenti medal and the Archbishop Hughes medal, awarded to faculty and staff, respectively, to mark 20 and 40 years of service at Fordham.

The event also honored three recipients of the Sursum Corda award, given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the life and mission of the University: James Higgins, foreperson of facilities operations at Lincoln Center; Gregory Pappas, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of student services; and Nancy Perri, senior executive secretary in the controller’s office.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, prefaced his Convocation remarks by acknowledging the accomplishment the women’s basketball team—“among the most wonderful and interesting students we have”—before turning to the achievements of the day’s honorees.

“You are our treasure,” Father McShane said to the recipients. “The treasure that makes it possible for us to form young women and men to be women and men for others.”

“You make the routine miraculous, and you make everything at the University an occasion of grace because of the way in which you go about your work and the generous hearts you have,” he continued.

Nicholas J. Lombardi, S.J., adjunct instructor of computer and information science, drew a rousing cheer from his fellow Jesuit scholastics as he accepted his Bene Merenti Medal for 40 years of service. Father Lombardi first came to Fordham in 1958 as a freshman at Fordham Prep, where he later returned to teach classics before joining the University faculty in 1996.

“It’s great to see that so many of my friends are still here, alive and thriving,” Father Lombardi said.

Father McShane lauded the awardees for not only touching every aspect of life at Fordham, but for also extending their good works to the world at large.

Byron E. Shafer, Ph.D., associate professor emeritus of theology, has exemplified this commitment over his long and varied career. Shafer joined Fordham in 1968 as one of the first Protestants in his department, and later became well known to New York City radio listeners as a co-host of Religion on the Line, a program on religious and social issues featuring a priest, a rabbi, and a minister.

In addition to directing the University’s Middle East Studies program and focusing his scholarly energies on Ancient Egypt, Shafer also found time over the years to serve as pastor at Rutgers Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side and as a visiting scholar at United Theological College in Bangalore, India.  But he always returned to Fordham, where he continues to teach senior citizens in the College at 60 program.

“Although I’ve been around more or less for 51 years, I finally made it to 40,” he said with a laugh upon receiving the Bene Merenti Medal.

Reflecting on her four decades at Fordham, Mary Chilton Callaway, associate professor of theology, observed a special quality present in both the theology department and the University as a whole. “It’s the willingness to learn and grow and change,” she said.

One change, she said, are the ever-growing challenges her students face—and not just from her lessons on the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Jeremiah. Callaway, a Bene Merenti Medalist, has cherished the opportunity “to help students with things beyond just the Old Testament—navigating their lives. For me, that’s a wonderful part about being at Fordham: when they come to my office and can open up about things,” she said.

“That’s what has kept me here for 40 years. I feel like I’m doing something helpful and worthwhile.”

Bene Merenti Medal | 40 Years
Mary Chilton Callaway
William Conlon
Celia B. Fisher
Richard Fleisher
Anne Golomb Hoffman
D. Frank Hsu
Nicholas Lombardi, S.J.
Julia H. Mueller
Byron E. Shafer
Elizabeth Stone

Bene Merenti Medal | 20 Years
Maureen P. Benej
Mary Bly
Richard S. Carnell
Martin Chase, S.J.
Christopher M. Cullen, S.J.
John Drummond
Margo A. Jackson
Duncan R. James
Gyula Klima
Ji Seon Lee
Michael W. Martin
James McCann
Marjorie R. Saltzberg
Mark S. Silver
Lyn K. Slater
Gemma Solimene

Archbishop Hughes Medal | 40 Years 
Serafina De Gregorio

Archbishop Hughes Medal | 20 Years
Maria Aponte
Jedd S. Applebaum
Marianna Balquiedra
William J. Campbell
Damarie Cardona
Jim Castillo
Vincenza Corcoran
Lois D’Amore
Fleurin Eshghi
Monica Esser
Leslie I. Gillette
Helene Jacoby Madigan
Francis C. Katai
Ruben Mendez
Stephanie Milizia
James O’Hara
Ramón Pérez
Lewis Price
Lucille I. Santos
William R. Schneider
Matthew Schottenfeld
Joanne Schwind
Michael Tavas
Timothy W. Zay

Sursum Corda Award
James Higgins
Gregory Pappas
Nancy Perri

–Michael Garofalo

Welcome back. I hope and pray the summer was kind to you, and that you managed to squeeze in a good vacation in the course of the past few months. Dr.Freedman’s death has affected all of us deeply. I would ask you to continue to pray for his family as they continue to mourn his loss.

