“For Fordham, this past year, difficult as it was, was marked by heroism, creativity, determination, flexibility, and devotion,” he said. “I find myself filled with deep gratitude to all of you for all that you did to enable our beloved community to emerge from the many challenges it faced with such strength, such conviction, and such discerning love.”

New Talent On Board

Father McShane began his speech by welcoming several new leaders at the University, including Jose Luis Alvarado, Ph.D., the new dean of the Graduate School of Education, John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry, and Anand Padmanabhan, vice president for information technology.

 Admission Amidst Change

In an analysis of the past year’s student admissions, Father McShane said more than 46,000 applications were processed by the University for its three undergraduate colleges. Just over 53% of those who applied were admitted, which yielded a total of 2,848 students who enrolled—an increase of almost 800 from last year. The quality of the class is very strong, he said. The average SAT for the entering class is 1392, up 56 points from last year’s average, and the average GPA is 3.67. The increase in test scores could be partly be attributed to the test-optional policy instituted this year, he said.

As for the demographic breakdown, he noted that the following are our top three feeder states: New York, home to 36% of new students; New Jersey, at 13%; and California, at 7%.

“California sent 193 [students]—20 years ago it was just 20 students,” he said.

Massachusetts came in at 6%, Connecticut at 5%, Pennsylvania at 3%, Maryland at 2%, Illinois at 2%, Texas at 3%, and Florida at 2%. He noted that the Texas and Florida numbers are significant, as the University needs to draw more students from those regions, as well as the Carolinas, since attracting students beyond the Northeast is key to growth, he said. In addition, the University welcomed 172 international students in the new class, up from 111 last year.

Diversity in the New Class

Perhaps most importantly, he said, 44% of new students are from traditionally underrepresented groups, up from 39% last year. The number of Black students increased from 76 in last year’s incoming class to 189 this year, while the number of Hispanic students increased from 328 to 515.

“This is an inflection point in our history. This is a very important moment for us and we want to make sure we continue to engage, enroll, and retain larger numbers of Black and Hispanic students,” he said, before tipping his hat to teams from Office of Admissions, the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, and the HEOP and CSTEP programs.

Best Fundraising Year Ever

On the fundraising front, Father McShane noted the University recovered from last year when the pandemic had a negative impact on fundraising.

“We rebounded magnificently and were able to raise $83,727,733, making the 2020-21 year the University’s best fundraising year ever. Moreover, the amount that we raised last year brought our fundraising total over the past 18 years to more than a billion dollars.”

As mentioned in his past two convocation addresses, he noted that the University is still in the quiet phase of a new comprehensive campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student.

“As its name suggests, this new campaign is aimed at helping us enrich the student experience in all of our schools,” he said.

He said the campaign has four central pillars: access and affordability, for which the University seeks to raise $100 million; academic excellence, for which $150 million is being sought; student wellness and success, with a goal of $70 million; and athletics, at $30 million. Efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, for which the University is seeking $120 million, run through all the pillars, he said.

During the quiet phase the University has raised slightly over $155 million. He noted the public phase of the campaign will begin at this year’s Founder’s Dinner, which will be held at a new venue, the Glasshouse in Manhattan, on Nov. 8.

Father McShane noted that he and the Alumni Relations team have hit the road again after spending a year socializing on Zoom.

“You can’t shake hands remotely,” he said dryly.

He noted that alumni events are back in full swing, but he called out the “fusion” events in particular, where prospective students meet alumni.

“These are magic! Our alumni sell the place from heart, with great gusto, with stories, and with conviction. Therefore, the yield at these events is about three times higher than our overall yield rate,” he said.

Reviewing the Rankings

Father McShane noted that the University has seen its rankings in U.S. News & World Report rise and fall over the years. After a climb from No. 74 to No. 66 in last year’s rankings, this year the University fell two places to No. 68. However, the peer assessment score, which climbed from 3.1 to 3.3 last year, remained constant; the indicator gauges how other university presidents, provosts, and admissions leaders think about the institution.

“This a great achievement; it’s the most difficult thing to move the needle on,” he said.

He mentioned several “points of pride” that members of the University can tout.

“We are still No. 41 among all private research universities in the country—that’s pretty damn good, pretty darn good, sorry,” he said, to chuckles from the audience. “We’re No. 7 among the research universities in New York state; No. 6 among Catholic research universities; and No. 4 among Jesuit research schools—not bad.”

He highlighted the social mobility section of the ratings as an indicator that aligns with the University’s mission. The national ranking places the university at No. 179, up from No. 203 last year, landing Fordham as 18th among the overall top 70 schools—many of which did not receive a positive ranking in this area.

