Tetlow said that Khalil’s goal in life is “to be a person of integrity, to matter to the world, and most of all, of course, to make his parents proud.”

She called Khalil’s family the “quintessential” immigrant story. They came to the U.S. from Egypt, and his father, Mostafa, started his own business, a limo company in New York City. Mostafa drove guests to Fordham and dreamed of sending his own children to the University. “That dream came true because of all of you,” Tetlow said.

Khalil is one of 48 Fordham Founder’s scholars whose scholarships are supported by the annual Fordham Founder’s dinner. This year’s dinner, held on March 20 at the Glasshouse in Manhattan, raised about $2.3 million for the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. The University also paid tribute to this year’s Fordham Founder’s Award recipients: Robert D. Daleo, GABELLI ’72, and Linda Daleo; Thomas M. Lamberti, Esq., FCRH ’52, and Eileen Lamberti; and Vincent E. “Vin” Scully, FCRH ’49, who was honored posthumously.

Tetlow, who was speaking at her first Founder’s Dinner, told the audience that their support is why students like Khalil can achieve their dreams.

“For almost two centuries, we have dared our students to dream, to lift their hopes and their ambitions, all in New York, the city quite literally fueled by the power of dreams,” she said. “We bring together the best and brightest from every corner of the world, and we make them believe that they belong here. We create opportunities and transform lives, and we spin their dreams and talents into reality.”

‘Where Dreams Take Us’

This year’s Fordham Founder’s Award honorees were recognized for their many generous gifts to the University, from their financial support over the years to their leadership, guidance, and mentorship of Fordham’s students.

“Tonight, we celebrate everyone in this room, for your selfless and generous support that provides the promise of a Fordham education, a transformational Jesuit education, for our diverse and deserving students,” said David Ushery, the evening’s emcee. Ushery, an evening news anchor for NBC 4 New York, received an honorary doctorate from Fordham in 2019, and his wife, Isabel Rivera-Ushery, graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1990.

Ushery referred to the Fordham basketball teams’ recent successes, highlighting the excitement that captured the University community of late. He called on those in attendance to “echo that cheer and passion we heard this season, something I first heard at Rose Thrill.”

Tetlow said that she and the whole University community are grateful for the support of the honorees and all who support the dinner.

“For more than two decades, our Founder’s honorees and donors have worked to bring our students’ dreams to life,” she said. “Our students will follow in your footsteps, and they will make a difference to the world.”

Bob Daleo, former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, has served as the chair of the Fordham Board of Trustees for more than 10 years; his tenure will conclude on June 30. As chair, Daleo has played a critical role in the University’s growth and strategic advancement. He and his wife, Linda, support multiple educational institutions in New York City.

Armando Nuñez, the chair-elect of the Board of Trustees, thanked Daleo for “sharing his wisdom, insights, and experience.”

Daleo said that he was used to celebrating and recognizing other Founder’s Award honorees, “women and men, recognized for success in living the Fordham mission, each in their own way, giving of themselves, being men and women for others.”

“When we honor them, we celebrate Fordham,” he said. “We recognize the importance of its mission and its continued relevance in today’s world.”

Daleo called on those in attendance to continue to support Fordham’s work and its students as the University works toward its “third century” of educating students.

“This kind of support has never been more necessary for us to sustain the currency of our educational programs, build new infrastructure, and to support as many students as possible,” he said.
(Watch the Daleos’ Founder’s Award speech here.)

Providing Educational Opportunities

Thomas Lamberti, a Fordham President’s Council member, is a retired labor and employment lawyer who practiced law for more than 60 years. He and his wife, Eileen, have supported numerous initiatives at Fordham, including the Elizabeth A. Johnson Endowed Scholarship for women in theology as well as the vocal group Highbridge Voices, which performed at the dinner and has an ongoing partnership with Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning.

Lamberti, a son of Italian immigrants, said that he believed his legacy was “to give the same educational opportunities that I had” to sons and daughters of immigrants. He also spoke of his growing awareness of the civil rights movement—and the effects of segregation in the South—while serving in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s at what was then Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia.