As you know, the Search Committee charged with identifying his successor has already been empaneled and hopes to complete its work by the end of January. In the course of our time together this afternoon, I would like to address the following topics and issues:

• Introduction of New Senior Staff and faculty members.
• The Progress Made by the various task forces created last year.
• Admissions and Enrollment Figures
• Development and the Campaign for Financial Aid
• Rankings and Recognition
• Facilities
• Strategic Planning Themes

I. The Introduction of New Senior Staff and the New Members of the Faculty

A. Dr. Jonathan Crystal has been appointed the Interim Provost of the University.
B. Dr. Peter Stace has been named the Senior Vice President for Enrollment Services and Planning.
C. Mr. Frank Simio has been named the Vice President for Lincoln Center, replacing Dr. Brian Byrne (who retired after forty years of service to the University.)
D. Mr. John Buckley has been named the Vice President for Admission and Student Financial Services.
E. Mr. Rafael Zapata has been named the University’s Chief Diversity Officer, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and my Special Assistant for Diversity.
E. Dr. Arto Woodley, who comes to us from Swarthmore College, has been named the Executive Director of Community-Engaged Learning.
F. Mr. Kareem Peat, who comes to us from Cornell, has been named the University’s Title IX Coordinator.
G. Mr. Shaya Phillips has been named the Interim Chief Information Officer.
H. This year, we have also welcomed 26 scholars to the faculty of the University.

A remarkably talented and diverse group, they will add immeasurably to the life of the University and to the growth of the students entrusted to their care. I would ask the new faculty members who are with us to rise to be acknowledged. Thank you for choosing to spend your professional lives at Fordham. (You will find more information on these new scholars in one of the traditional opening-of- school memos that I sent out two weeks ago.)

II. Task Forces

A. The Budget Planning Task Force: Co-Chaired by Stephen Freedman (now, Jonathan Crystal) and Martha Hirst, this task force has worked through the year to help us create a budget process that is more inclusive, data-driven and more attuned to the strategic needs and dreams of the University. They were assisted in their discussions and deliberations by Huron, Inc. At the end of the 2017-18 Academic Year, they finished the first draft of their report, a report that contains a number of recommendations. Those recommendations are now being reviewed and refined. Once the final report is completed, I will distribute it to the University community.

B. The Retention Task Force: Chaired by Dr. Joe Desciak, the retention task force worked through the year to prepare a recommended action plan that would enable us to address the issues that lead students to transfer out of the University. In response to the task force’s report, we created a small Retention Working Group to determine the next steps. Among the actions taken so far, the University has purchased the software called Student Success Collaborative which is the current state of the art application for tracking student progress as well as identifying students who may be in trouble academically. This software is only as good as its users, though. Over the next year, we hope to have faculty and administrators actively engaged in using the SSC platform for better understanding and supporting the student population.

Fordham College at Rose Hill has hired an assistant dean for student support and success, Ms. Cristie-Bell Garcia. Retention will be a strong component of Ms. Garcia’s responsibilities. Currently, there is a myriad of reasons why a student decides to leave Fordham, from financial to a personal family crisis to a decision to pursue a different academic path. To help understand the motivation, the Retention Working Group is developing a student exit survey. The Retention Working Group will continue to push and examine the retention dilemma. A strong retention rate is important for many areas of University life.

C. The Transfer Admissions Task Force: Chaired by Dr. Jonathan Crystal, the transfer task force also worked through the year to prepare an action plan that would address the barriers that stand in the way of our being able to attract more transfer students to the University. Their work has been wide-ranging, and has involved conversations with the cognizant offices on campus as well as with the Core Curriculum Committee. In the coming weeks, we will create a Transfer Working Group to examine the task force report and determine the next steps.

D. The Diversity Task Force: As you know, the Diversity Task Force completed its work and presented its final report at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. Once its report was presented, the University created its Diversity Action Plan. Among the first actions taken when the plan was completed was the appointment of a Chief Diversity Officer, Mr. Rafael Zapata along with the creation of a three- person team (Mr. Zapata, Kay Turner and Juan Carlos Matos) to lead our diversity efforts. That team has been hard at work for the past year-with telling and positive results. Their work, however, has just begun since the Action Plan is an ambitious one. You will read more about their work in a letter that I will send out next week.

E. The First-Year Experience Working Group: consisting of personnel from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Mission Integration, the first year experience working group met for several months over the last academic year and submitted a report during the summer. Studying models from other universities, the working group formulated an initial proposal for a “first year experience course containing a significant diversity component,” as suggested by the Diversity Task Force Report action plan. Among the recommendations was a course to be piloted, not in Fall 2018 but Fall 2019, as well as further committees to develop the course and to review multiple aspects of the Fordham first year experience. We look forward to further development of this course to be piloted next fall.

III. Admissions

Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment: on the undergraduate level, we had our twenty-fifth year of application growth. In fact, this past year, we received and processed 46,167 applications for admission to our three traditional-age undergraduate colleges, a 2.4% increase over last year’s number. We offered admission to 46% of those who applied. At the end of the cycle, we enrolled a total of 2,265 students. The quality indices for the class are very strong indeed: the average entering SAT for the class is 1355, up 11 points over last year’s average. The average high school GPA is 3.65. The number of National Merit Scholars is 45 and the number of National Hispanic Scholars is 57. The number of Presidential Scholars is 6.

As for demographic breakdown, the following states are our top ten feeder states, with percentages:
New York: 35%
New Jersey: 13%
California: 6%
Connecticut: 5%
Massachusetts: 5%
Pennsylvania: 4%
Texas: 2%
Florida: 2%
Maryland: 2%
Illinois: 2%
In addition, we have 207 international students in the freshman class.
As for gender breakdown: the class is 44 percent male and 56 percent female.
As for ethnicity, 37% percent are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society.
Finally, we enrolled 110 students in our HEOP program.

