BRUCE GREEN
New York A.G. to Subpoena Trump to Testify in Fraud Investigation
New York Times 12-9-21
Bruce Green, who directs a center for legal ethics at Fordham University, said in an interview that it was typical for civil investigations to defer to criminal inquiries. Ms. James’s actions, he said, might suggest she wants to put her investigation on a firm footing in case the criminal inquiry does not result in charges. “You don’t want to forgo doing the civil investigation on the theory that the prosecutors are going to indict, and then they don’t,” Mr. Green said.

CHERYL BADER
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers attack her accusers’ motives and memories
Fortune 12-10-21
Cheryl Bader, a professor at Fordham Law School, said Maxwell faces a difficult choice. “The defense’s main strategy is to discredit prosecution witnesses, put Epstein center stage and draw as little attention to Maxwell as possible,” she said. “To keep with that strategy, they may want to keep her off the stand and not risk that she makes her situation worse on cross-examination.”

PATRICK HORNBECK
Transgender people can’t be baptized unless they’ve ‘repented,’ Catholic diocese says
The Washington Post 12-7-21
Hornbeck, who is also a theology professor at Fordham University, noted the policy comes at a time when many Catholic leaders have taken to drawing lines beyond which they believe it’s not possible for a person to be in good standing within the church…“The Diocese of Marquette seems to be adding fuel to that particular fire by saying that beliefs about gender and gender transition also fall into that category,” Hornbeck said.

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Fordham University Hosts Global Ethical Vision AI Conference
Businesswire 12-3-21
On November 29th, Fordham University hosted a conference entitled, “Ethical Vision Artificial Intelligence: Creating an Effective AI Compliance Framework” in New York. The conference was hosted by Professor Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, a visiting professor at Fordham Law School and a Fellow Professor at Yale Law School.

ADMINISTRATORS

FATHER JOSEPH MCSHANE
Catholic Extension honors Cardinal Dolan with its Spirit of Francis Award
Diocese of Tucson Online Nes 12-6-21
Honorary co-chairs were Jesuit Father Joseph M. McShane, president of Fordham University, and Dr. Ramon Tallaj, chairman and founder of the SOMOS Community Care network of 2,500 health care providers in New York City’s boroughs.

HILLARY MANTIS
How to save money on law school application fees
NationalJurist.com 12-7-21
Hillary Mantis consults with pre-law students, law students and lawyers. She is the Assistant Dean for the Pre-law Advising Program at Fordham University and author of career books for lawyers.

WFUV-FM

Cycle of giving: Brookhaven Bike Co-op gets LIers on wheels On a 45-degree day in late November, Najib Ullah walked several miles to the Flo…
Newsday.com 12-6-21
“We usually do FUV. Eclectic,” he said, referring to Fordham University’s WFUV/90.7 FM.

SCHOOL OF LAW FACULTY

MIMI TSANKOV
Victory for US immigration judges as Biden administration recognizes union
The Guardian 12-7-21
Tsankov was appointed as an immigration judge in 2006 and is based in New York, where she also teaches at Fordham University School of Law. “This administration has really doubled down on maintaining the [Trump] position that we are not a valid union,” Tsankov said before the settlement.

JOHN PFAFF
Gun violence in Oakland has become a “pandemic within the pandemic.” Here’s what data shows is happening
USA Breaking News 12-3-21
John Pfaff, a criminologist and law professor at Fordham University, said he’s observed this discrepancy in other U.S. cities as well. “For the amount that shootings went up, homicides should’ve gone up a lot more than they did,” Pfaff told The Chronicle.

MARIA VULLO
Who’s Running for Attorney General in New York? It’s a Crowded Field.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle 12-3-21
She [Maria Vullo] currently teaches law at Fordham University’s law school.

AARON SAIGER
Supreme Court poised to further open the door for taxpayer funding of religious schools
Los Angeles Times 12-7-21
“The really big question that Carson tees up is whether by funding public schools, the state incurs a duty to fund religious schools as well,” said Aaron Saiger, a law professor at Fordham in New York. This could trigger “a cataclysmic change in the place of public education in American society and government. But if one extends the kinds of arguments that have been winning in the Supreme Court, this may be the future.”

DONNA REDEL
Most Influential 2021: Gary Gensler
Coindesk 12-9-21
Donna Redel, an adjunct professor at Fordham University’s law school, told CoinDesk that many in the industry hoped he would propose regulations for crypto based on his experience both as a longtime participant in the financial sector, as well as his digital asset knowledge.

BRUCE GREEN
New York A.G. to Subpoena Trump to Testify in Fraud Investigation
New York Times 12-9-21
Bruce Green, who directs a center for legal ethics at Fordham University, said in an interview that it was typical for civil investigations to defer to criminal inquiries. Ms. James’s actions, he said, might suggest she wants to put her investigation on a firm footing in case the criminal inquiry does not result in charges. “You don’t want to forgo doing the civil investigation on the theory that the prosecutors are going to indict, and then they don’t,” Mr. Green said.

CHERYL BADER
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers attack her accusers’ motives and memories
Fortune 12-10-21
Cheryl Bader, a professor at Fordham Law School, said Maxwell faces a difficult choice. “The defense’s main strategy is to discredit prosecution witnesses, put Epstein center stage and draw as little attention to Maxwell as possible,” she said. “To keep with that strategy, they may want to keep her off the stand and not risk that she makes her situation worse on cross-examination.”

GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business Teams with Value Reporting Foundation to Offer Students Access to the Foremost ESG Reporting Credential
AP News 12-7-21
A dynamic collaboration between Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and the Value Reporting Foundation now grants students exclusive access to resources that enable them to pursue the foremost professional credential in the field of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.

ARTS & SCIENCES FACULTY

ERICK RENGIFO
China Xiangtai Food Co., Ltd. Announces Appointment of Senior Economist and Sophisticated Blockchain Scholar Dr. Erick W. Rengifo as Chief Strategy Officer and Director and Asset Management Expert Dr. Jiaming Li as President
Nasdaq.com 12-6-21
Dr. Erick W. Rengifo is a Professor of Economics at Fordham University in New York…“I am very excited about the opportunity to be part of the Company and contribute to the Company’s future strategic direction. With the addition of Dr. Jiaming Li as President, I firmly believe that we will help strengthen internal governance, improve internal control, and enhance the Company’s overall image in the global capital markets as well as increase net profit and provide greater value for shareholders.”

CHRISTINA BAKER KLINE
Rotary Club Speaker: Christina Baker Kline
LA Daily Post 12-6-21
She has taught fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, English literature, literary theory, and women’s studies at Yale, NYU, and the University of Virginia, and served as Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University for four years.

CHRISTINA GREER
NYC Racial Justice Commission
New York Amsterdam News 12-9-21
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University, the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” and the co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.