He said that he and his wife, Eileen—whom he compared to St. Therese of Lisieux, since she “scatters flowers of love wherever life takes her”—returned to the South last year to visit Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham, he was struck by a mural dedicated to the memory of John Lewis, the late congressman and civil rights leader. It featured a quote of his: “If you come together with a mission, and it’s grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible.”

“I am asking you wonderful people that are here tonight who are dedicated to Fordham, let’s join that mission,” Lamberti said. “Let’s educate children, particularly Black and brown children from poor sections of New York, and let’s make their dreams come true.”
(Watch the Lambertis’ Founder’s Award speech here.)

Supporting the Next Generation

Vin Scully, who died in August 2022, was the beloved voice of the Dodgers for 67 years and announcer for Major League Baseball on CBS and NBC. He got his start at WFUV, Fordham’s public media station, and was known as the “patron saint of WFUV Sports.” Scully left $1 million each to Fordham and Fordham Prep after he died.

“This award celebrates his life, his legacy, and the traditions and values he held so dear, and shaped how he led his life,” his daughter Erin Scully said upon accepting the award in his honor. “He learned these traditions and values while at Fordham University.”

Scully said that her father provided financial support and mentorship to students because he “knew the responsibility he had to nurture the next generation in those same values and traditions he had been taught.”
(Watch Erin Scully accept the award on behalf of her father.)

‘One of the Best Experiences of My Life’

Sharissa Fernandes, GABELLI ’23, told the more than 850 attendees that their support has helped her find her interests, passion, and a career. Fernandes said that when she started at Fordham, she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do, but through the support of mentors like Father Vin DeCola, S.J., Fernandes found success as a global business student at the Lincoln Center campus. She graduated in December and is about to join Deloitte, where she interned, as a cybersecurity analyst.

“Since freshman year itself, the Gabelli School has constantly placed a huge emphasis on conducting business with a purpose,” she said. “The University’s Jesuit values, morals, and ethics in carrying out business along with building strong relationships has been one of my biggest takeaways from the University that I am immensely grateful for.”

Fernandes said the University also supported her and her friends when they traveled to Washington, D.C., to “meet and interview Uyghur detention camp survivors.” She said that many of these opportunities were possible thanks to the support of the donors in the room.

“Being at Fordham, and a part of this cura personalis-driven education program, has been one of the best experiences of my life,” she said. “All of us here tonight owe a huge part of it to all of you, so thank you.”
(Watch Fernandes’ speech here.)

The night also featured a video recap showing where past Founder’s scholars have gone after leaving Fordham.

Madeline Felix-Tyler, a 2008 Fordham College at Lincoln Center graduate, said she was among the second-ever group of Founder’s scholars.

“Through this program you have supported 140 scholars. These are students who would not have benefited from our fine Jesuit, Catholic education without your overwhelming support and yes, generosity,” she said. “I can tell you personally, you have impacted our career paths and our lives.”

Captivating Performances

The night also featured multiple performances. Highbridge Voices, a performing arts group made up of elementary to high school students from the Bronx, kicked off the evening with moving renditions of the songs “No Time” and “I’ll Be on My Way.” And Fordham College at Rose Hill first-year student Alexa Carmona performed the national anthem.

Joshua Screen, a Founder’s scholar and Fordham College at Lincoln Center junior, said that the theme of the evening, “Where Dreams Take Us,” inspired him “to share something very special with all of you—so naturally I wrote a song called ‘Our Story.’” Screen conducted a debut performance of the song with Valeria Fernandez, a first-year Fordham College at Lincoln Center student, and Cade Parker, a first-year Fordham College at Lincoln Center student who is also a Founder’s scholar.

“We can be our own writers for the stories we make,” the students sang. “The future’s looking much brighter, and with our light we can lead the way.”