On the graduate level, several of our schools continue to deal with challenging national and regional trends. The following schools are experiencing either gains or are in a steady state: Law, GSAS and GSSS. The following schools continue to roll with challenges that are affecting schools throughout the region and the nation: GSE, Gabelli and GSRRE.

Allow me to share an important observation on graduate enrollments: There continues to be significant turmoil in the graduate and professional school markets—some of which are due to the dramatically changed demographics in the Northeast, and some of which are due to uncertainty in international markets with regard to American immigration and economic policies. As a result, we continue to see a rebalancing of the component parts of our student census. That is to say, we continue to find ourselves more dependent on undergraduate enrollments to balance our budgets. (We have more than 9,000 undergraduates out of a total University headcount of roughly 16,250 students. This is, as I pointed out last year, a rather remarkable change from what we saw in the past—when we had far more graduate than undergraduate students at the University.)

While we are still doing well in the undergraduate market, I must point out that those markets are also in some turmoil, especially in the Northeast. (On a related note, we are continuing to watch how the Excelsior Program is affecting private colleges and universities in New York State. So far, we have not been adversely affected by its introduction, but many of our sister schools have significant declines in enrollment as a result of its introduction.)

IV. Development

In the course of the past year, we raised $49.5 million. In addition, as a result of the hard work done by the Development Office in the course of the past three years, we have made good progress on our new capital campaign, the campaign for financial aid. Indeed, we have raised $140 million toward our $175 million goal. Of course, the work of fundraising is never done. Once we have completed this campaign, we will have to gear up for our next campaign, a campaign that will be tied to our facilities needs on both campuses, and the work that we are doing on the strategic planning front.

In order both to complete the present campaign and to prepare for the campaign that will inevitably follow it, we are continuing to cultivate three groups of people in our base: first, those members of the Fordham family who have helped us in the past and who have a clear philanthropic interest in Fordham; second, our younger alumni to foster in them a spirit of giving; and third the parents of our present students. Since they have already invested in Fordham by entrusting their sons and daughters to us, we believe that we can convince them to do so again. At the same time, the Development Office continues to work with our alumni both to solicit gifts and to line up job opportunities for our present students.

V. Rankings. Ratings and Recognition

I would be less than honest if I didn’t tell you that the past year has been a mixed one for us in the world of ratings and rankings.
US News & World Report:
Overall: 70
Subcategories:
Undergraduate Teaching: 52
Counselor Ranking: 62
Selectivity: 66
Faculty Resources: 44
Graduation: 85
Financial Resources: 104
Alumni Giving: 56
Veterans’ Ranking: 37

Gabelli School of Business:
Undergraduate Overall: 62
Undergraduate Subcategories:
Accounting: 52
Entrepreneurship: 27
Finance: 15
International Business: 8
Marketing: 15

Gabelli School of Business Graduate Program:
63 overall,
51 in part-time MBA

Graduate School of Social Service: 24
Graduate School of Education: 70

School of Law:
37 overall,
3 in part-time program.

On a far more promising front, College Consensus (a group that claims that its rankings are based on a critical reading and evaluation of all other ratings and rankings) has a far more positive read on Fordham:
19th best dorms.
11th best school for veterans.
58th best national research university.
In addition, the Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked us #10 among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of very modest means.

Frankly, I am both dismayed and disappointed that we have not fared better in the rankings. Our student profile has gotten significantly better in the past decade. Our faculty has gotten stronger. Our programs have become more creative and stronger as well. Lest you think that I am indulging in idle boasts, let me share with you the following evidence for my statements:

1. Improvement in our student profile: since 2003, our average entering SATs have gone from 1186 to 1355. In addition, during the past year, we have the following to report:
A. Prestigious Fellowships and Scholarships: 122 Awards, 4 Alternates, 6 Finalists, 8 Semifinalists
Highlights included seven Fulbright Scholarships (with three alternates); one Newman’s Own Fellowship; three Graduate Boren Fellowships; three Gilman Scholarships; one Rangel Fellowship; one Coro Fellowship; one DAAD; one Carnegie Endowment James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship; one Henry Luce Fellowship; one Gates Cambridge finalist; one White House Fellow finalist; three Gates Millennium Scholars attending the University; five Clare Boothe Luce Fellowships; 10 Clare Boothe Luce Scholarships; and three Clare Boothe Luce Summer Research Grants.

B. Acceptances into medical and law schools:
At Rose Hill, 85% of applicants to Medical School programs have been accepted while at Lincoln Center the percentage is 62. Among all health professions, 83% have been accepted.
Among the three traditional undergraduate schools, 91% of those who applied to law school were accepted.