“That means we do a far better job than most other private intuitions in the country in making sure that our students achieve to such a degree that they are upwardly mobile socially,” he said, noting that this is particularly important to students from modest means.

Praise for Publishing and Pushing Forward

Father McShane said that despite the challenges of the past year, students and faculty continued to conduct research, receive awards, and publish in books and in journals.

“In the past year, our faculty published 195 books and book chapters and 525 articles,” he said. “In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $17.46 million.”

Students also shined, he said.

On the prestigious scholarship and fellowship front, they won 72 awards, including three Fulbrights (and three alternates), and one Marshall scholarship.

In seeking acceptance to doctoral-level health professional schools, 80 students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center applied for admission to doctoral-level health professions programs last year and 73% were admitted to at least one program. Two-hundred twenty-four students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the Gabelli School of Business applied for admission to law school, and 83% were admitted to at least one program.

Firm Footing for Finances

Father McShane said that frugality, caution, and a surprisingly bullish stock market pushed the endowment past the $1 billion mark, up substantially from the $830 million. The current total stands at approximately $1,028,000,000.

He said that with freezes on both salaries and in hiring, curtailed operating budgets, and infusions of cash from both the federal government and donors, the University was able to present balanced budgets during the pandemic’s nearly two-year run.

“As a result of these same factors, we were able to get through the pandemic without any firings or furloughs,” he said. “Out of an abundance of caution, the present year’s budget is a conservative one, but one that will still allow us to begin to increase our hiring across the University.”

Returning to Normal with Caution and Hope

Father McShane noted that the advent of the vaccines has made it possible for the University to resume many of its activities as in years past.

“But we are still not out of the woods,” he said. “Therefore, we have to remain vigilant as the coming months, and perhaps years, unfold.”

He noted that 99% of the faculty, staff, and student body are now vaccinated, and everyone entering our campuses must provide proof of vaccination.

Confronting Racism

“As all of us know all too well, COVID-19 is not the only pandemic that we are wrestling with,” he concluded. “We are also wrestling with racism, a pandemic that sadly will take longer to address and overcome than COVID-19.  After all, racism has been a feature of American life for 402 years, and a wound that we have not been able to heal in those 402 years.”

He said that the mission calls for every member of the Fordham community to treat every human being with respect, affirmation, reverence, and affection.

“That same mission calls upon us to confront racism and to educate for justice,” he said.

The University has adopted a plan on addressing racism and educating for justice.

“We must give ourselves to that work with focus, conviction, creativity, and love in the coming months and years,” he said. “If we do so, we will be able to say that we have done our part in working to create a country and a culture in which all of our citizens are truly equal, a nation in which each citizen is treated with dignity, respect, reverence, and supportive affection.”

A full transcript of Father McShane’s address can be found here.

The fundraiser? An online auction, the third such event hosted by the Fordham College Alumni Association (FCAA), with a novel twist this year: celebrity alumni. Several offered virtual face time to the highest bidder, helping to propel the event far beyond its usual total.

The auction “gets bigger and better every year,” with all proceeds going toward scholarships and grants for students, said Debra Caruso Marrone, FCRH ’81, the association’s president.

It’s one of several events sponsored by the FCAA each year, complementing the broader efforts of the Fordham University Alumni Association, the Office of Alumni Relations, and other groups that serve students and the alumni community.

Founded in 1905, the FCAA is the University’s oldest alumni organization, and primarily serves Fordham College at Rose Hill students and alumni.

Contacting Celebrity Alumni

The idea of featuring celebrity alumni in December’s auction was driven in part by the pandemic, which put the kibosh on, say, auctioning off event tickets. “We really had to pivot,” said Christa Treitmeier-Meditz, FCRH ’85, who spearheaded the effort to reach out to various prominent alumni.

In the end, they were able to auction off a virtual comedy writing lesson with Saturday Night Live writer Streeter Seidell, FCRH ’05 (someone bought that for his wife, an aspiring comedy writer, Treitmeier-Meditz said). They also got help from some prominent alumni thespians: Golden Globe winner Dylan McDermott, FCLC ’83, contributed a virtual meet, and Golden Globe winner and former Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, FCLC ’82, contributed a virtual master class and a post-pandemic in-person engagement—dinner out and tickets to the next Broadway show she appears in.

People also contributed various items, memorabilia, or experiences, such as a master cooking class or a trip around Manhattan by yacht. “It’s everything and anything,” Treitmeier-Meditz said. “The Fordham alumni community is very generous.”

Other planned events were canceled due to the pandemic lockdown last year: a sit-down for a dozen alumni with John Brennan, FCRH ’77, former CIA director and counterterrorism adviser to President Barack Obama, and an event with sportscasters Michael Kay, FCRH ’82, and Mike Breen, FCRH ’83.

