New Cunniffe Scholars Meet Their Mentors

Patrick Verel — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 14:34:59 +0000

A little over a month after first setting foot on campus, the very first cohort of the Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe Presidential Scholars met their advisers and benefactors in a lunch meet-and- greet at the Rose Hill campus.

The gathering, held Oct. 19 at Cunniffe House, brought together six first year students from Fordham’s three undergraduate colleges, faculty and administrators, and Maurice J. (Mo) Cunniffe, FCRH ’54, and Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., GSAS ’71, whose transformative $20 million gift last fall created the scholarship program.

In his remarks to the students, Cunniffe spoke of one’s personal history and of leverage. Students’ families had shaped their character thus far, he said, and college would do the same. Even if the end result is that they are simply kind people, Fordham will have succeeded.

Once you reach a certain level of success, however, and you’ve satisfied your obligations to your immediate and extended family, you start to think of other ways to leverage that success, Cunniffe said.

“We thought if we fund the best and brightest for 10 years, we’ll have 60 really bright people. We know that out of all those people, there will be people who make the world a better place,” he said.

“Your obligation—as the best and brightest of your generation—is to leave something that’s better.”

Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe said it was a joy to finally meet in person the students whose biographies she’d become so familiar with on paper.

“We are thrilled to be here, we wish you well, we know you will go out in the world and do good,” she said.

The six inaugural awardees were chosen for their excellence in academics and extracurricular activities, and demonstration of leadership in their personal and academic lives. They are Fordham College at Rose Hill freshmen Ashley Conde and Andrew Souther; Fordham College at Lincoln Center freshmen Natalie Grammer, Rose O’Neill, and Lucie Taylor; and Gabelli School of Business freshman Erin O’Rourk.

Taylor, a native of Virginia, grew emotional when she spoke about how the scholarship has made it possible to explore fields as varied as physics, psychology, and international relations before committing to one area.

“I love that Fordham has encouraged me to explore all of that, and is going to help me, no matter what I choose, [to]use my skills to help other people,” she said.

O’Rourk, a native of Spokane, Washington, echoed the sentiment.

“I have a lot of things that I really love, but none of them connect. I’m passionate about music, but I’ve always been really good at math. I feel like Fordham is the perfect place for me to discover my passion,” she said.

Thursday’s gathering was the first time O’Rourk and her mentor, Gayane Hovakimian, Ph.D., met in person. Hovakimian, an associate professor of finance and business economics in the Gabelli School, said she sees her role as making sure O’Rourk leaves Fordham with no regrets.

Frank Boyle, Ph.D., director of the honors program at the Lincoln Center campus, said the Cunniffes’ scholarship program stands out because of the additional resources it provides for a student who might want to study beyond the curriculum—say, learn a language that is not offered at Fordham.

“When the mentors, the students, and the deans decide there is something important for the students to do, we will have the resources to get [it]to the students directly,” said the professor of English. Boyle will mentor to the Lincoln Center Cunniffe scholars until they’re paired up with someone who matches their interest.

“Matching exceptional students with professors happens all the time in the honors program, and it’s really great. This scholarship is a genius way of building on what’s already a University strength.”

Rose O’Neill, Natalie Grammer, Lucie Taylor, Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., GSAS ’71,Maurice J. (Mo) Cunniffe, FCRH ’54, Erin O’Rourk, Andrew Souther, and Ashley Conde

Fordham A Leader In 18th Century Literature

Fordham News — Wed, 09 Feb 2000 18:49:26 +0000

NEW YORK � Students looking to study the works of 18th century literary greats such as Jonathan Swift, while learning about the culture, politics and social issues of that time will find a rich array of offerings in Fordham’s English Language and Literature Department. The 18th century is viewed by many scholars as the beginning of modern thinking, when ideas such as the nuclear family, selfhood and nation were born. “Many of the models we subscribe to today can be traced back to the 18th century,” said Associate Professor Susan Greenfield. “People see it as the inception of modern culture.” Boasting nationally renowned faculty members, the department’s 18th century program is building a reputation as one of the leading academic authorities in the field. “Other people are sitting up and taking notice,” said the Rev. Alvero Robeiro, S.J., an 18th century literature professor at Georgetown University. He compared Fordham with schools such as the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where, of 30 English department professors, one is devoted to 18th century literature. Meanwhile, in Fordham’s department of 39 professors, five are devoted to the subject. “Now, that is impressive,” Father Robeiro said. In recent years, Fordham has bolstered its already impressive program with three new hires, including the Rev. Michael Suarez, S.J., who received his doctorate from Oxford University; Stuart Sherman, Ph.D., who received the coveted Gottschalk Prize for the best book on 18th century literature; and Bridget Orr, Ph.D., author of the soon-to-be-published Civilizing the Stage: Colonialism and English Drama 1660-1700 (Cambridge University Press). Frank Boyle, PhD., English Department chair, said the program is making a niche for itself in other ways as well. The school hosts New York Society for 18th Century Studies seminars each semester, seminars previously held at Columbia University. And the department is working to expand Fordham’s study abroad program with Suarez’s help, creating opportunities for graduate students studying English literature to do research at Oxford. Suarez will spend six months of every year at Oxford conducting research, teaching and assisting Fordham’s study abroad students with their work, Boyle said. More Fordham graduate students are already gravitating toward 18th century studies, and this year, for the first time, applicants are mentioning Fordham’s reputation in this field as the reason they want to study at the University, Boyle said.

Frank Boyle – Fordham Now

New Cunniffe Scholars Meet Their Mentors

Fordham A Leader In 18th Century Literature