CHRISTINA GREER
NY attorney general Letitia James ends run for governor
AP News 12-9-21
Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University, said Hochul’s moves to lock up support may have played a role in James’ calculation about whether to keep running.“Kathy Hochul has been very aggressive these past few months shoring up endorsements and essentially the donor class of New York state. And it’s easier to do that as a sitting incumbent,” Greer said.

CAITLIN BEACH
Failey Grants Awarded To Three Noteworthy Projects
Antiques and Arts Weekly 12-7-21
Caitlin Meehye Beach, an assistant professor in the department of art history and affiliated faculty in the department of African and African American studies at Fordham University, will utilize grant funds for her forthcoming book, Sculpture at the Ends of Slavery, which will be published by the University of California Press in 2022.

STUDENTS

Parents of the social media generation are not OK
CNN 12-8-21
Gabriella Bermudez, a 19-year-old Fordham University student, told CNN Business she started struggling with body image issues in middle school after a boy she had a crush on started Liking photos of a 30-year-old model on Instagram.

ALUMNI

Bronx Community Foundation announces outgoing schools chancellor as its president, CEO
Bronx Times 12-3-21
She’s [Dr. Meisha Porter] obtained further credentials from Mercy College, New York City’s Advanced Leadership Institute, the Harvard Graduate School of Education and most recently completed her Educational Doctorate at Fordham University.

Steptoe Expands Legal Talent Team with Two New Hires in Attorney Development
General Counsel News 12-3-21
[Lindsay] Daniels received her M.S. in Teaching from Fordham University, and her B.A. from Macalester College.

Oregon O-coordinator will take over Akron HC reins
Mac Reporter Online 12-4-21
[Joe] Moorhead is a graduate of Fordham University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1996.

James Corrigan
WMTV 8 News 12-4-21
James [Corrigan] is originally from New Jersey and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Fordham University and a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University in 2021.

Unit Auto Sales Struggle As Shortages Continue
Citizens Journal 12-5-21
Bob [Robert Hughes] has a MA in economics from Fordham University and a BS in business from Lehigh University.

How to succeed in Crypto and the Blockchain Industry, Ryan Williams, The Blockchain Academy
Irish Tech News Podcast 12-3-21
Ryan [Williams] grew up on the east coast in New York and New Jersey attending Fordham University in the Bronx for his undergrad and achieving his Masters at New York University.

A sliver of Cambridge to vote in Dec. 14 state primary
WickedLocal.com 12-8-21
[Lydia] Edwards graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and legal policy, American University Washington College of Law with a juris doctorate and the Boston University of Law with a masters of law in taxation.

In Mass. Senate special election, it’s progressive muscle versus hometown(ish) appeal
WGBH News 12-8-21
She’s [Lydia Edwards] a graduate of Fordham University and the American University Washington School of Law. In 2014, she led the successful campaign to pass a domestic workers’ bill of rights in Massachusetts.

These 10 Power Women in Business Drive Change in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley Magazine 11-13-2021
In 2008, Corey [DeMala] headed back to graduate school at Fordham to gain the necessary training she would need to combine her two careers.

Riverside Appoints Jeffrey Gordon to Co-Fund Manager
Businesswire 12-8-21
[Jeffrey] Gordon received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Michigan, JD Degree from Fordham Law School and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Connell Foley taps environmental law co-chair as next managing partner
Real Estate NJ 12-6-21
He [Connell Foley] received his law degree from Fordham University School of Law, his bachelor’s from Hobart College and a master of laws in environmental law from Pace University School of Law.

‘It’s going to be competitive.’ Boston political veteran Lydia Edwards, Revere’s Anthony D’Ambrosio face off in special election days before Christmas
Boston Globe 12-9-21
An Air Force brat and Fordham University grad turned public interest attorney by trade, [Lydia]Edwards has pitched herself as the experienced candidate who has spent years representing low-paid workers, shaping legislation, and championing affordable housing in a city increasingly out of reach for low-income and middle class families.

OBITUARIES

Obituary: Thomas Harris Astore, 1961-2021
Seven Days Vermont 12-9-21
He received a bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University, a law degree from Fordham Law School and then became a CPA and practiced as a tax accountant, most recently as tax partner at Rodman & Rodman.

Jerry Fabian Pervinich
NorthJersey.com 12-2-21
He graduated from St. Joseph of the Palisades HS and earned a BA from Fordham University in Journalism. His career started with the NY Herald Tribune.

John ‘Jack’ Simermeyer, obituary
Penobscot Bay Pilot 12-2-21
He later attended Fordham University and was a lifelong supporter of Fordham, interested in all the developments there. He was also a lifelong Yankees fan, having attended games at the stadium with his family.

James (Jim) Joseph Maun
KeysNews.com 12-3-21
Becoming a World War II veteran changed his life and allowed him to continue his education at Fordham University.

Anthony Idigo
Legacy.com 12-3-21
He went on to receive a master’s degree from Fordham University.

Thomas A. Giacose Jr.
Legacy.com 12-3-21
He attended Fordham University, where he studied biology and engineering. He worked for Keyence Corporation and Clarostat Systems and Controls as an electrical engineer.

Waverly Duval Taliaferro
Legacy.com 12-3-21
He went forward serving in the U.S. Army for two years, briefly matriculating at UVA, and later in New York at Fordham University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree.

Fordham welcomed more than 2,800 students to its incoming class on Opening Day, making it the largest class in the University’s history. The Class of 2025 is also the most diverse class Fordham has ever had, with more than 44% domestic students of color and 6.5% international students.

The new Rams hailed from 45 states, 51 countries, and all five boroughs of New York City. More than 600 students in the incoming class are from New York City, including more than 160 from the Bronx—up significantly from last year. The average high school GPA for the class was 3.67.

In his welcoming remarks to families, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, urged attendees to soak up the momentous nature of the occasion.

“For the students here, today marks the end of adolescence. You’re no longer kids. You’re young adults,” he said, adding that they have the opportunity to outshine their high school selves.

To the parents, he said, Fordham is honored to have been invited to be a part of their students’ lives.

“We will spend ourselves surrounding them with care,” he said during the Aug. 29 festivities.

“You must not get the impression that we’re going to be easy on them though. This is a Jesuit school. We believe that we have to mix rigor and love. We will cherish them and challenge them in equal measure and we will never insult them with low expectations.”

He also strenuously advised students to embrace the town that the University calls home.

“New York is in our DNA. When you come to Fordham, you’re taking on the city as well. The city is our classroom, our laboratory. Whatever you major in, minor in New York,” he said.

At Home in New York City

Many first-year students were already taking that advice, highlighting New York as one of the main reasons they chose Fordham.

First-year Gabelli School student Ryan Howard said that Fordham offered both the perfect location and academic programs.

“Fordham was the closest proximity to home, closest proximity to other things—you have [Manhattan], the Bronx, Arthur Avenue,” said Howard, who is from Long Island and will be studying at the Rose Hill campus. “The other schools [I applied to]—you walk 10 minutes away, you’re in the middle of nowhere. That’s one of the things that made Fordham appealing.”