2. Faculty Achievements:
Scholarly Work: In the past year, our faculty published 241 books and book chapters and 413 articles, with the following breakdown:
Arts and Sciences: 155 Books and Book Chapters, 246 Articles
Business: 18 Books and Book Chapters, 54 Articles
Education: 13 Books and Book Chapters, 24 Articles
Religion and Religious Education: One Book, Two Articles
Social Service: 14 Books and Book Chapters, 19 Articles
Law: 40 Books and Book Chapters, 68 Articles
In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $13.2 million.
In light of these achievements, I really do believe that our ratings and rankings are off–and significantly so. Because of this, we have looked ever more closely at the reports that we submit to the various groups that publish rankings to make sure that we have not been shortchanging ourselves. We will continue to do so in the coming years.

VI. Facilities

The past year has been a year during which we did not have any large-scale constructions underway. We were not, however, idle. Far from it. At the Lincoln Center campus, we undertook a gut renovation of the sixth and eighth floors of the Lowenstein Center. In addition, we overhauled the dining facility on the first floor of Lowenstein. Finally at Lincoln Center we spruced up the corridor linking the south end of the campus with the buildings on West 62nd Street. In the coming year, we will begin the renovation of the admissions offices on the second floor of Lowenstein to make it possible for us to accommodate the very large number of prospective students who visit the Lincoln Center campus. (We have invested $400 million in improvements at Lincoln Center in the past 15 years.)

At Rose Hill, we worked on upgrading the computer science spaces in John Mulcahy Hall and have begun the preparatory work for the installation of an elevator in Collins Hall. (We will also improve the overall accessibility of the building as we proceed with the elevator project.) We also installed a solar field on the roof of the garage as part of our sustainability efforts. (This project will result in both savings in our budget and help us achieve the goals that we have embraced as part of our participation in the Mayor’s Challenge on Sustainability). In addition, we have begun a phased process to upgrade our electrical systems (which will require a great deal of work at Thebaud Hall.)

As I mentioned at last year’s Convocation, since we have added over 570,000 square feet of new space to the Lincoln Center campus and gut-renovated more than 181,000 square feet, the time has come for us to focus more attention on the needs of the schools that are housed on the Rose Hill campus.

One final bit of news on the facilities front: since the British Province of the Society of Jesus has decided to close Heythrop College (on whose campus we operated our London Centre), we had to find a new home for our London-based programs. After a great deal of study, we acquired and renovated a new facility in London. Located in the Clerkenwell neighborhood, it is close to the University of London and offers us enough room to expand our operations in Britain. (The new facility will be dedicated in late October.)

VII. Strategic Planning

As you know, for the past three years the University has been engaged in an effort to create a continuous planning process aimed at making us a more agile institution, and therefore an institution that is better equipped to deal and respond to changes in the world of higher education. Led by the members of CUSP, planning has proceeded apace—and in phases.

In the first year of its existence, CUSP identified six overall priorities to direct our efforts to achieve our vision of becoming the Model Urban Jesuit University for the 21st Century:
1) Innovative Jesuit Teaching and Learning
2) The Challenge and Inspiration of New York City
3) Strategically Focused Research
4) Global Engagement
5) The Creation of a Diverse and Inclusive Community
6) The Creation of a Strategic and Nimble Institution‎.

In its second year in existence, CUSP invited the divisions, schools and departments of the University to form local planning bodies. On the basis of my reading of the annual reports that were prepared by the departments, schools and divisions of the University, I can tell you there has been significant—but uneven progress on the local level. Some schools and divisions have, in essence, completed their local strategic plans, while the plans in others are still works in progress. (This is due to differing levels of complexity in the schools and
divisions.)

At the end of its third year in existence, CUSP suggested that the time had come for the University both to retain CUSP in existence, and to turn its attention to the creation of a more traditional strategic planning document (one that would have the more familiar elements of Vision Statement, Themes, Goals, Objectives and Action Plans). Therefore, in the coming year we will do just that. As we move into this new phase of planning, I would like to present you with a little environmental scanning to provide you with the context for all that we will be doing in the coming year:

1. Demographic challenges: the college-age population in the Northeast, the market from which we have traditionally drawn most of our students (on both the undergraduate and graduate levels) has contracted rather dramatically in the course of the past two decades. The decline in the number of students in the Northeast has
been matched or accompanied by waves of school closures or consolidations. As a result, we have worked assiduously to open new markets in other parts of the country and throughout the world.

2. Success with Challenges: thanks to the hard work of our admissions team, we have been able to meet the demographic challenges of the moment. In fact, we have seen our undergraduate population almost triple in size in the course of the past two decades. The growth of our undergraduate schools has coincided with a significant decline in our graduate student enrollments. (In 1992, we had roughly 3,200 undergraduate students and roughly 12,500 graduate students. This year, our undergraduate student population will be nearly 10,000 while our graduate student population will be roughly 7,000.) While the rebalancing of our student population has enabled us to remain fiscally sound, I continue to worry about the fact that we are now more dependent than ever on undergraduates—at a time when the demographics of our primary markets is declining.