Through such events, the association has raised money for various funds, including a summer internship fund for journalism majors, recently renamed for Jim Dwyer, FCRH ’79, the New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner who died in 2020. A new scholarship fund named for Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, is for students who reach new heights of academic achievement after arriving at the University.

The association provides other important support such as funding for undergraduate research and for student travel, noted Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. “I’m so pleased to see how that support has grown over the past several years,” she said. “I am grateful for their commitment to the college, to our alumni, and to the larger Fordham family.”

The association’s Giving Day gift—a matching gift—was split between two scholarship funds: the FCAA Endowed Legacy Scholarship, a need-based scholarship for legacy students, and the Rev. George J. McMahon, S.J., Endowed Scholarship, awarded to students at Fordham College at Rose Hill and the Gabelli School of Business.

Serving on the board is a labor of love, Caruso Marrone said. “We’re doing something good: we’re raising funds, we’re helping students go through school,” in addition to bringing alumni together at events, she said. “The members of our board [are] of various age groups, various backgrounds, various careers, [and] we all come together and do this work and enjoy it immensely. We have just a great group of people who are dedicated to Fordham.”

In an 1841-minute period from March 1 to March 2, 2,779 donors contributed just over $1.3 million to Fordham schools, initiatives, programs, and scholarships. Participants came from 44 states, the United Kingdom, and China.

This year’s Giving Day theme was “Imagine More,” and encouraged donors to help “change the world through Fordham and support causes that matter.”

Fordham Law School, the Fordham Greatest Needs Fund, and Athletics were some of the areas receiving the greatest support.

Individuals and groups, such as the Fordham College Alumni Association, offered matches to encourage participation and make donors’ contributions go farther. The alumni association contributed $30 for every graduate who donated, regardless of the amount, up to $30,000. More than 1,000 alumni donated to help unlock this challenge.

For the first time ever, the University also hosted a Marymount Giving Day, which raised over $28,000 from 106 donors. The donations will go to the Marymount Legacy Fund to help continue the legacy of Marymount College, provide educational access to students, and continue the efforts of the women of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.

Current Fordham students were also involved in the day through the Student Philanthropy Committee. They were encouraged to either make a gift or log volunteer hours in the community. Over the two-day period, Fordham students logged 2,165 volunteer hours, surpassing their goal of 2,021 hours. They volunteered in areas such as healthcare, homelessness, religious organizations, and more.

Those words from keynote speaker Mary Ann Bartels, GABELLI ’85, GSAS ’92, summed up the sentiment at the fourth annual Fordham Women’s Summit: Philanthropy | Empowerment | Change, held on Oct. 21. The annual summit is an opportunity for women across Fordham to focus on philanthropy, leadership, personal growth, and professional development. This year, the virtual event drew more than 400 Fordham alumnae, parents, faculty, and friends who tuned in from locations around the globe. From the comfort of their own homes, they listened to expert financial advice and heard from four panels that explored topics like personal resilience, maintaining a career—and a household—amid a pandemic, and relinquishing the need for perfection.

A key theme of the summit was the importance of investing at a young age and learning how to create a plan for personal finances and philanthropy. In her keynote speech “Turning Financial Literacy into Philanthropy,” Bartels broke down complex topics in finance and offered advice for women that spanned generations. 

Bartels spent more than three decades on Wall Street, where she developed research that helped advisers and clients make better investment decisions. She worked for more than 20 years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was known as a thought leader, and she’s appeared frequently on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business. 

She opened her speech with a few powerful statistics, including the percentage growth of women-owned businesses. 

“When we look at the employment that they are creating over the last five years, that’s actually up 8% compared to [the growth of]  all businesses of 2%. And when we look at women of color in the businesses that they are developing, their growth rate is at 43%,” Bartels said. “So not only will women have financial power—they’re creating new financial power.” 

Riding Out the Market Cycles

Bartels explained the big ideas behind finances to help her audience make better financial decisions. 

Markets have cycles that are generally controlled by fear and greed, she said. But more importantly, they tend to move in an upward trend. Long cycles tend to last 18 to 20 years, and the good news is that the most recent “uptrend” started in 2013, she said. She predicted that the U.S. will see at least one more decade of markets that reach new highs. But she also stressed that it’s critical to hold on to some investments even when the markets tank. 

“I can’t tell you the countless clients that came out during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 and never put money back in the markets again. Markets, I can guarantee you, will always go down. Do they always go down 50%? No. Will they go down 50% again? Yes, because that is the power of markets. That’s the power of fear and greed,” Bartels said. “But the diversified portfolio? If you hold it over time, you add to it over time, you collect dividends over time, that’s where the compounding and growth comes from … It’s called patience.” 