John Perla, an incoming Fordham College at Lincoln Center student from Princeton Junction, New Jersey, was taking in the sights from his room on the north side of McKeon Hall. When he gets free time, one of his first treks will be to Citi Field in Queens to catch a Mets game. Manhattan, though, is what drew him to Fordham.

“The Upper West Side is one of the best neighborhoods in the city. When we came here, I just fell in love with it. Honestly, I’m just looking forward to getting back up here tonight and enjoying the view at night,” said Perla, who plans to pursue political science.

Natalie Foo, a first-year Fordham College at Lincoln Center student from California. grew up visiting New York every year, so going to college here was “sort of like a homecoming,” said her dad, Kent Foo. But that wasn’t her only reason for choosing Fordham.

“New York has a lot of possibilities, and that’s why I wanted to come here,” said Foo, who is interested in studying architecture and possibly art history.

“And what better place than New York?” she said, gesturing behind her to the gleaming glass-and-metal skyscraper she will now call home.

Marcelo Pachicano, a first-year Fordham College at Rose Hill student studying biological sciences, said that after growing up in Chicago, he chose Fordham partly because he wanted both a city and a vibrant campus.

“I wanted to stay where things were happening, but I also wanted the campus community,” said Pachiano.

His mother, Maria Pachicano, said that she was glad her son was getting to experience another city.

“And we’re Catholic so I like the fact that he went to a Jesuit school—that didn’t hurt.”

Pursuing Passions

Anton Karabushin, a first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, said that he plans to study political science on a pre-law track. But he also wants to make sure he has time for his other loves.

“I’ll also be doing a lot of music and theater while here because that’s my other passion,” he said.

Karabushin was selected for the “Tony Awards for high school musicals” in Colorado, his home state, for his performance as Frederick in Pirates of Penzance. He has a long list of credits so far, including Rooster in Annie and Shylock in Merchant of Venice. “I’ve been pretty much singing and acting all my life,” he said.

Elise Downing, a first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, said that she plans to study political science with a fashion minor. She’s looking forward to the fashion opportunities her new city has to offer, such as Fashion Week.

“I’ve always loved New York and I’ve always wanted to move here,” she said. “Fordham is one of the best schools in the area, so I’ve been drawn here from the start.”

Finding a New Home

First-year Gabelli School at Rose Hill students Snehsrishti and Gurbax Assie—twins from Mumbai, India, have a few things to get adjusted to, including living in the U.S. and attending school in person again.

“We haven’t been to school since 2019. So it’s our first time again, in an exciting environment,” Snehsrishti said.

Following in the footsteps of their parents, the twins are planning to study entrepreneurship, with Snehsrishti also looking to explore alternative investments and Gurbax hoping to study finance.

“We had a session with [Al Bartosic, head of the Fordham Foundry] … the Foundry really stood out to us,” Snehsrishti said. Both siblings were also impressed with Hughes Hall, the Gabelli School’s home at Rose Hill.

“As soon as I walked into the Gabelli building, the first thing I noticed was the Bloomberg terminals,” Gurbax added. “I’m really excited to go into the investment club, where they give us very big funds to manage.”

Both Snehsrishti and Gurbax have already gotten involved in the Fordham community, thanks to the Global Transitions Program, which serves as an orientation for international students. Both said that they were grateful for the welcoming reception they’ve received from the Fordham community—including those they spoke to before arriving on campus.

“I think what really got me to commit is the upperclassmen—everyone I spoke to was just so nice,” she said.

Being Back Together

Even though the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt across the country, one of the things many students said they were looking forward to was being around people again, whether in classes, clubs, or activities, even if precautions have to be in place.

Shehan Hussain, a commuter student from Midwood, Brooklyn, who enrolled in the Gabelli School of Business’ Global Finance and Business Economics program, said that after a year of taking classes remotely, the Opening Day festivities added to his excitement of being able to take classes in person.

“College itself would be a new experience regardless of whether there was a pandemic or not,” he said. “It definitely amplifies the experience that this is the first time I’ll be in school in front of a bunch of people after a long time,” he said.

Angel Ducret, a first-year commuter student at Fordham College at Rose Hill from Manhattan’s Cristo Rey High School, said that he was looking forward to being back in person, even if it meant some adjustments.

“[Being virtual] was very tough, emotionally, mentally, and physically on me. So I feel like coming back in person, it’s going to take a few weeks this semester to kind of get back to it,” he said. “But I think after at least the fall, it’ll just feel like school again.”

Kathleen Hollinger, a first-year Gabelli School student who plans to study finance and computer science, said that she was excited for “just getting a chance to go to school in person again and being with other people in a classroom (and) the social aspects.”

Traveling from Near and Far

Hollinger and her parents Danae and Mike Hollinger were some of the first to arrive on the Rose Hill campus on Sunday, traveling all the way from Seattle.

“I really liked that it was a Jesuit school—both my parents went to Jesuit schools—and they had a really good business school program,” she said.

She was excited for the opportunity to live on and explore the East Coast.

“We’ve had a lot of people say, ‘oh the East Coast? Why aren’t you staying on the West Coast?’ I think it’s exciting actually to check out other parts of the world,” her mom Danae said.

Sandy Wong traveled all the way from California to move her only child, Nicole David, a first-year Gabelli School student, onto the Rose Hill campus.

“She’s growing up, she’s on her own—I’m just happy for her,” she said. “As long as you give them a good foundation, I think by the time they’re 18, I just feel comfortable—my kid is growing up, she knows what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Nicole Bennett, a native of Mystic, Connecticut, who enrolled in the Gabelli School Global Finance and Business Economics program, was one of the first to move into Lincoln Center’s McKeon Hall.

Her father grew emotional when he reflected on the day, as Nicole is the oldest of three, and therefore is the first to “fly the nest.”

“She’s my baby. I know she’s going to be OK, so I’ve got to let her go.”

—Reporting from Nicole LaRosa and Patrick Verel
—Video by Taylor Ha
—Photos by Chris Taggart, Bruce Gilbert, Kelly Kultys, Taylor Ha, Mike Trerotola, and Nicole LaRosa

The April 29 event was the deans’ second forum for alumni on their commitment to furthering the University’s action plan for addressing racism and educating for justice. Fordham announced the plan in June 2020 after nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice prompted members of the Fordham community to describe their own experiences of discrimination on campus.

“We’re asking hard questions, addressing proposals that have come forward, and moving forward indeed with hope and confidence into a future … that is marked by greater inclusivity, greater diversity, and greater commitment shared to building a much more just world as we educate for justice and seek to eradicate racism,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in opening remarks.