3. Public Attitudes toward Higher Education: As you know, recent surveys and news reports have made it very clear (painfully clear) that the public views higher education with increasing suspicion. Moreover, these same surveys and news stories make it clear that the public’s concerns with higher education fall into a number of categories: cost (and return on investment), political attitudes, a suspicion that higher education is out of touch with the economic needs of the nation (and therefore a belief that colleges and universities should be more concerned than they appear to be with work-force development than with character development and the education of informed citizens.) Connected with this, it is sadly the case that the liberal arts have suffered acutely. In fact, the public’s loss of faith in their ability to prepare students for jobs has led to their becoming what one writer in the Chronicle has called “fragile disciplines.” Since we are and have always been an institution devoted to the liberal arts, this is an especially troubling trend.

4. Political Attitudes Toward Higher Education: although there are some differences in the way in which the two major political parties view higher education, it is undeniably true that both parties view what we do with some suspicion, and that both parties are concerned with the cost of higher education, the need to focus on work-force development and a desire to rein higher education in in significant ways. (For my part, I must tell you that I am deeply concerned with the government’s pull-back from the post-World War II covenant that called for the creation of a partnership of families, schools and the government to make college education available to all who wish to seek a degree. The government’s contribution to the fulfillment of that dream/promise has simply not kept pace with the rising cost of living in our country.)

5. Recent Political Action: Interestingly enough, while politicians have called the higher educational enterprise into question and while overall they have shown a willingness to cut government investment in the enterprise, there has been a call to make college free (or at least tuition-free). In New York State, this has given rise to the creation of the Excelsior Program, a program that has had a devastating impact on some of the more than 140 private colleges and universities in the State.

6. International Affairs: As I mentioned a few minutes ago, in the course of the past two decades (and especially in the course of the past five years) we have opened new markets abroad. We have also become rather heavily dependent on those markets for both our undergraduate and some of our graduate programs. Therefore, the present tense state of relations between the United States and other countries is a source of genuine concern for us at Fordham.

7. Delivery of Services: As we are well aware, the world of higher education is not only being changed by these forces. It is also being changed—and changed radically—by the introduction of new methods for the delivery of instruction. These new modes of instruction have called for an adjustment in the way in which we operate and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the ways in which the new generations of students understand, encounter, and engage with the world challenge us to find new ways to educate them.

8. The State of the Church: Since we are a Catholic and Jesuit university, we cannot think that we’re going to be immune from of will be immune from the fallout that’s going on in the church. sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the Church worldwide is a source of concern for us—as it should be. To be sure, we should expect that we may see a hesitancy on the part of parents to entrust their sons and daughters to us. But that is an issue and a challenge that pales in comparison to the other challenges associated with the sexual abuse crisis. Let me pause here for a moment to address this issue.

As a priest, I am ashamed, embarrassed and furious with and by what my brothers in the priesthood have done to young people in our country and around the world. As a priest, I am furious that some of my brother priests have used their positions of trust in the Church to engage in criminal and sinful behavior. They have destroyed lives. They have used the most vulnerable in society for their own pleasure. They are criminals. Criminals. Despicable human beings. I hope and pray that Pope Francis will take the steps that are necessary to address the many issues associated with the crisis, including the removal of those who enabled these criminals in their actions. The Church may be impoverished by the actions that he takes. So be it. The survivors are our primary concern and must remain our primary concern. Their stories must be heard. Their lives must be given back to them. They must be healed. We at Fordham must be attentive to them and their needs.

Fordham’s Value Proposition:
It is against this background that I would suggest that in spite of all of the challenges that we face, we have a value proposition that is compelling and (I hope) compellingly attractive to offer to prospective students. At its heart, the value proposition is born of our distinctive identity as the Jesuit University of New York. Fordham grew up in and with the City it was founded to serve. Therefore, ‎it has evolved with the City, and has been enriched by the City’s energy, innovative spirit, inclusive embrace of “outsiders” and its unique urban culture. (That culture is one that is visionary, pragmatic, open-minded, brash, experimental, innovative in the face of challenge, welcoming and inclusive.

It is also a culture that has valued the arts and put a premium on that civic virtue that inspires the thoughtful, and values the individual citizen–no matter what that citizen’s social status may be. It
is as a result of its possession of these characteristics that, over time, New York has become what it is today: one of the world’s few idea/thought capitals and one of the very few cities in the world in which the future is being created every day—through the creative interplay of vision, pragmatism, openness and exertion. As a result, it has solidified its claim to being the Capital of the World. It remains at heart a harbor city, but now it is as much a metaphorical harbor city as it is a literal harbor city. In this new age, it seeks to capitalize on its role as a harbor that draws dreamers to itself and that plays a major role in the creation and exchange of ideas and discoveries.

Fordham’s evolution has been fostered by the changing and urgent needs of the students whom it has served. At the same time, however, it has never lost its recognizably Jesuit character and mission. That is to say, it has never shed its devotion to the liberal arts, dialogic learning, innovation and a firm belief that education has to be about the preparation of ethical leaders who can transform the world. This combination of the traditional and the innovative have served it, its students and its city quite well.

At this challenging moment in the nation’s and the City’s history, a moment that could be referred to as an inflection or (in Jesuit terms) frontier moment, I believe that Fordham’s history and peculiar culture have prepared it to serve as the necessary university in New York and in America once again. Allow me to explain.