Perhaps most importantly, she urged the audience to start saving, investing, and growing their assets at an early age. 

“Build a solid financial foundation for yourself before you have any significant percentage of your assets given to someone else,” Bartels stressed. 

First Steps Into Philanthropy 

When you’re ready to start giving, ask your parents or family members about their financial advisers and find someone trustworthy who will listen to your needs, Bartels said.

“There are many advisers that will want to sit there and lecture you on what you should do, but they don’t listen to what you need or what’s important to you,” Bartels said. 

Bartels parceled out other pieces of philanthropic advice: Invest in things that are important to you, your community, and the world. Contribute, but don’t overextend. Consider seven key categories: family, finances, health, home, work, leisure, and giving. Don’t be afraid to ask charities how exactly your money will be spent. Finally, imagine your individual power as a single voice or instrument. 

“It’s beautiful to listen to one voice. But when you take a choir and listen to all the voices, it just magnifies—or if you take one instrument and you start blending in more instruments and creating a symphony, how much more powerful that becomes,” Bartels said. “Become that instrument to create that symphony that can have that impact [on]  what is important to you.” 

Honoring Pioneering Women

At the beginning of the summit, three accomplished women in the Fordham community were honored as “Pioneering Women in Philanthropy”: Mary Heyser, R.S.H.M., MC ’62 and Monica Kevin, O.S.U., UGE ’48, GSAS ’61, ’64, who were honored posthumously, and Regina Pitaro, FCRH ’76. 

The Impact of Scholarship Gifts

The event’s student scholar speaker, Taylor Bell, a sophomore studying international studies at Fordham College at Rose Hill and a member of the rowing team, spoke about how scholarship giving can help level the playing field. 

“Without scholarship support, there would be very few students of color at this institution,” said Bell, a recipient of the William Loschert and Paul Guenther endowed scholarships. “There’s such a gap between the marginalized and privileged in our community, and within that gap exists an opportunity to both educate those who have not known a life with such limitations and to expose possibilities to those who have been on the outside looking in for far too long.” 

The annual campaign aims to raise funds for Fordham scholarships, sports teams, academic programs, and more through donations from alumni, students, faculty, and friends of Fordham. Like last year, the campaign will last 1,841 minutes in honor of the University’s founding year of 1841 and end the next day, March 3, at 6:41 p.m. As in years past, the goal of Giving Day is to give back to the community that has positively shaped the lives of thousands of Rams around the world. 

“I get to be a part of a really incredible community that wouldn’t be possible without our donors,” said Nicole Goldin, GABELLI ’22, the Student Philanthropy Committee Giving Day chair. “Everything on campus is partially funded by donors, whether it be our clubs, sports teams, GO! trips, the libraries where we study, or the Plaza at Lincoln Center. Those are really what add to the Fordham experience and the incredible community that we have here. I just think it’s so important to make sure you give back to the community that gives so much to you.” 

Three Perspectives: Why Giving Day Matters 

Last year, donors raised nearly a million dollars on Giving Day. Among the students who benefited from the support is Kaitlin Morley, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill who has played on the University volleyball team since her first year. 

“Giving Day supplies us with everything, basically. It really funds our program. It helps us get an extra pair of shoes for training, our bags and kneepads—everything,” Morley said.  

Thanks to last year’s donations, her team was able to travel to Italy this past spring and play against their international peers for two weeks—a rare opportunity for student-athletes, who often have limited study abroad opportunities because of their busy practice schedules, said Morley. The day after commencement, they flew across the Atlantic Ocean and visited Venice, Milan, and Rome. It was hard to hold long conversations with their Italian-speaking opponents, but they shared meals, including pasta and salad at a vineyard, and felt “united by one sport,” said Morley. All of these experiences wouldn’t have been possible without the support of donors, she added. 

“It really means everything to us. You feel their support, and you want to play harder for not only yourself and your teammates and coaches, but for the other people invested in the program,” Morley said. 

Among the donors who made their first-ever gift to Fordham on Giving Day 2019 were Leanne and Hugh Mohler, parents to Hughie, a sophomore in the Gabelli School of Business. Over the past two years, their son has flourished, said his mother. Hughie, the first in his family to attend Fordham, is studying accounting, playing club lacrosse, and flying to London next fall for a semester-long study abroad program, she said. 

“The main reason we decided to give was that our son is having a really positive experience at Fordham. He is very happy—and because he’s very happy, we’re very happy,” said Leanne.

It’s a sentiment shared by many alumni, including Brendan O’Grady, GABELLI ’13. When he was a student at Fordham, he said he learned from professors who not only helped him with academics and professional challenges but also personal growth. Those lessons helped him better communicate and care for his colleagues at Ernst & Young, where he works as a manager in digital strategy, he said. 

