Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, a member of the Board of Trustees, and her husband, Gerald R. Jordan Jr., have made a $6 million gift to the University. The largest portion of the funds, $5 million, will be allocated to the Darlene Luccio Jordan, Esq., and Gerald R. Jordan Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund, established by the couple in 2010. The new investment to the fund would allow Fordham to provide significant grants to promising Boston high school students who demonstrate financial need.

A former prosecutor and assistant attorney general of Massachusetts, Luccio Jordan and her family live in Palm Beach, in Boston, and on Cape Cod.

“We believe that the impact of financial aid is not only real, tangible, and measurable—it is our responsibility,” said Luccio Jordan, who serves as the chair of the Trustee Advancement and University Relations Committee and as co-chair of Fordham’s Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, which her gift supports. “A significant reason for making this gift is to thank Fordham for shaping my life and providing me with an education and spiritual foundation.”

“Darlene and Jerry’s gift is characteristic of their generosity and a major investment in Fordham’s longstanding commitment to making a Jesuit education in New York City accessible to talented students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, including immigrants and new Americans,” said Roger A. Milici Jr., Fordham’s vice president for development and university relations. “For that, we are all grateful.”

Of the remaining donation, $500,000 will be allotted to the Frank McLaughlin Family Basketball Court, $250,000 will go to Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, and $250,000 will be used to boost the trustee’s Fordham Fund Challenge Initiative. Gifts to the Fordham Fund are unrestricted and help the University to support scholarships, career services, and improved facilities and technology.

While Luccio Jordan did not receive financial aid when she enrolled at Fordham over 30 years ago, she had to take out student loans to attend, she said.

“Today, the average undergraduate student has accumulated almost $40,000 in debt upon graduation,” said Luccio Jordan. “Unfortunately, large sums of debt are discouraging students from pursuing careers in education, the public sector, and social services. These areas of study are vital for our communities and are the basis of Fordham’s educational foundation—to serve others.”

Gerald (Jerry) Jordan, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, has been positively impacted by financial aid. With the help of a scholarship, he was the first in his family to go to college, said Luccio Jordan.

“Jerry has always said that this was the greatest thing anyone could have ever done for him,” she said. “The amazing gift of a scholarship left an indelible mark on him. Because of his gratitude and recognition of the value his education provided to him, he has been working to pay it forward.”

Similarly, Luccio Jordan credits her Fordham education for giving her the tools to excel in her career and her community. Through her family’s gift to the University, she hopes to extend Fordham’s long maroon line.

“Fordham instilled in me the Jesuit principles of excellence, pursuing justice, sharing gifts, civic engagement, and the power of an educated mind,” she said. “Our hope is that by establishing this scholarship fund, the next generation of leaders will embrace the Jesuit values and become engaged, concerned, and contributing citizens of the world.”

The School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) has launched the Fordham Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center, designed for professionals and investors who want to boost their expertise to the next level.

“Lincoln Center is a such a classy and convenient destination,” said Robert Morgenstern, director of the new program. “To have Fordham as the school and Lincoln Center as the location, with quality faculty and programming that professionals want, is a perfect combination.”

Anthony Davidson, Ph.D., the dean of PCS, said the program is part of the expansion of the school. It offers online components that he plans to incorporate into other disciplines as well.

Davidson said Morgenstern will be working with faculty experts with years of experience in the real estate and construction industries in New York City, “one of the world’s most dynamic and sophisticated real estate markets.”

Students will be able to pursue a six-course certificate or take select courses in four tracks: Finance and Investment, Financial Modeling, Development, and Construction Project Management. Areas of study range from valuation and private equity to investment analysis and project management.

“These certificate programs present the core competencies and professional skills needed throughout the lifecycle of a property, from initial development through disposition” said Morgenstern. “Each phase of the process has its own specialized set of skills and requirements, and we strive to deliver those to the student using real world, practical applications.”

Morgenstern said that the certificate could appeal broadly—from owners and investors who want to learn how to converse with contractors working on their projects to construction tradespeople who want to move up in their career.

“We’ll be offering those professionals solid instruction by people who work every day in the industry, imparting what they know,” he said.

The Real Estate Finance and Investment track includes property financial analysis, valuation, debt finance, private equity and investment analysis.

Another track, Real Estate Financial Modeling, is a skill set that is in demand, he said.

“It’s about setting up spreadsheets, getting the inputs right, determining value, and finding an effective way to present that information” said Morgenstern. “These are critical skills.”

The Real Estate Development track starts at site selection and moves through market and feasibility analysis, finance, construction and asset stabilization.   

Lecturers are from the Tri-State area, so the New York market’s nuances will certainly come up in the classroom, said Morgenstern. Online courses retain equal weight toward the certificate, and the topics will be relevant and transferrable to national and international markets.

Finally, Construction Project Management will be geared toward the construction process— from scheduling and estimating to budgets, cost control, safety management, and quality control. This track may appeal to architects who have designed but now want to be more involved in construction management or the broader development phases of projects, said Morgenstern.

“The professional certificate programs are designed to help current and up-and-coming industry professionals move to the next level in their careers, and that is exactly what our school is all about,” said Dean Davidson.