And so we come to the key question concerning our value proposition: What exactly does Fordham offer students that oth‎er schools don’t?

For my part, I think that we make some fairly standard promises that all schools rooted in the liberal arts make. That is to say, in both the core curriculum that we offer our undergraduates and in the curricula that we offer to our graduate and professional school students, we promise students that at Fordham they will learn how: to read critically, to think analytically, to appreciate art in all its rich and enriching forms, to write with precision, elegance and persuasive power, to speak with eloquence, to frame penetrating questions, to read and respond to the signs of the times, to set their moral compass so that they can be strong moral agents in the world, to engage in strong and rigorous debates, debates that require the discerning use of evidence and logic, so that they can live their lives with a sense of noble purpose: the transformation of the world through leadership marked by wisdom, integrity and passion.

In addition, however, Fordham challenges its students in several ways that are not so readily either embraced by or celebrated in other schools. To wit, we challenge our students to learn how to plumb the depths of faith. Moreover, since Fordham is a school that lives under the mandate to seek the magis (the “more” in secular terms, and the greater glory of God in religious terms), we both warn our students to be uneasy with intellectual smugness and/or triumphalistic orthodoxies (wherever they are found or however they are framed), and exhort them to live lives marked by a humble sense of wonder (which is the sign of a truly educated person). I would also submit that since they are advised/exhorted/expected to engage and/or embrace the world from this vantage point, our students are invited to live their lives with a restless or bothered excellence. In other words, they will be forever open to further questioning—and further discoveries.

These emphases would be useful in any age and any city. In New York at the present time, a time of turmoil, polarization, dislocation and the emergence of new ways of knowing and communicating, they are simply indispensable, even necessary. Therefore, I would like to make my case for thinking that Fordham is the necessary university for the City, the nation and the world at this time by placing before you a series of forthright statements that I believe make my case:

In an age of political polarization, we exhort our students to be and to become informed, critical citizens.
In an age fascinated with the glib, our devotion to the liberal arts leads our students to frame discerning questions and to seek wisdom, and not mere throwaway lines.
In a xenophobic age, we remain a school that welcomes and values immigrants and that even believes that they are a gift to our country and the world.
In an age in which both the world and our nation wrestles with religious pluralism and religious violence, we take religion seriously. We take pride in being a place where faith is honored and respected, and where interreligious dialogue is fostered. We enshrine the study of religion in our core curriculum to ensure that our students understand both the power and promise and the volatility of religion.
In an age of digital overload, we seek to provide our students with the intellectual tools that will enable them to be both savvy and critical consumers of cyber knowledge, and to become players in the development of a new and responsible digital culture.
In an atomistic age that values and canonizes rugged individuals, we stress the need for the development of the kind of civic engagement and civic virtue that lead to responsible citizenship and responsibility for all.
In an age that can be all too utilitarian, we honor creativity. We continue to believe that the arts offer timeless insights into the human heart and affirm the transcendent value of the human soul.
In an age that can all too frequently value people on the basis of wealth and devalue people on the basis of race, we teach our students that each person has intrinsic worth and is endowed with a dignity that must never be abridged or attacked.
In an age that is awash with what is referred to as fake news, we teach our students to question easy answers to difficult questions and to weigh all claims on the basis of hard evidence, no matter how unsettling that evidence may be – even to their own sensibilities.
In an age filled with competing orthodoxies, we teach our students that the art of the question is just that: an art. And a saving, balancing art at that.
In an uncertain age, we are serious about, and remain committed to the proposition that education is about character development, and that the world needs men and women of character, wisdom, integrity, and strength.
This is the work, the mission of Fordham, the Jesuit University of the Capital of the World and the Necessary American University for the 21st Century.
This is what we offer, and what should guide us in all of our planning.
May God bless our efforts with success but protect us from complacency as we seek to carve out a challenging niche as the necessary university for our age.

The challenges facing Fordham are numerous, said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, on Sept. 20 at the Lincoln Center campus. But the University has the ability to not only withstand the stiff winds buffeting it, but to be a beacon for others, he said.

In an uncertain age, he said, Fordham’s Jesuit heritage and New York City DNA make it “the necessary American university for the 21st Century.”

In a 75-minute State of the University address at the Law School, Father McShane delved into everything from progress on student retention and diversity to admissions and enrollment figures, fundraising, rankings, facilities, and strategic planning.

Admissions

On the undergraduate level, Father McShane noted that this year, Fordham had its 25th year of application growth, with 46,167 applications submitted. The average SAT score of the 2,265 entering students rose 11 points over last year’s average, to 1,355. California this year overtook Connecticut to contribute the third-most students in the nation—160—after New York and New Jersey.

In the class of 2022, 37 percent of students are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society, a new high, he said.

“We have nearly 100 African Americans in the freshman class, an increase of 46 percent over what we had last year. We should see this as the ground floor, and we go up from here,” he said.

On the graduate level, the Law School, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School of Social Service are experiencing gains or are in a steady state. The Graduate School of Education, the graduate division of the Gabelli School of Business, and the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education continue to deal with challenging national and regional trends.