These days, O’Grady is giving back to Fordham. On Giving Day 2020, he’s sponsoring the Class of 2020 Challenge. (If 50 students or parents from the class of 2020 make a gift, O’Grady will donate $2,020 to Fordham.) This will be his third time sponsoring a challenge gift for Fordham’s Giving Day. 

“For me, it’s very important to make sure that I do what I can do to contribute and hopefully help other people have that experience,” O’Grady said.  

Other day-long 2020 Giving Day challenges include:

• Big Giving Day Challenge: If 1,841 people make donations, Trustee Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, and Gerald R. Jordan will donate $50,000 towards scholarships and financial aid. 
• Parent Challenge: If 250 Fordham parents donate on Giving Day, Michael Emerson and Kathryn Naassan, PAR ’20, will donate $5,000.
• Student Club Challenge #1: The approved club that receives the most gifts—no matter the amount—will earn $250.
• Spirited Selfie Challenge: Share a photo of yourself donning your best maroon-and-white gear. Ramses will pick one lucky poster and give $250 toward the Fordham cause of their choice. Make sure to use #FordhamGivingDay.
• All Things Cute Challenge: Share a photo of your baby—or fur baby—in Fordham gear, including #FordhamGivingDay and the area of the University that matters most to you. One post will earn an extra $250 for their cause.
• Campus Beauty Challenge: Post your favorite picture of the Fordham campus with #FordhamGivingDay. Make sure to mention your favorite Fordham cause in the caption—one person will earn an extra $250 for their program of choice.

Make your Giving Day 2020 gift here. Visit the Fordham Giving Day website for more information.

That was the central message of the third annual Women’s Philanthropy Summit on Oct. 23, held at Fordham Law School. 

“This year, we developed a theme that represents today’s overall message and program: transforming today, safeguarding tomorrow. From our families to our communities, from our workplaces to our world, women’s philanthropy creates positive change and preserves the things we love,” said Martha K. Hirst, senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer of Fordham, in her welcome address.

In attendance were nearly 250 alumnae, students, faculty, and friends of Fordham. Throughout the day, they listened to keynote speeches and panels led by women at the top of their fields, from presidents and CEOs to a mother-daughter doctor duo. 

Attendees shared stories about their lives and the things they learned, including the importance of giving credit where it’s due. They networked and mingled over lunch. They decompressed while watching a digital sunset through headsets provided by the Glimpse Group, a virtual and augmented reality platform. But above all, the women celebrated the ways philanthropy has transformed people’s lives.

“Right now, it’s not only a fact that 50% of our alumnae are women,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, addressing guests in the Costantino Room. “More than 50% of our students are women. So Fordham is now a majority women’s institution, and therefore, we are especially grateful and honored that you are here.” 

Rose Marie Bravo: From the Bronx to Buckingham Palace

The first keynote speaker was Rose Marie Bravo, a fashion industry icon whose past positions include CEO of Burberry and president of Saks Fifth Avenue. In recognition of her contributions to British fashion, Bravo was named a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2006. 

At the summit, she spoke about how she helped revive the iconic Burberry brand, known for its raincoats and distinct tartan plaid, and met fashion giants like Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld. She gave advice on how to be a good boss (communicate your vision clearly and be kind to everyone) and emphasized the importance of escaping your comfort zone to expand your career. But the focus of her speech was on what inspired her to give back to her community.

“It all began in the Bronx,” Bravo said. “It began with my parents … this idea of giving back.”

Her father was an Italian-born barber who spent his Sunday mornings in a hospital, tending to patients who needed a shave and a haircut. Her mother—who is still alive at 97—was a seamstress from Sicily who offered her services to all, including those who couldn’t afford the cost, she said. Raised in the Bronx, Bravo graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and earned a bachelor’s degree in English cum laude at Fordham’s Thomas More College in 1971. 

Decades later, she gave back to the schools that had shaped her early life. At Fordham, she established the Biagio and Anna Lapila Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of her parents and the Rose Marie Bravo Endowed Scholarship for students studying theology or a related field. 

In a fireside chat with Justine Franklin, senior director of development for major gifts, the conversation took a more personal turn. 

“I was diagnosed three years ago with a very rare ovarian cancer … I had surgeries, I had chemo, I went through the whole thing,” Bravo said. “But it taught me a lot.” 

“How do you touch people, in a way that’s special? And being able to say, thank you, God … [So that] when our time comes, we’re going to be ready to go on that journey,” she said, in a speech that ended with a standing ovation.  

Valerie Rainford: An Uphill Climb to Success

At every juncture of Valerie Rainford’s life, Fordham has played a central role.