At the end of the evening, the surprise closing act brought the audience to its feet: President Tania Tetlow joined members of the University Choir in performing “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

On Oct. 31, administrators from both schools met at the Rose Hill campus with Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham, and the executor of Scully’s estate to accept the gift to the University and to speak to the importance of Scully’s legacy. “With this gift, we celebrate Vin’s talents and fundamental decency, and teach them to the next generation,” Tetlow said.

“He loved these schools, and this is a way for him to express his gratitude,” said the executor, Edward White, during the meeting. He visited both schools to go over the gifts, which can be used however each institution sees fit.

Also on hand to celebrate the gift were Ed Kull, Fordham’s athletic director, and Chuck Singleton, general manager of WFUV, Fordham’s public media station, where Scully worked as a student broadcaster before gaining renown as the Voice of the Dodgers, the baseball franchise that moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Los Angeles in 1957.

Sometimes referred to as the Velvet Voice, Scully was beloved for his eloquence and iconic style as an announcer, and provided inspiration for generations of sports broadcasters. Scully served the Dodgers for 67 years, retiring in 2016. He was 94 at the time of his passing on August 2.

His many awards and honors include induction into the University’s Hall of Honor and into the broadcasters’ wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as a Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed by President Barack Obama in 2016.

On Nov. 1, Scully was honored with a video tribute at WFUV’s annual On the Record awards dinner. On March 20, he will be honored with a posthumous Founder’s Award at the 2023 Fordham Founder’s Dinner, to be held at The Glasshouse in Manhattan, with Scully’s family accepting the award on his behalf. Two days later, on March 22, the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, will celebrate a memorial Mass in Scully’s honor at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 10 a.m.

In addition, the press box at Houlihan Park at Jack Coffey Field will be renamed in Scully’s honor, among other initiatives to honor his legacy, the University announced on Nov. 14.

Setting the Tone

The son of Irish immigrants, Vincent Edward Scully graduated from Fordham Prep in 1944 and went on to call baseball, basketball, and football games for WFUV—which was founded during his student years at Fordham College at Rose Hill.

“WFUV turns 75 this fall, and in the beginning, there was Vin Scully,” Singleton said. “Vin set the tone in 1947, and his influence echoes today in the quality work of WFUV’s talented young sports journalists.”

Scully kept up with Fordham over the years, taking interviews from FUV student journalists, hosting some workshops for them, and returning to campus as commencement speaker in 2000 and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University. His presence is also felt in Fordham athletics, since he played for the baseball team as a student.

In remarks after the meeting, Kull said Scully was “more than just a voice; he was an institution and a true master of his craft.”

“The impact he made on not only baseball, but the entire sports media industry, is humbling,” Kull said. “His story, with his Fordham and Bronx roots, continues to inspire our Rams and the entire Fordham family.”

A Bond with Fordham

Scully’s Fordham baseball career included a game against Yale, whose team included a future U.S. president, George H.W. Bush. When Bush was president, he met Scully for golf and later sent him a framed photo taken of them, White noted at the meeting.

“He frequently spoke very fondly of his experience at WFUV, and always felt that he was a part of the Fordham family … and wanted to contribute equally to Fordham Prep and Fordham University, which is exactly what he did,” said White, Scully’s business manager and friend for over 40 years, after the meeting.

“As a lifelong Catholic, he had a deep appreciation for the faith foundation provided at this exceptional Jesuit institution,” said White, senior partner with Edward White & Co., LLP, in Woodland Hills, California. He noted that Scully sponsored him during his own conversion to Catholicism. “He loved the foundation that he received, spiritually and academically. Every time he spoke of Fordham, it was glowing.”

He sometimes glimpsed Scully’s kindness and generosity—as well as his fame—while traveling with him, along with Scully’s late wife, Sandra, and his own wife, Mary White, who also attended the Oct. 31 meeting.

“Wherever we went, he was so well received, and so appreciated and so loved, and people would oftentimes stand in line to see if they couldn’t get his autograph or if they could have a photograph of him,” White said. “He was very thoughtful and compassionate to everyone. Whether he was speaking to a parking attendant or a most senior person [in politics]or in the commercial world, he treated everyone equally.”