Father McShane said that when he first joined Fordham in 1992 as dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, the University had 3,200 undergraduate students and approximately 12,500 graduate students. Last year, the total number of undergraduate students hit 9,600, while the number of graduate students shrunk to 6,500, mirroring nationwide declines for graduate-level education.

Recruiting from areas such as California will be key, he said, because the population of college-age students in states such as New York and Massachusetts will “bottom out” in 2024, he said. Endeavors such as the University’s new campus in the Clerkenwell neighborhood of London will also strengthen Fordham’s international profile. He also said additional forays into online learning, such as those that were unveiled last year, will be explored.

Rankings

Although Fordham fell nine places to number 70 in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking, Father McShane noted that the change was partially due to the fact that the magazine changed its methodology this year. He pointed out that College Consensus, which presents a composite of rankings by several agencies and magazines, ranked Fordham the 58th best national research university. And he noted that The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Fordham 10th among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of modest means.

“Because of our emphasis on and our devotion to social justice, this makes me really proud, and it’s something I think all of the members of the university family should be immensely proud of,” he said.

Political Headwinds

Father McShane noted that higher education provides a rare point on which Democrats and Republicans agree: It is too expensive, too skewed, and out of step with what the nation needs, which is workforce development, they say. This is woefully narrow-sighted, he said.

“They bypass the great history of the western world that saw higher education as a luminously good thing, because it trained the mind, and it produced educational, involved, and informed citizens,” he said.

That has been largely pushed aside, he said, and there’s a corresponding pullback of funding for higher education by the state and the federal government.

“It annoys me to the teeth that the government pulled out of the sacred covenant that was established immediately after World War II that there would be three partners paying for higher education: the family, the school, and the government,” he said.

On a related note, he said that the Excelsior Program unveiled last year by the State of New York has not adversely affected Fordham, but has caused declines in enrollment at private schools upstate. It’s an example of trend that he finds contradictory and troubling.

“In spite of the fact that the government has decided it’s going to downplay its funding for higher education, it’s now talking about free tuition. There’s a schizophrenia here, which is very interesting.”

Facilities and Fundraising

Despite the financial climate, Fordham has continued to invest in its students and facilities. The University has put $400 million into the Lincoln Center campus over the last 15 years, Father McShane said, resulting in 570,000 square feet of new space and 181,000 square feet of renovated space, including gut renovations of the sixth and eighth floors of the Lowenstein Center.

The Rose Hill campus has likewise seen improvements, such as upgraded computer science spaces in John Mulcahy Hall and the installation of solar panels on the roof of the garage—both of which were completed over the summer.

There is good news on the development front as well. Father McShane noted that in the course of the past year, the University has raised $49.5 million as part of Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. This brings the total raised to $140 million of the $175 million campaign goal.

Crisis in the Church

Father McShane also addressed the ongoing revelations of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, following the University’s official statement last month.

“As a priest, I am ashamed, embarrassed and furious about what some of my brother priests have done. These men are criminals,” he said, adding that he hopes Pope Francis prioritizes the needs of the victims first and foremost.

“It may in point of fact end up that the church is a poor church,” he said, referring to the impact of settlements paid to victims. “So be it. Virtue is the wealth of church. Goodness is the wealth of the church.”

Faith, he noted, is an essential element of Fordham’s identity, along with an embrace of immigrants, creativity, civic responsibility, and the art of the question.

“In an uncertain age, we are serious about, and remain committed to, the proposition that education is about character development, and that the world needs men and women of character, wisdom, integrity, and strength,” he said.

“This is our work, and the mission of the University.”

While Hollywood came together on March 4 to celebrate the Academy Awards, Fordham rolled out the red carpet in honor of its own stars: longtime faculty, administrators, and staff.

The 2018 Convocation, held in the McGinley Center Ballroom on the Rose Hill campus, recognized more than 40 employees with the Bene Merenti medal or the Archbishop Hughes medal. The honorees have dedicated 20 years or 40 years of service to the University. 

Three staff members, Elaine P. Congress, D.S.W, associate dean of the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS), Radek Kloucek, licensed electrician and foreman of the electrical shop, and Patricia Upton, deputy emergency manager of public safety, were honored with the Sursum Corda Award for their contributions to the life and mission of Fordham.

“Today we honor true stars who have been indications of grace and occasions of grace in our midst,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “[They are] men and women who have spent themselves in service of others and who have believed in, hoped for, and loved our students to a greatness they never knew they had.”

Father McShane took a moment to also reflect on the memories of four late faculty members: Ray Grontkowski, “a lion of the philosophy department” who was a staple at the University for 58 years; Kathy Schiaffino, associate professor of psychology; Edgar Tyson, assistant professor of social work; and Misha Zigelbaum, adjunct professor of mathematics.

“Together they devoted over 100 years of loving service to Fordham, and especially to their students and colleagues,” said Father McShane.

Among the recipients who were commended for being “visionary transformers” of the University was Spyros Efthimiades, Ph.D., associate professor of physics. As a physicist, the Bene Merenti medalist developed a theoretical model of weak interactions deprived of ultraviolet divergences. But his most extraordinary undertakings over the span of four decades happened inside the classroom, he said.