“I feel like at every turn, Fordham has been there pouring into me, which is why I’m committed to pouring back in,” said Rainford, FCRH ’86, head of advancing black leaders and diversity advancement strategies at JPMorgan Chase and Fordham trustee.

When Rainford was a sophomore, her mother committed suicide and she dropped out of school. However, a few staff members in the Graduate School of Business, where Rainford was doing work-study at the time, refused to let her go. Rainford returned after six months.

“It doesn’t really matter how many times I walk up that hill from the bus stop. I get tears in my eyes and goosebumps that here’s this kid who dropped out of Fordham and who almost didn’t come back, and now I sit on the board of [trustees]—it’s pretty crazy,” she said in her keynote speech. 

Rainford said Fordham gave her confidence to go on after she lost her mother and helped her get her first job at the Federal Reserve.

“I got my first job through career planning and services,” she said. “I got my second job through a Fordham alum, who I met at an event outside of Fordham. There was a time I was thinking about leaving JPMorgan, by the way—it was a Fordham alum who convinced me to stay.”

Rainford emphasized that even those who don’t have the ability to make large donations can still give their time.

“For a kid like me, who grew up like me with nothing, 10 dollars matters,” she said. “For anybody to sit here and say they don’t have enough to give … everybody has something to give.”

Jazmin Nazario, FCLC ’20, the student scholarship speaker, proved Rainford’s point. 

Nazario, a mathematics major who works four jobs, received the Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship through Fordham during her sophomore year. It helped her work toward her goal: becoming a mathematics teacher. 

“It is important that we keep future Fordham women educated and supported through scholarships so other young women like myself can have similar accomplishments and confidence in their future careers,” she said.  

Fighting Imposter Syndrome

Many women experience “imposter syndrome”: the struggle to embrace their success because they feel like they don’t belong.

“You have made some terrific accomplishments … but you persistently think that you’re not bright and you’ve fooled others,” explained Toby Tetenbaum, Ph.D., a professor of educational leadership, administration, and policy at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, in an afternoon workshop. “It leaves you with this crippling sense of self-doubt.”

Much of the syndrome’s roots lie in how women are raised and taught to conform to “societal ideals,” Tetenbaum said. Women are taught to be humble and modest while attributing their successes to luck instead of hard work and accomplishments.

“Women have a really hard time self-promoting,” she said. “No one wants to be seen as a braggart.” 

She encouraged women to fight the syndrome by being clear about their goals, asking for feedback to help better themselves, and identifying their strengths.

“You have to brand yourself,” Tetenbaum said. “You have to be known for something.” 

Celebrate What Makes You Unique

In the workshop “Guide Your Career (Not the Other Way Around),” guests learned how to bring their unique talents to the table. 

“Our brand is who we are and what we bring that might be unique and different, and what’s important about us,” said one of the presenters, Megan Taylor, senior director of employee experience at Adobe Inc. “It’s our key differentiator.”

To begin building your brand, it’s important to do five things, Taylor said: understand yourself, offer a distinct value, identify how you’ll get that information out there, network and market yourself, and re-evaluate your brand as you change and grow. 

Your personal network is also important in guiding your career, she said. A good way to keep track of all your connections is to physically map them out, said Taylor. Annette McLaughlin, director of Fordham’s office of career services, agreed. 

“You’re at the center of the circle. And then put all the circles and activities that you’re involved in—your volunteer [service], your work, your friends, your exercise, your gym—and look at all the people that are in those networks,” McLaughlin said. 

The Struggle to Embrace Our True Selves

Six women recounted their professional and personal obstacles in the afternoon panel “A View From the Top: Reflections on Success and Coaching the Next Generation of Women Leaders.” 

Elizabeth Zeigler, GSE ’00, president and CEO of Graham-Pelton Consulting, started working at the firm as a 32-year-old part-time employee and a new mom. The male CEO, at the time, was wary about assigning her on a project because of her gender. 

She confronted him. More than a decade after their conversation, she became president and CEO of their company. (And she mended fences with the old CEO, who became a mentor.)

Panelists also discussed the struggle to stay authentic to their true selves while countering negative stereotypes.

“If we are compassionate or supportive, then we’re weak … For black women, if something is not going right and I’m about to tell somebody, ‘You need to do this,’ then you have a chip on your shoulder,” said Valerie White, FCRH ’83, LAW ’96, an executive vice president at the Empire State Development Corporation. 

White said she used to be the only black woman managing director at her old Wall Street firm.

“I had braids … It was a big issue because I traveled all over the country. If I were in New York or New Jersey, it might be OK. When I was in Oklahoma or Arizona, someplace, there was always this look—‘I’m not sure if she’s going to be able to do a credit analysis,’” White said. 