Father McShane and the four deans were joined by moderator Valerie Irick Rainford, FCRH ’86, a Fordham trustee who is spearheading anti-racism training efforts within the University, and Rafael Zapata, Fordham’s chief diversity officer.

The panelists spoke of changes underway in the curriculum, recruitment of faculty and students, new programs, and other efforts to embed anti-racism in the University and effect permanent change.

“For students to come here from different backgrounds, it is vitally important that they feel that this institution represents them, that they do not feel like … they are here on sort of sufferance, that they feel that their communities are a part and parcel of what makes Fordham tick, what makes Fordham an excellent place,” said Tyler Stovall, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Faculty Diversity, Community Connections

Stovall emphasized the importance of forging links between the University and the diverse, vibrant communities surrounding the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses. Zapata noted current efforts like a collaboration with the Bronx Book Festival and a speaker series focused on Bronx writers facilitated by faculty. “We are an institution of this wonderful borough, and I think that’s something we need to talk about a little bit more,” he said.

In efforts to diversify the faculty, Eva Badowska, Ph.D., dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and associate vice president for arts and sciences, said 50% of the arts and sciences faculty members recruited to begin this academic year are people of color. In addition, Fordham announced the creation of the Margaret Peil Distinguished Chair in African and African American Studies and is currently recruiting for a newly created postdoctoral fellowship in critical race studies in the sociology and anthropology department, as well as a new position in the English department—a rhetoric specialist—to support the faculty’s work on revising the composition program toward anti-racist learning objectives and pedagogy.

Arts and Sciences also announced the creation of a new affiliate program in African and African American studies to elevate that department’s visibility and foster an interdisciplinary approach to anti-racism, Badowska said. Fifteen faculty members across departments have committed to joining the initiative.

On the point of hiring diverse faculty, Rainford noted that “once you hire those individuals, I think it’s also about inclusion and access.”

Stovall said a newly formed group of Fordham faculty members of color would be meeting soon to discuss diversity among faculty and at the University generally. “I think these leaders are going to have an awful lot to say, and it’s going to be up to us to listen,” he said.

He pointed out the importance of integration, “one of the terms we tend not to talk about.”

“Ultimately, what we are all about in this endeavor is producing an integrated educational experience and ultimately an integrated society,” he said. “Study after study has shown, in despite of people’s fears of integration, that actually integrated education benefits not just students of color but all students, and makes them stronger students.”

“This is a major pathway towards the ultimate goal of Fordham University,” he said.

Zapata said his office is offering a grant program titled Teaching Race Across the Curriculum to help academic departments integrate questions of race within their courses, particularly those that all students take.

“Students want to see themselves in the people that teach them, that they encounter throughout [the University], but they also want to see themselves in the curriculum. They’ve talked a lot about that,” he said.

Expanding Scholarship and Internship Opportunities

Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, pointed to the Office of Undergraduate Admission’s “above-and-beyond” efforts to increase diversity among incoming students. Changes this year include an effort “to appreciate and value a wider range of student experiences in the admissions process,” she said, as well as new events for prospective students of color who would be part of the fall 2021 entering class.

Also important, Auricchio said, is the recently created Trustee Diversity Scholarship Fund, which grew out of a scholarship fund that Rainford founded. “Before we could even announce it, we were starting to get donations,” Rainford said.

A new Cultural Engagement Internships program, funded by Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Fordham College at Rose Hill, has created paid internships that place students with New York nonprofits and cultural organizations that mostly serve communities of color or advance the work of anti-racism. “This opens up the internship opportunities to students who might not otherwise be able to afford” to take unpaid internships, Auricchio said.

And diversity in the yearlong Matteo Ricci Seminar for high-achieving students on both campuses has grown by opening it up to all students who want to apply, rather than relying on a select pool of students recommended by faculty, she said; she also cited the importance of bringing on Assistant Dean Mica McKnight, a woman of color, as co-leader for the Fordham College at Lincoln Center program.

Supporting Students

In other efforts on the undergraduate level, Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, said administrators on both campuses are developing a program to support first-generation students—61% of whom are students of color—and their families as the students navigate college life. At Rose Hill, the college is expanding access to undergraduate research opportunities by developing a one-credit course on the ins and outs of conducting research, such as developing a proposal and finding a mentor, Mast said.

“It’s … so important that we intentionally support students as they are and who they are, when they get to Fordham and when they’re at Fordham—that we are transparent and effective in this work,” she said.

In a culmination of longstanding efforts to increase diversity in the college’s Honors Program, 60% of students offered admission this year are either BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or people of color) or first-generation students, Mast said.

The University has also secured a planning grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to join a national learning community aimed at building capacity for developing inclusive, equitable, anti-racist approaches to STEM education—in first-year “gateway” courses, in particular—to support students who are underrepresented in these fields, she said.

The panelists took questions, including one about why the University doesn’t have an Asian American studies program with a major and minor offered. Badowska said she had met with members of the faculty—which would have to propose any new program, according to University statutes—about surveying the existing classes and resources to see what might be offered immediately while they work on developing a program.

“It is the curriculum that reveals who we are, and it is our academic programs that say we’re an anti-racist university or we are not an anti-racist university,” she said. “So that’s one of the reasons why an Asian American studies program is so critical for us to develop at this moment.”

Eradicating Racism

In response to another question—“Do you really believe that racism can be eradicated at Fordham?”—Rainford spoke of a long-term effort.

“There are some that still believe that racism doesn’t exist,” said Rainford, who is Black. “But the fact of the matter is, it’s in the fabric of everything in the country.”

“It will take time and effort, and we will not eradicate racism in our lifetime, but we certainly can help advance racial equity,” such as through the efforts the deans described, she said.

Zapata responded, “It’s going to take courage, the courage to … listen to the experiences of people who don’t always feel they have a chance to voice their experiences.”

Stovall said, “We currently live in a world where scientists are literally talking about creating human immortality in less than a century. So in that kind of world, I think all sorts of things are possible, including eradicating racism.”

Hurdles to Surmount

Asked about obstacles the University faces, Mast mentioned funding—for staffing, on-campus housing, and financial aid, for instance.

Badowska spoke of the challenges that would be inherent in changing the University’s culture to a point where everyone in the arts and sciences community would possess the five competencies that the deans have proposed:

• Knowledge about racism, white privilege, and related topics;
• Self-knowledge and a commitment to self-work and continuous learning in these areas;
• Commitment to disrupting microaggressions and racist dynamics in the classroom, the workplace, and beyond;
• Commitment to systemic change through examining policies and practices to make sure they support racial equity; and
• Reimagined community and allyship, or a capacity to form equitable partnerships and alliances across racial lines.

“We know that we have a long road before we can say that everyone has these five capacities, but we’ve identified them,” she said.

The event drew 64 attendees, nearly all of whom stayed nearly a half-hour beyond the event’s one-hour allotted time.