“I know that everything I share with my students doesn’t always appear in a visible way but it can transform their lives,” said Efthimiades. “[Mentoring] is a ritual that I will never get tired of doing.”

Congress, who was recently a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-NYC), said she aims to incorporate social work values and ethics into her interactions with students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

“The social work profession, as well as my personal and professional orientation, supports the values of promoting social justice and respecting the inherent worth and dignity of each individual,” she said.

A co-founder of the Fordham Center for Nonprofit Leaders, the Certificate Program for Executive Leadership, and the Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Leadership, Congress has been one of Fordham’s greatest champions.

“I am happy to report that a number of our graduates [from our programs]have moved into top leadership positions while continually demonstrating ongoing attention to social justice both in their internal activities with staff, as well as in their external relationships with communities, other agencies, and legislative bodies,” she said.

When they weren’t inspiring students with their hard work and dedication, recipients like Mathilde Fava, Ph.D., adjunct professor of communication, were blazing a trail at home. Favas’ daughters, Doreena, GSE ’96, Palmina, LAW ‘97, and Joanna, GSAS ‘13, said Fava’s passion for education was a fundamental factor in their success.

“Her passion for education motivated us to further our education and pursue Fordham,” said Dorenna.

“Fordham was a part of the fabric of our family,” added Palmina. “It was never an option that we weren’t going to get the highest degrees that we needed in our fields.”

An immigrant of Benevento, Italy, Fava described teaching as a childhood dream that was fully realized in her 40-year role at Fordham. She remembers commuting from Mount Vernon to Fordham’s Manhattan location, where she graduated in 1969 with a degree in education.

“It was not an easy task,” she said. “I was doing my homework on the subway. But if you have a dream or a goal, you have to have the determination and will to achieve it.”

Bene Merenti Medal | 40 Years

Diana Bray | Professor Emerita of Chemistry

Brian J. Byrne | Vice President for Lincoln Center

Spyros Efthimiades | Associate Professor of Physics

Matilde Fava | Adjunct Professor of Communication

Hugh C. Hansen | Professor of Law

Lawrence Kramer | Distinguished Professor of English and Professor of Music

Maria L. Marcus | Joseph M. McLaughlin Professor of Law Emerita

Ronald S. Méndez-Clark | Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature and Associate Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures

Philip Sicker | Professor of English

Larry Stempel | Professor of Music and American Studies

Harold Takooshian | Professor of Psychology, Urban Studies, and Organizational Leadership

Bene Merenti Medal | 20 Years

Michael Baur | Associate Professor of Philosophy

Mary C. Burke | Senior Lecturer of Economics

John J. Davenport | Professor of Philosophy

George W. Drance Jr., S.J. | Artist-in-Residence

Moshe Gold | Associate Professor of English

Paul Levinson | Professor of Communication and Media Studies

J.D. Lewis | Professor of Biological Sciences and Chair of Biological Sciences

Chad McArver | Assistant Professor of Theatre and Chair of Theatre and Visual Arts

Bartholomew Moore | Associate Professor of Economics

Wullianallur Raghupathi | Professor of Information Systems

Martha Grace Rayner | Clinical Associate Professor of Law

Stuart Sherman | Professor of English

William B. Thornhill | Professor of Biological Sciences

Cynthia Vich | Associate Professor of Spanish

Sevin Yaraman | Senior Lecturer of Art History and Music

Sarah M. Zimmerman | Professor of English

Archbishop Hughes Medal | 40 Years

Ginger Calder | Assistant General Manager, WFUV

Gerard Cariffe | Associate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Fordham IT

Gregory J. Pappas | Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Student Services

Archbishop Hughes Medal | 20 Years

Betty Butler | Director of IT Operations Management, Fordham IT

Ann Delaney Chillemi | Assistant Vice President for Lincoln Center

Linda Duhaime-Candeias | Office Manager and Executive Assistant, WFUV

Richard Eberhardt | Director of Innovation and Change Management, Fordham IT

Yvanne Grandoit | Technology Support Engineer, Gabelli School of Business

Michael S. Hayes | Payroll Manager

Lisa Kelly | Senior Assistant Director and Academic Skills Coordinator, Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP)

Bernard Matthews | Director of Information Systems and Planning, School of Law

Michael Charles Mineo | Executive Director, Human Resource Management

Cesar Nau | Assistant Director of Network Operations, Fordham IT

Robert J. Parmach | Freshmen Dean, Fordham College at Rose Hill

Peter Patten | Reference and Instructional Services Librarian, University Libraries

Patricia Peek | Dean of Undergraduate Admission

Alissa Perrone | Assistant Director of the Louis Calder Center

Maritza Rivera-Garcia | Health Insurance Compliance Administrator

David Vassar | Reference Librarian, University Libraries

The Sursum Corda Award


Elaine P. Congress | Associate Dean, Graduate School of Social Service and Professor of Social Work

Radek Kloucek | Licensed Electrician and Foreman of the Electrical Shop

Patricia Upton | Deputy Emergency Manager, Public Safety