“Unfortunately, that’s kind of how we have to gauge the environment that we’re in. But we’re women—we know how to do that, right?” she said, to affirmative “mmm-hmms” across the room. 

The Influence of Jesuit Education

In the afternoon Values-Based Leadership session, Joan Cavanagh, Ph.D., director of campus ministry for spiritual and pastoral ministries at Fordham, moderated a panel of three women of faith whose bold decisions led them to leadership roles in service of others. Each of them had a life-changing moment to look back on.

Debbie Santalesa, GABELLI ’91, global lead for emergency preparedness and planning for CARE International, was in a car accident early in her accounting career that almost took her life.

“That was the beginning of where I became who I was supposed to be,” she said. She soon began a career in humanitarian work that brought her to the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Santalesa said she didn’t realize it until later, but the theology and philosophy classes she took at Fordham impressed upon her the importance of giving back to the community.

“When you feel that something needs to be changed,” she said, “that’s God calling you.”

‘A Life of Meaning’ 

The previous two summits have raised nearly $540,000 for Fordham. Many of the funds were achieved through Fordham’s giving circles—groups of individuals who donate money to a pooled fund. Last year, there were 16 circles; this year, there are three new ones: career services, higher education opportunity program giving, and living the mission. 

This year, the summit also honored six women who have supported Fordham students. Receiving the Pioneering Women in Philanthropy Award were Barbara Dane, Ph.D., GSS ’67, ’85, professor emeritus of clinical social work in palliative and end-of-life care at New York University; Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., UGE ’62, GSAS ’65, ’71, former cosmetics executive and retired senior vice president of Cablevision Systems Corporation; Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82, a philanthropist who served as a vice president at Diversified Investment Advisors; Donna Smolens, FCRH ’79, GSAS ’81, senior advisor at Insight Partners; and the two keynote speakers.

They were honored for their service, which Father McShane said is something essential for a life well spent: 

“A life of meaning must always include service of others—service and causes that are greater than ourselves.”

Next year’s Women’s Philanthropy Summit will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020.

Complete bios of all of this year’s speakers, panelists, and honorees can be found here. 

—Kelly Kultys and Nicole LaRosa contributed reporting.

“Your institution has not only demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and best practice in its fundraising efforts, it has contributed to the betterment of educational advancement worldwide by serving as a model to which others can aspire,” wrote CASE president and CEO Sue Cunningham in the award letter.

DAUR, led by Vice President Roger A. Milici, Jr. since 2010, is responsible for all University fundraising; alumni relations; special events; and marketing and communications, including the publication of Fordham News.

While the award was granted this fiscal year, it is based on accomplishments from three previous years. The total amount raised during those fiscal years was $45.6 million in 2016, $75.8 million in 2017, and $49.5 million in 2018. Though not part of the analysis, Milici said the University closed this fiscal year at $67.1 million raised in gifts and pledges. It’s the pattern of growth in total support that helped Fordham garner notice from the judges, along with breadth and diversity of sources from which funds were raised.

For Milici, the win represents the evolution from a young and evolving advancement program to one that is on the cusp of becoming truly mature.

“It’s a point of pride in that it’s a total team win,” said Milici. “I think the recognition is especially poignant because it doesn’t talk about only the total number of gifts and pledges raised, but the continuity and systemic growth.”

The citation calls attention to the workings of a behind-the-scenes department that often deflects attention. But, Milici, along with Senior Executive Director of Development Robert Smith, pulled back the curtain to discuss vital strategies that brought about the award and keep the University competitive.

“None of this would be possible without receptive alumni and friends,” said Milici.

He noted that the pace and variety of campaigns must interest a range of donors on several levels, from fostering first-time donors in the Fordham Fund to continuing to pique the interests of large donors.

“It takes an evolving, mature operation to have that type of depth of prospects, so that you’re not just continuously returning to a small group of core donors to satisfy the campaign,” said Milici. “You’re constantly refreshing that pool so that even as the campaign ends, you interest newer donors.”

Milici said development must provide “a menu” of opportunities to give and it should be one “that elicits emotion and provides resonance.” But ultimately, he said, people give to trusted leadership, from the president to the provost to the faculty and staff and coaches. That trust is based in part on an assurance that the monies given will be used as the donors intended.

“We are trying to build long-term relationships, I like to call them ‘mission partners,’ whereas Father McShane [Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham] calls them ‘colleagues in ministry,’” said Milici. “The point is the same: these are people who believe in what the University stands for that they are in full partnership with us.”