During his trip to New York, White attended another event with a small Fordham connection—a Nov. 1 ceremony in which another client of his, the late singer and actress Lena Horne, a 1997 Fordham honorary degree recipient, became the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her.

It was a joy to see where Scully attended school, White said. “He was truly a wonderful, giving, loving human being. We all loved him. We miss him indeed.”

Fordham’s donors, alumni, and friends gathered on Nov. 8 not only to honor the Founder’s Scholars—Fordham students whose scholarships are supported by the event—but also to pay tribute to the evening’s honorees: Emanuel “Manny” Chirico, GABELLI ’79, PAR; his wife Joanne M. Chirico, PAR; and Joseph H. Moglia, FCRH ’71.

“I would like to thank all of you for supporting this long-overdue annual celebration of our beloved University,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

Father McShane noted that there was “eager longing” for this Founder’s Dinner, in part because of the last 18 months but also because it kicked off the new campaign for the student experience.

“We also celebrate the public launch of the Cura Personalis campaign, a campaign that will make it possible for the University to continue to redeem the promise that it has made to its students for 180 years: the promise to provide them with the kind of personal, empowering, and transformative care that has always been the hallmark of a Fordham education,” he said. “I am happy to tell you that, thanks to the generosity that you have already shown, we have already raised $170 million toward the $350 million goal. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

All attendees were required to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask when entering The Glasshouse, which featured sweeping views overlooking the Hudson, outdoor terraces, and an airy ballroom lit by modern chandeliers.

Supporting the Students

David Ushery, the anchor for NBC 4 New York’s 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts, emceed the Founder’s Dinner, which began in 2002 and has raised more than $42 million to support the Fordham Founder’s Scholarship Fund. Ushery received an honorary doctorate from Fordham in 2019, and his wife, Isabel Rivera-Ushery, is a 1990 graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill.

“You have supported 130 Fordham students through this program—students who would not have benefited from our fine Jesuit education without your support and generosity,” Ushery told the more than 1,000 attendees. “You have impacted the scholars’ career paths as they are ‘setting the world on fire.’ Your impact on them guides their impact on others.”

The New Campaign

That impact will be taken to new levels through the University’s new fundraising campaign. Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, which aims to enhance the student experience as well as prepare students to work for social justice and be leaders in today’s world. The campaign pledges to renew Fordham’s commitment to care for the whole student as a unique, complex person and to nurture their gifts accordingly.

The campaign features four main pillars: access and affordability, academic excellence, student wellness and success, and athletics—with diversity, equity, and inclusion goals embedded in each of them. The night also featured the debut of a new campaign video that highlights the student experience at Fordham.

Founder’s Scholar Sydney Veazie, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, said that the Jesuit value of cura personalis, or care of the whole person, has been an essential part of her experience at Fordham. At Fordham, Veazie said, the Latin noun cura is transformed into a verb—something that students, faculty, and staff put into action.

“[Cura Personalis] becomes an active call, a mission statement, and a defining feature of this University to care for the students who call it home—to attend to us and to our needs,” said Veazie, a double major in international political economy and classical civilization. “Each student can expect personalized care, personalized attention during our time here.”

Veazie, a Fordham tour guide who currently volunteers as a team lead for the Fordham chapter of Consult Your Community and at Belmont High School, said she plans to take the lessons of cura personalis that she learned at Fordham and carry them forward.

“I’ll be going to law school in the fall of 2022, and I eventually hope to work in government and politics and infuse cura into everything I do,” she said.

Veazie said that none of this would have been possible for her or her fellow Founder’s Scholars without the support of those in attendance.

“I cannot stress enough how important this kind of investment is,” she said. “Fordham’s emphasis on cura personalis yields a student body, a community, that itches to pay forward the lessons, the care, and the holistic development we’ve received during our time here.”

Thomas Reuter, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and United Student Government president, served as student MC for the second half of the program. He said the campaign will help ensure that all students feel at home at Fordham and that they’re able to take advantage of the opportunities the University offers.