“That, I think, shows the great hunger and thirst that the people of Fordham have for this great work that we’re about together,” Father McShane said. “One of the things we have to remind ourselves is that this is a beginning, and that’s an important observation and an important thing for us to own. We have a long journey ahead of us, but we are up for it and will keep at it.”

With these words, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, introduced an online discussion with Fordham’s deans of the arts of sciences on Tuesday evening, Oct. 13. The event, titled “Eradicating Racism in Arts and Sciences at Fordham University,” was moderated by Valerie Rainford, FCRH ’86, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees and the founder and CEO of Elloree Talent Strategies.

“The purpose of today’s session is to open a dialogue with the Fordham community,” said Rainford, a former managing director and head of Advancing Black Leaders strategy at JPMorgan Chase. A Fordham graduate, she began working with the deans this past summer to address issues of racism and inequity, and she is spearheading anti-racism trainings within the University as part of Fordham’s action plan for addressing racism. “We see this as a series of conversations, and today is just the start.”

Eva Badowska, Ph.D., dean of the faculty of arts and sciences and associate vice president for arts and sciences, said the four deans’ efforts unite undergraduate and graduate programs at the University. “We as a leadership team in arts and sciences have committed ourselves to the work of anti-racism,” she said.

During the event, the deans addressed several questions that had been submitted in advance, including one from someone who asked why such a discussion was necessary at Fordham.

Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, responded by noting that this past spring, after the May 25 killing of George Floyd galvanized nationwide protests against racial injustice, Fordham “started hearing an outpouring of testimonials” from students and alumni of color who described their experiences of discrimination on campus. She cited two Instagram accounts, in particular: Black at Fordham and Let’s Talk About It Fordham.

“Hundreds of stories were told on these Instagram accounts, and my fellow deans and I read every single one of them,” Auricchio said. “These social media posts were a wake-up call. They prompted us to start having conversations that we might never have had before … with an ear to learning where there might be opportunity for change.”

Tyler Stovall, Ph.D., became dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in July, and said that anti-racism work “was part of my introduction to Fordham University.”

“I was literally hired the same week that George Floyd was murdered,” Stovall said. “For me, being an African American dean at Fordham has called up both opportunities and responsibilities. It has meant that I have to think about what other members of the African American community are experiencing and the ways in which my position can be an asset to that community and, through that community, an asset to Fordham as a whole.”

Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, noted that Stovall, in the deans’ first training session together, had challenged his colleagues: “He said, ‘Why now? Why are you committed to this now? And how do I know that you’re going to carry through that commitment?’”

“It was an opportunity to be humble,” Mast said.

She told the audience that she and her fellow deans have heard from Fordham’s students that they want Fordham to commit to combating anti-Blackness and racism at the University. To that end, deans and faculty have engaged in brainstorming sessions and role-playing activities “to discern, perceive, and disrupt racism,” she said, using a phrase that Badowska coined to describe the deans’ approach to the problem.

“We’re reckoning with ourselves, with our history of being indoctrinated with racism,” Mast said. “We need to educate ourselves so we can educate others.”

As part of that reckoning, the four deans and their staffs have undertaken a joint self-education, working with two consultants, Kathy Obear, Ed.D., and Michelle Loyd-Paige, Ph.D. The deans noted that Rainford has been instrumental in pushing them to engage in this process in a way that will benefit the Fordham arts and sciences community as a whole.

Several people in the audience wanted to know how anti-racism would be reflected in the University’s curriculum, and Badowska described some of those efforts.

“There is an initiative to really review and explore the existing core curriculum,” she said, noting that while that process will take some time, departments are already exploring pilot-level curriculum initiatives with the assistance of Rafael Zapata, Fordham’s chief diversity officer, special assistant to the president for diversity, and associate vice president for academic affairs. And since faculty are central to any curricular initiatives, she also described broad efforts to recruit and retain diverse faculty, stating that of 26 arts and sciences faculty members hired this year, 46% reported their race as non-white.

The deans, in recent communications to arts and sciences faculty, also highlighted initiatives like the formation of the Deans’ Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, and efforts to develop and implement anti-racism trainings for faculty and first-year students.

Throughout the conversation, the panelists made clear that while work has already started to bring anti-racism to the forefront of Fordham’s arts and sciences education, there is much more to be done, and that these must be ongoing conversations with and among all members of the Fordham community, including alumni.

“We are learning now from one another in ways that are very important, and sometimes very hard, very uncomfortable,” Father McShane said at the close of the discussion. “But they are necessary for us. This endeavor is mission-central, mission-critical, mission-essential.”

On Friday evening, when alumni would normally attend their class receptions, certified sommelier Gabriella Macari, GABELLI ’09, will lead webinar attendees through a virtual wine tasting. In the spirit of the intellectually stimulating lectures alumni have come to expect from reunion weekend, Macari, whose family owns Macari Vineyards in Mattituck, New York, also plans to share a bit about the history of viticulture and winemaking, particularly in the North Fork region of Long Island. Alumni will have the chance to order wines from Macari Vineyards with a special discount code—or follow along with their personal favorites.

On Saturday, alumni will have the opportunity to hear directly from Father McShane, who will give an update on the state of the University over coffee. Later that afternoon, members of various alumni affinity chapters, including Rainbow Rams, MOSAIC, and Mimes & Mummers, will host virtual versions of their typical Jubilee gatherings.

While many alumni are sure to miss dancing at the Jubilee Gala and the outdoor fun of the Jubilee Picnic, they will have the chance to get some exercise and wind down through a yoga and meditation session led by Carolyn Funke, GSS ’19, who will help attendees feel centered and connected.

All alumni from across Fordham’s schools and campuses are invited to join the virtual festivities and are encouraged to follow Fordham’s social media accounts for more reunion content. A special webinar with Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, is also being planned for later in the month, and the reunions team hopes to hold an in-person gathering for 2020 Jubilarians when it is safe to do so.

To see a full weekend schedule and register for events, visit fordham.edu/jubilee.

“When I look at Edwards Parade, I see it very differently than the way that you do,” he said, speaking from the Terrace of the Presidents during the videocast 175th Commencement ceremony. “As I gaze out on it, it is packed to overflowing, with you, the members of the Class of 2020, and the throngs of fans who gathered to hail and to toast you. So my dear friends, welcome home.”

Though the coronavirus pandemic made it necessary to postpone the traditional pomp and circumstance, Fordham’s video webcast of the 175th Commencement recognized more than 5,500 graduates, many of whom celebrated in their own homes while tuning in. The University plans to hold an in-person Commencement on campus when public health officials and the governor deem it safe to do so.

During the ceremony, the deans of each of Fordham’s schools and colleges, dressed in their traditional academic robes and participating from their own homes, presented their candidates for graduation to Father McShane, who officially conferred their degrees. Each school also set up a recognition page with audio slides for all of the graduates—some of which contained photos and personal messages. Fordham Law held a virtual diploma ceremony on Monday; the graduate division of the Gabelli School of Business will hold one on Tuesday.