“This campaign will invest in what we love most about Fordham…its student-centered Jesuit, Catholic education that nurtures the whole person,” he said. “This campaign will renew and enhance our distinctive educational experience that has transformed lives since Fordham was founded in 1841.”

Honorees

Father McShane expressed gratitude to the evening’s honorees for their efforts to support Fordham’s mission and its students.

“You are extraordinary … you are generous with your time, treasure, and talent … and you stand as exemplars of the renewal of the University in its identity and mission,” he said.

Manny Chirico, a titan of the fashion industry, is the longtime chairman and CEO of PVH Corp., the world’s second-largest apparel company; he plans to retire next month. Chirico served as the company’s CEO beginning in 2006 and as its board chairman since 2007. He currently serves on the boards of Montefiore Medical Center and Save the Children, while Joanne serves as the vice president of the Parish Council at Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, New York, and is on the board of Montfort Academy.

Manny, who is also a Fordham trustee, recalled that when he was a senior at Fordham, he took a philosophy class with a Jesuit professor who quoted St. Ignatius Loyola: “Go forth and set the world on fire.”

“I really like that quote, it sounded like something Vince Lombardi would say just before he sent his team out to play in the Super Bowl,” Chirico said. “I had no idea what it meant, but I wrote it down in my notebook.”

Chirico said that he asked the priest what this quote actually meant.

“In typical Jesuit fashion, he said to me, ‘Young man, that’s what you need to figure out,’” he said. “So for the last 40 years, I’ve been trying to figure out what it means to go forth and set the world on fire—I’m still working on it—but I do realize that there is no formula and no set answer. It’s a challenge to make a difference in the small things we do every day.”

Joe Moglia has combined his love of finance and football throughout his life, working as a championship-winning defensive coordinator at Dartmouth before joining the MBA training program at Merrill Lynch and eventually becoming CEO and chairman of TD Ameritrade, a post he held for more than 24 years, before returning to football as the head coach at Coastal Carolina University. Moglia currently serves as the chair of athletics at Coastal Carolina and board chairman of Fundamental Global Investors and Capital Wealth Advisors.

When he was a senior at Fordham, Moglia took a job coaching at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, and said that he wanted to provide his players with something more than just a desire to win.

“How do you lay the foundation upon which those boys become men?” he said.

“We created a philosophy that said, ‘A real man, a real woman, a real leader, stands on their own two feet, takes responsibility for themselves, always treats others with dignity and respect, and deals with the consequences of their actions,” he said.

Moglia said that this mindset and philosophy came from Fordham.

“This is a university for others, that loves others, so for me, for whatever I may have accomplished in my life, at the end of the day I’m so incredibly proud to be part of Fordham … and hopefully as I go forward, I continue to make Fordham proud,” he said.

The Chiricos and Moglia were originally supposed to be honored in 2020, but that Founder’s Dinner was canceled due to the pandemic. They were also recognized earlier this year at a virtual toast for scholars and honorees.

The night also featured several performances: Tyler Tagliaferro, a 2017 graduate of the Fordham College at Lincoln Center, played the bagpipes as guests walked in; the Young People’s Chorus of New York City performed; Jesira Rodriguez, a Fordham College at Lincoln Center senior and a Founder’s Scholar, sang the national anthem; and the Fordham Ramblers closed the evening with an a cappella rendition of “The Ram,” Fordham’s fight song.

Father McShane called on those in attendance to honor the members of the Fordham community who preceded them by investing in and supporting current students.

“You were formed by and now possess the intangibles that make for Fordham’s greatness, and that distinguish Fordham from other universities,” he said. “You are men and women for others. You are men and women of character, grit, determination, integrity, expansiveness of heart, and restlessness of spirit. And so, I turn to you to enable Fordham to make the kind of rich transformative experience that you received here available to your younger brothers and sisters.”