A Longing to Be Together

The Class of 2020 was always a unique class, Father McShane said, but what they’ve had to face in the last three months truly sets them apart.

“You are a class that has been tried and tested as no other class in our history has been,” he said. “Three months ago, your final semester Fordham, a semester that should have been a joyous and carefree victory lap, was disrupted. Your world was turned completely upside down. Innocent pleasures vanished overnight. You experienced the loss of sacred memories with your friends, and understandably, you mourned.”

At the Baccalaureate Mass on Friday night—also presented via videocast—James Martin, S.J., editor-at-large of America magazine, said that these feelings of mourning were natural. Participating from his home, Martin received an honorary doctorate of humane letters and served as homilist at the Mass, which was celebrated in the University Church and featured a Zoom choir performance with students singing from their respective locations.

In thinking about the Class of 2020, Father Martin said, he was reminded of the Gospel passage about the Road to Emmaus. Two disciples were walking along the road, and before the resurrected Jesus joined them, they uttered what Martin called the saddest words in the New Testament—“we had hoped.”

“And I bet I know that you may have been thinking some version of those words in the last few weeks—we had hoped,” Martin said. “We had hoped that we’d be able to say a real goodbye to some of our classmates. We had hoped that we would have an amazing and fun last semester. We had hoped that things would have been different for graduation. And it’s okay to feel those feelings—they’re natural, human, and real.”

Still, Martin urged the graduates to remember that they were not on this journey alone.

“Even amidst the sadness, confusion, and fear, God is on your side,” Martin said. “When you think about your future right now—figuring out what to do, looking for a job, mapping out your life, remembering that it’s not just you struggling on your own, know God is with you.”

Fordham College at Rose Hill valedictorian Rosemarie McCormack, FCRH ’20, said that the day was full of ironies for her, particularly since she had worked at previous commencement ceremonies as a student.

“But the bittersweet ceremonies today are a testament to something special about Fordham,” said McCormack, speaking from her home in Missoula, Montana. “We are a community. We only miss each other because there is something to miss.”

The Resilient Class

It’s that ability to try and find the bright side that gives the Class of 2020, dubbed both the dodransbicentennial class and the visionary class by Father McShane, another attribute to their names, according to Kaylee Wong, GABELLI ’20.

“When we arrived on campus back in 2016, Father McShane called us, the Class of 2020, ‘the visionary class,’ but in the past few months we have learned we are more than that,” she said in a video to her classmates. “We are the resilient class.”

Father McShane echoed that sentiment and said the class, which had to move back home and finish their semester online, had learned a new set of lessons.

“In the process, you learned to see things in entirely new ways,” he said. “You learned to see things with the eyes of the heart. You became men and women of wisdom and character. You became women and men who became, as your class here calls you to be, truly visionary.”

Michele Kalt, a new graduate of the Graduate School of Social Service, said that the Class of 2020 was uniquely prepared to handle this challenge.

“I find great comfort knowing that you, my fellow classmates, will be dispatched as torchbearers of hope and beacons of light in a world that needs us now more than ever,” she said in a video speech to her classmates.

Hayley Williams, FCLC ’20, said in a video message just after the Baccalaureate Mass that she had been trying over the last few weeks in quarantine to handle feeling helpless and apathetic.

“My actions seem to impact little outside of my own home,” she said.

This left her thinking, “after four years at Fordham, what did I gain? Where is my purpose in this?”

Williams said that a sentence from Father McShane kept coming back to her—“Fordham students will leave being bothered.”

“Simple, yes, but this is the most valuable lesson I learned in college,” she said. “Fordham asked me to be a woman for others. I could not be a Fordham student and be numb to the needs of my city, my community … With all the hurt and disappointment and loss plaguing our world, I cannot let myself be unbothered by it. We cannot let ourselves be unbothered.”

‘Bold and Infectious Love’

It’s these lessons learned by graduates, both over the course of their time at Fordham, but in particular, over the last three months, that can help shape them into men and women for others, Father McShane said.

“Never forget the hard, necessary, and saving lessons that you have learned in the course of the past three difficult months,” he said. “Shape the world’s future with and through them. Teach these lessons to others, not by preaching about them, but by living by them and living them. Live heroically. Live with bold and infectious love. For this, my dear friends, this is your special burden, your mission, and your pride.”

In their reflections before the Baccalaureate Mass, students Joseph Papeo, FCRH ’20, and Emma Quinn, FCLC ’20, said that although the Class of 2020 is separated right now, they will always be connected by their Fordham roots.

“This celebration reminds us that no matter where life may find us, we are united by our memories and our experiences as Fordham students,” Papeo said.

Most of all, Papeo urged his classmates to be prepared to embrace the values Fordham taught them as they approach the next phase of their journey.

“As we’ve heard so many times before, but need to hear now more than ever, let us all go out, when it’s safe, and set the world on fire,” he said.

To view the full commencement ceremony and class videos, visit fordham.edu/commencement.

Peace of Christ.

During my visits to the University Church, I have found myself irresistibly drawn to pray before a stained glass window in the east transept. I can and do stand before it for long periods of time, frequently with tears in my eyes. Understand that I have passed and looked at that window hundreds of times in the course of the twenty-three years that I have been at Fordham. And I have never had a particularly emotional reaction to it. In fact, if the truth were told, I would have to confess that my eyes–dry or otherwise–were never really drawn to it. At all. Of course, if you asked me, I could have told you who was depicted in the window. If you asked me if there was anything else interesting about it, I would probably have told you that the artist who created the window had cleverly inserted a Rembrandt Christ into the background. But I was never drawn to it. I was never drawn into it. Never. I’d walk past it without emotion. But not now. As I said, these days I can’t get away from it. It draws me in with great force. And it speaks to me.

You might ask what could possibly move me to tears before that window. Good question. Bear with me. The window captures a very innocent moment, the moment at which St. Aloysius Gonzaga received his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan (and a great saint in his own right). Innocent enough. But there is a story behind the young man in the window. Aloysius Gonzaga. Gonzaga. If people hear that name these days, they would most probably tell you that it brings to mind the famously successful basketball program at the Jesuit university in Spokane that bears that name. Nothing more. But there is far more to the man in the window than his connection to that perennially strong basketball team from Washington State.

Aloysius was the eldest son of the Marquis of Castiglione. Therefore, to say that he was a child of privilege would be an understatement. A vast understatement. A budding princeling, Aloysius spent his early life among the courtiers of the noble houses of Renaissance Italy (those hotbeds of ambition, corruption, intrigue and power), with a few side trips to the Hapsburg courts of Spain and Austria. Although he was destined to inherit his father’s title and live a life of privilege, his head was not turned by what he saw in those settings. Far from it. In fact, he was deeply troubled by the venality and corruption he encountered in them and decided at an early age to enter the newly-founded Society of Jesus. His father was furious. Aloysius stood his ground. He renounced his titles and his inheritance and left behind him the life his father wanted for him.

After he entered the Jesuits, he pursued his studies at the Roman College, where St. Robert Bellarmine was his spiritual director. When a plague broke out in Rome, like many of his young Jesuit confreres, he worked in the city’s hospitals, ministering to its victims. When his superiors (for fear of incurring his father’s wrath) forbade him to continue his work, he pleaded with them to allow him to continue. They relented, but with a catch. They told him that he could only work in a hospital that did not serve contagious patients. He accepted the assignment on the spot. In the course of his service, however, he cared for a patient who had, in fact, been infected with the plague and was himself infected. He died shortly thereafter.

His brethren recognized his holiness. They recognized his heroism. They recognized his goodness. They were also astounded by the magnitude of the sacrifices he had made: giving up the life of a courtier to live a life of simplicity, and giving up his life to serve the suffering. (His old spiritual director, Robert Bellarmine, a saint, a scholar, and a cardinal, was so impressed by Aloysius that he asked to be buried at his feet.) Throughout his life and in the manner of his death, then, Aloysius was a “sign of contradiction” (or a living oxymoron): he was a humble noble. Or was he all the more fascinating because he redefined nobility in terms of service? I leave it to you to draw your own conclusions.

For myself, when I go to the University Church these days, I am drawn to St. Al’s window. I stand there transfixed. And these words from the Book of Sirach ring in my ears and rumble through my heart: “Let us now praise famous men and women . . . those who gave counsel by their understanding, leaders in their deliberations and learning, wise in their instruction. And … the men and women of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten. Their posterity will continue forever, and their glory will not be blotted out. People will declare their wisdom and the congregation will proclaim their praise.”

And then I think immediately of the St. Al’s in our midst. I think of the men and women on the front lines in the titanic battle with COVID-19 in which the whole world is caught up. I think of the doctors, nurses, EMS workers and counsellors. I think of the parents who have put their lives on hold to watch over their children. I think of the people who labor to keep the nation and the world running. And I am rendered speechless. Absolutely speechless. I find myself inspired just thinking about them. And grateful. Speechless, inspired and grateful. All at once.

Of course, I suspect that I am not alone. I suspect that, like me, you too recognize their goodness, their heroism, and their holiness. Indeed, I suspect that, like me, you recognize their saintliness. And, I suspect that, like myself, you are ennobled by seeing and knowing them, and deeply grateful that they have, through their work shown us the holy nobility that comes from service, especially service of the poor and the most vulnerable.

And so, my dear friends, I wonder if you would mind if I asked a favor of you: could you look at the faces of these latter-day St. Al’s as their stories are told not in the artistry of stained glass, but on the television news reports that we all watch with rapt attention every day. Look at them intently. As you peer into their eyes, pray for them. Pray for them. And, because this would both please them and affirm the nobility of what they are doing, pray also for those whom they are serving so selflessly during this time of trial.

Be assured of my prayers for you and all whom you love as I stand before St. Al’s window and contemplate the epitaph frequently used to summarize his life and the call that we have all received: Natus ad Altiora, “Born for Higher Things.” For we have all been called to Higher Things. Like noble service.

Prayers and blessings,

Joseph M McShane, S.J.

A Prayer in the Midst of the Present Crisis

God of all mercies, grant:

To the Fordham family, safety and good health:
To those afflicted with COVID-19, swift healing;
To the frightened, courage;
To the dying, comfort;
To the dead, eternal life;
To health-care providers, strength and stamina;
To our leaders, wisdom and compassion;
To our nation, unity of purpose;
To the Church, the grace to serve the suffering selflessly;
To all believers, strong faith in Your presence;
To the whole human family, unity of heart; and
To us, your servants, the reward of knowing that we are doing Your will when we spend ourselves in loving service of others.

Peace of Christ.

As you probably know by now, Saturday afternoon Cardinal Dolan announced that, in response to the coronavirus crisis (and out of a deep concern for the welfare of the faithful in his care), there would be no public Masses celebrated in the churches of the Archdiocese of New York until further notice.

To the best of my knowledge, not a day has passed (and certainly not a Sunday has passed) in our 179-year history that the Eucharist has not been celebrated in the public chapels on the University’s campuses. Therefore, although I truly believe that the Cardinal’s decision was pastorally wise, I would be less than honest if I did not admit that I received the news with more than a tinge of sadness.

I also received it with a great sense of responsibility. But responsibility for what? As the pastor for the University family (that wonderful and wonderfully diverse community that is spread all over the world), I felt and feel the responsibility to pray for our beloved Fordham, and to do so from the bottom of my heart in this time of unprecedented peril in our nation’s history and the history of the whole human family.

Therefore, I will celebrate the Eucharist for all of you (and your families and those whom you love) this morning—Sunday—in Spellman Hall. Then, I will make a solitary pilgrimage to the University Church, which has been the site where the Fordham family has found solace and strength at all of the most challenging and the most joyful moments in its history (and in the lives of so many Rams), the place where the men and women of Fordham have encountered the Lord since the day that the Church opened its doors in 1844; where our ancestors in the faith have repaired to pray for guidance in exams; where our older sisters and brothers have prayed before marching off to war; where Fordham graduates have been united in marriage or ordained to the priesthood. With all of you in my heart (and with a lively sense that I am in a place hallowed by the prayers of those who have gone before us), I will kneel before the high altar and pray for you. Over and over again. As I do so, this will be my prayer:

God of all mercies, grant:

To the Fordham family, safety and good health:
To those afflicted with COVID-19, swift healing;
To the frightened, courage;
To the dying, comfort;
To the dead, eternal life;
To health-care providers, strength and stamina;
To our leaders, wisdom and compassion;
To our nation, unity of purpose;
To the Church, the grace to serve the suffering selflessly;
To all believers, strong faith in Your presence;
To the whole human family, unity of heart; and
To us, your servants, the reward of knowing that we are doing Your will when we spend ourselves in loving service of others.

To our families of all faiths, and none, know that you all are in my thoughts every waking hour—not just when I am at the altar, or writing to you like this, or considering the needs of a particular student, parent, faculty member, alumnus, or staff member. It is our human connections that bring us the greatest joys in life, and provoke our deepest fears. Therefore I ask you to treat yourself and those around you with compassion and forbearance as we navigate this crisis. Take comfort in your ties to those around you, and know that you are an indispensable, irreplaceable member of the Fordham family.

May the God of all consolation walk with us through these difficult times. And may He find us worthy of the call to be His healing and reconciling presence in a wounded world.

Prayers and blessings,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

She congratulated the happy couple, snapped a few quick photos, and turned back to the table where she had been chatting with a colleague before heading upstairs to the Fordham University Alumni Association (FUAA) Reception.