“It has been, as we New Yorkers would say, ‘a hell of a year.’ And yet, we, Fordham, did not surrender,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, raising a glass from his office at the Rose Hill campus to his computer screen during the virtual event. “Against all odds, and thanks in no small measure to your great generosity, we were once again able to lean into the moment and to move forward with a sense of purpose and with defiant hope … On behalf of everyone at Fordham, especially our students, I thank you for your ongoing support—support that enabled us to prevail and to dream of a future filled with hope.”

The event offered an immediate way to celebrate the scholars, donors, and honorees this spring, when the Founder’s Dinner would normally take place. The in-person dinner has been rescheduled for Nov. 8, with plans for the usual Founder’s fanfare at a new Manhattan venue—the Glasshouse—pending guidance from city and state authorities.

More than 100 members of the Fordham community gathered on Zoom to salute the 2021 Fordham Founder’s Award recipients: Emanuel (Manny) Chirico, GABELLI ’79, PAR, chairman and former CEO of the global apparel company PVH Corp., and his wife, Joanne M. Chirico, PAR, and Joseph H. (Joe) Moglia, FCRH ’71, former CEO and chairman of TD Ameritrade, chairman of Fundamental Global Investors and Capital Wealth Advisors, chairman of FG New America Acquisition Corp., and chair of athletics and executive advisor to the president at Coastal Carolina University.

“Although we’re not together in person, we are thrilled to be together virtually to celebrate,” said Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, Fordham trustee and Founder’s Dinner co-chair. “We have, this evening, our Founder’s honorees, past and present, and all of you: our generous donors and our Fordham Founder’s scholars, representatives of the University’s most diverse scholarship fund.” 

This past year, the University raised $2,658,795 for the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund—the largest amount raised since the first Fordham Founder’s Dinner in 2002—and celebrated the close of Faith and Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. The newest fundraising campaign, which will focus on the student experience, will be launched at the rescheduled 2021 Founder’s Dinner, said Luccio, co-chair of the new campaign.

Then and Now: A Video Update from 17 Former Founder’s Scholars 

The virtual reception began with the screening of a pre-recorded video featuring former Founder’s Scholars who provided updates on their careers and growing families, from as near as the South Bronx and as far away as Belgium. Among them was an aspiring family medicine physician at University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, a director of strategy at The New York Times, a communications strategist who works with the European Commission, and a Harvard Law School graduate and current director on Barclays’ litigation team in New York, where she lives with her husband, a fellow Fordham alumnus, and their two-year-old daughter.

“As you can see and hear, not only are they all over the United States and the world, but they are having incredible experiences in making impacts on our society,” said Luccio, a Founder’s 2012 honoree, directly addressing the donors on the Zoom call. “And I know all of you are just as proud as I am to be a part of this incredible group in supporting these absolutely amazing young men and women.” 

An Aspiring Cosmologist, A Woman Leader in Global Business, and A Future Ambassador

Three of the current 48 Founder’s scholars shared their stories and gratitude in real time. They reflected on how their Fordham scholarships helped them pursue their career goals amid the pandemic and beyond. 

Benjamin Coco, FCRH ’23, said he is able to attend Fordham for a fifth year to finish his double degree in physics and English and double minor in math and philosophy, thanks to the Founder’s Scholarship. 

“I was inspired by former Founder’s Award recipient, Alex Trebek, to pursue as much knowledge as I can,” said Coco, who plans on pursuing a doctorate in astrophysics. “This universe is filled with countless mysteries, and I hope to discover many of them. I want to express my most sincere gratitude to all of you for making this happen for me.” 

For Kristen Harb, a senior at the Gabelli School of Business and a California native, the pandemic posed a series of challenges. Despite the distance and three-hour time zone difference, Harb worked with her classmates to create the first club at the Lincoln Center campus focused on empowering women in finance and economics, where she helped to mentor more than 120 students. 

“In May, I will receive much more than a degree in global business,” said Harb. “In the past year, I have learned so much about what I am capable of in times of hardship and how my Jesuit education has prepared me to thrive in the face of adversity—and for that, I am eternally grateful.” 