Concetta Sapienza, FCLC ’85, GSS ’87, said she knew the proposal was coming—after all, she had helped her partner, Richard Van Allen, pick out the ring. But she “didn’t realize he was going to do it that night,” she said, as they had a drink before attending an event hosted by her alma mater.

Soon after the surprise, the couple made their way upstairs to the third annual event sponsored by Fordham’s University-wide alumni association.

Later that evening, when Mast was introduced to the reception attendees, she and Sapienza locked eyes and immediately recognized each other. Mast then sprang into action. After learning that Sapienza is a graduate of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, she pulled aside Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., that college’s dean.

“She said, ‘Can you roll with me for a minute?’” Auricchio recalled. “I had no idea what I was getting into, but I said OK.”

The two deans then approached the couple and asked permission to put Mast’s plan into action.

‘“I didn’t know you were connected to Fordham,”’ Mast said she told the couple. “‘I’m going to ask Father McShane to give you a blessing. Are you OK with that?’ And they practically fell over.”

“We gave him no warning,” Auricchio said with a laugh. “I was so certain that Father McShane would absolutely want to be a part of it that I just knew immediately that we had to do it.”

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, was delighted to hear their news.

“They’re family,” he told the crowd after he took the microphone.

He called on those in attendance to extend their right hands over the couple to give them a group blessing.

“We call upon God to bless them, to make all the days of their lives days of blessing and grace—days that are marked by love, days on which stories are made, told, and shared forever,” he said. “I ask you to join with me in praying that their marriage might be a marriage that was made in heaven, recognized at the 21 Club, and celebrated with great heart and great, great joy by the members of their extended Fordham family.”

For Sapienza, the blessing was a gift she was not expecting. “It’s really incredibly special,” she said. As a social worker at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, she said she still uses the values she learned at Fordham in her career to this day.

Auricchio, who began her tenure at Fordham this past fall, said the event was just another example of the true meaning of “Fordham family.”

“At first I thought it was just a figure of speech, but they really do mean it,” she said.

Alexandra Loizzo-Desai contributed to this story.

In 1989, the physics department had a sudden opening.

“Her transfer to the physics department has an interesting background,” Vice Provost Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D., said. “The introduction of computers on the secretary’s desk scared the daylights out of the physics department’s then-secretary, who immediately retired.”

Since then, Morgan, who also earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1995 from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and a master’s degree in social work in 2003 from GSS, which she has used to provide counseling services for children at a community center after-school program in Stamford, Connecticut, has never left.

“It’s the longest tenure I’ve had and I like all the faculty and hopefully they like me,” she said. “They really keep me going. It’s like home away from home. I always tell people, ‘I’m leaving home to go home.’”

Morgan was one of 12 members of Fordham’s support staff, facilities team, and custodial staff who were honored at the 1841 Awards ceremony on Nov. 18. The awards, which got their name from the year Fordham was founded, aim to recognize the day-to-day operations employees who have worked at the University for 20 or 40 years. This year, which had 16 award winners, was the 37th year of the celebration.

“You are the men and women who for 20 or 40 years—I can’t believe the 40—have really been the strength of the university, the people who do the jobs behind the scenes that make it possible for our students to grow, our faculty to shine,” Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, told the award recipients.

Father McShane said people often ask him, “What is Fordham?”

“I say, ‘wrong question.’ Fordham is not a what. It’s a who,” he said. And today, every year, this time of year, we get a chance to tell the world who Fordham is and you are Fordham.”

This year’s recipients included staff members who had earned their Ph.D., those who started at the University when they were just teenagers, and those who were ready to embark on their next chapters.

Awardee Edward Matthews runs the Fordham Law mailroom. According to his children, Matthews takes skills from his home life and brings them to work.

“He does treat Fordham like his second family, the care and love he gives to his family, I think he applies it at work,” said his son, Bernard Matthews, executive director and chief technology officer at Fordham Law School. “He tries never to miss a day and he really is dedicated. Even on the weekends, holidays, he gives his time to come in because he doesn’t want to return to a deluge of mail piling up for him. He knows how important it is for faculty members that are publishing, the law clinic which is a 24-7 operation, he understands the mission’s important.”

Matthew Diller, dean of the law school, said that Matthews is known for his dedication and commitment.

“No amount of schedule change, room adjustment, mechanical failure, or crisis, real or imagined, altered his dedication to competence, hard work, and professionalism,” he said. “He is a true joy to work with.”

Jose Brea, a Rose Hill custodian, got his start at Walsh Family Library, where he spent years cleaning the study lounges and the lobby’s floors, according to Marco Valera, vice president for administration.

Valera said Brea earned the title “El Capitan” because of his unmatched floor-polishing skills.

“Each year, when we start our preparation for Commencement in Keating, José steps up to help us prep the building to perfection. He takes charge and always ensures that the floors are flawless.”

Father McShane said all of the recipients had unique talents and dedicated them to the University to help make it a special place.

“You really are the people who make the University who it is, what it is, and you make it shine,” he said.

The 1841 Award Recipients for 2019:

Twenty-Year Medalists:

Jose E. Brea—Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Lartha Bridgett—School of Law
Isabelle Brown—Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Dorcas Cabrera—Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Ferdinand T. Cano—Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
Bertha H. Conte—Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Thomas Giangreco—University Libraries
George Grannum—Facilities Operations, Lincoln Center
Christopher J. Lyons—University Libraries
Edward R. Matthews—School of Law
Herbert L. Mayner Jr.—School of Law
Miriam Rivera—Graduate School of Social Service
Carlos Ruiz—Custodial Services, Rose Hill
Monica A. Wilson—Graduate School of Social Service

Forty-Year Medalists:

Richard Mastropietro—Facilities Operations, Rose Hill
Esther Morgan—Physics Department

For this third annual Fordham Night at the stadium, the Fordham University Alumni Association worked with the Yankees to give the first 1,000 ticket-buyers a custom jersey with a Fordham patch on the sleeve.

Prior to the game, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham—and perhaps the University’s No. 1 Yankee fan (he once threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the stadium)—stopped by the YES Network broadcast booth. He provided Fordham hats to the announcers, including former Yankee Paul O’Neill, who was calling the game with Michael Kay, FCRH ’82. When Kay gave Fordham a shoutout and mentioned Father McShane during the broadcast, O’Neill remarked on his “nice new (maroon) golf hat,” and recalled going to a Fordham basketball game once at the “really cool” Rose Hill Gym.

Also in attendance was Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., the new dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, a native  New Yorker and longtime Yankee fan whose great-grandfather once staged a production of Verdi’s Aida at the original Yankee Stadium. In an update to an Instagram post celebrating the home team’s victory, she noted that one lucky fan, Patrick Mulvey, FCLC ’78, even caught a foul ball hit by Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner. “Truly a magical night!” she wrote.

Photos courtesy of Sally Benner, Barbara Ann Hall, Sara Hunt Munoz, and Bryan Zabala.