The third and final student speaker, Tauland Kaca, FCLC ’21, shared a personal anecdote. When he was 8 years old, his family immigrated to the U.S. from Albania, a former communist regime that limited his parents’ career paths. Kaca said his parents sacrificed their livelihoods and family ties at home to give him and his older brother access to greater opportunities abroad. But a lack of resources began to jeopardize their hopes for their two sons. 

“Since my parents endured many financial burdens to support my brother, who also went to Fordham and then to Columbia for his master’s, I decided to commute from Brooklyn to the Lincoln Center campus. Regardless, it didn’t take long for me to realize the financial strain my Fordham education was placing on my family … When I received the Fordham Founder’s scholarship last year, those worries faded away. This is especially true amid the pandemic, since my parents have been laid off for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, my dreams have yet to be derailed,” said Kaca, who is considering becoming a judge or a foreign ambassador. “I want to thank you for your support, but most importantly, I want to thank you for your willingness to help students like myself work towards their dreams, free of financial worry.” 

‘This Evening is Our Gift to You’ 

The hour-long evening reception included several other components, including an opening prayer from Fordham trustee Thomas J. Regan, S.J.; pre-recorded performances from Fordham’s Satin Dolls, Ramblers, and the University Choir; and a virtual wine tasting conducted by Gabriella Macari, GABELLI ’09, general manager of Macari Vineyards on the North Folk of Long Island. Two Founder’s scholars, Sydney Veazie, FCRH ’22, and Cameron Chiulli, GABELLI ’21, also livened up the night with several Fordham-related trivia questions, which guests participated in via Zoom’s poll feature.

“This evening is our gift to you. The 48 Founder’s scholars are so grateful that we are still learning, thriving, and dreaming at Fordham with your generous support,” said the evening’s emcee, Founder’s scholar Stevie Rosignol-Cortez, FCLC ’21, a political science student from Texas and an aspiring foreign correspondent.

At the end of the night, Father McShane and Bob Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of Fordham’s Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Founder’s Dinner, offered several toasts to the three Founder’s 2021 honorees; the previous Founder’s award recipients, many of whom joined the virtual reception; and Bill Baker, president emeritus of Thirteen-WNET and Fordham’s journalist-in-residence, who retired this year from his 12-year-long role as the Founder’s Dinner emcee. 

“My friends, let me end with a final toast to the evening,” said Father McShane. “To Fordham: may she always be what she was founded to be—a daring and dangerous school where character has been formed, talent has been nurtured, and hope has been borne for 180 years.” 

The papal honor—investiture as a knight in the Order of St. Gregory the Great—was bestowed on him by Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, for his longtime support for the church, including helping make possible the canonization of Saint John Henry Newman in 2019, as well as his support for Fordham.

Loschert’s gifts to Fordham established an endowed chair in entrepreneurship and have funded scholarships, construction at the Rose Hill campus, and a lecture series at Fordham’s London campus. Loschert served for six years on the Fordham University Board of Trustees and has hosted more than 1,000 Fordham students at his home in London.

For his contributions to the University, Loschert received an honorary degree from Fordham in 2015 and the Founder’s Award in 2018. In 2009, Rose Hill’s Loschert Hall, formerly known as Alumni Court North, was named in his honor.

Loschert grew up in Queens and paid for his education by working part time at an insurance company. After graduating, he began a career in the insurance industry. In the mid-1980s, he helped launch ACE Limited, which has since become one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies in the world. He served in the company’s Bermuda office before going to London as chairman of ACE UK Limited in 1996. In London, Loschert became the first American to sit on the council of Lloyd’s. His appreciation for what his Jesuit education brought to his business career was clear from a quip he made prior to being honored at the 2018 Fordham Founder’s Dinner: “I studied accounting and philosophy. I never practice accounting; I practice philosophy all the time.”

At the dinner, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, called Loschert “an extraordinary presence for Fordham in London,” and at the dedication ceremony for Loschert Hall in 2009, Father McShane referred to him as “a man who has a love of learning and devotion to the cause of education.”

During that same 2009 ceremony, Loschert told attendees, “We all have the means to give—and not just money, but time and effort. It is our duty to help others and future generations.”