Milici said he embraced the challenge of reaching out to Fordham’s diverse community, which includes three undergraduate colleges and graduate schools that range from law to social service. He said that while fundraisers may appeal to each of these groups in different ways, “the University mission arches over everything.”

The CASE award, he said, is something donors can feel good about.

“To be acknowledged by the industry is important and something that we should all take pride in. I think the message to our donors is that we are a well-run program,” he said.

Keeping the division operating at high performance levels falls to a variety of teams that includes research, which helps the university better understand donors and their interests, as well as Advancement Services and Advancement Technologies, said Smith.

“Part of our job is to make sure mutual understanding between the University and the donor are clear, what their expectations are of us, and vice-versa,” he said.

“I think the award also speaks to how donors come to trust what it is that we’re going to do as an institution with the gifts that they have given to us,” he said. “Over the years, we have strived to clearly lay out what those expectations are.”

It’s in that spirit of intent that gift agreements must be carefully worded, he said. And they must be forward-thinking.

“We not only need to understand what we are going to be doing in 2019, but what our successors are going to be doing in 20, 30, 100 years from now,” he said. “When we are setting up an endowed scholarship, we have to think about how funds generating income in perpetuity are going to be used 10 years, 50 years, or even 100 years.”

“We have to think about making sure that we can, in the future, follow the donor’s intent,” he said.

He added that Fordham fundraising is a far cry from its past.

“Before Father McShane started, it was a very, very well-defined group of donors with whom Fordham tended to continually engage,” he said. “With Father McShane, we really began a much more concerted and sophisticated effort to reach out to many more alums that previously had not had any contact with the University in any way—not through communications or alumni relations, let alone philanthropy. Today, we have built a community of mission investors that includes students, their parents, alumni, and friends.”

For the students, it was a chance to express gratitude toward the people who helped make their education a reality. Thanks in part to their generosity, Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid is less than $10 million away from reaching its $175 million goal. And for the donors, the evening offered an opportunity to hear from the students whose lives were changed by their gifts.   

“It is through your giving that a difference is made in the lives of our scholars,” John R. Costantino, GABELLI ’67, LAW ’70, said to the donors in the University Club’s Main Dining Room. Then he and his wife thanked the younger guests—the students who had become more than just “scholarship recipients.”

“We have been to [their]  graduations, weddings, christenings, and had the good fortune to watch our scholars grow, mature, and succeed,” said Barbara Costantino. “In many ways, this is an extension of our family.”

A Dream Made Reality

This year’s student speaker was Elena Comas Wood, FCRH ’21, the recipient of the Jane M. Flaherty Scholarship. Today, Wood is a political science major and Arabic minor from San Antonio, Texas, who plans to pursue a career in public policy. But when she was a child, she had a different idea.

“I first declared my intention to be president at only 5 years old,” Wood said, to laughter from the audience. “This dream—the dream to be a catalyst for meaningful change—was born in my pre-K classroom where, between lessons on the alphabet and finger painting, my very first teacher taught us about India’s independence movement, the civil rights movement, and environmental activism.”

As she grew, so did her passion for public service. In high school, she served as under-secretary-general of external affairs at one of the largest student-led Model United Nations conferences in the country. Today, as a second-generation Mexican American, she mentors Latina middle school students through Fordham’s Club Amigas/Mentoring Latinas program. And last summer, as a policy intern for Texas State Representative Diego Bernal, she watched two of her policy memorandums become house bills to help homeless and hearing-impaired students.

“Representative Bernal frequently joked that they only brought me onto the team because he always wanted to go to Fordham,” Wood said. “But in all seriousness, it was Fordham’s widely recognized reputation for social interest, along with its network of professors, administrators, and alumni, that made each of those opportunities possible.”

There was one more “instrumental” factor: the Jane M. Flaherty Scholarship.

“Earlier this year, my parents and I had a frank discussion about whether or not I would be able to finish my undergraduate degree at Fordham,” Wood said. “I am quite literally in front of you today, a Fordham student, thanks to the Flaherty Scholarship. It is because of you that I do not have to choose between affordability and my dreams.”

The Woman Behind the Scholarship

Jane M. Flaherty, who passed away last February at age 71, never attended Fordham. But she had great love for the University.

“She spent a lot of time here with me while we were dating, before we got married,” said her husband James P. (Jim) Flaherty, FCRH ’69, a Fordham trustee. “We got engaged the night of our senior prom.”

Jane Flaherty was a native New Yorker who was devoted to her husband, children, and 10 grandchildren. She was proud of her Catholic education, and the education her husband received at Fordham. There were two University events she really loved, said her husband: the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at the University Church and this scholarship reception.

“They would give her a table, but they’d have 10 people around it, and she’d be surrounded. And I would just leave, ’cause I wasn’t serving any purpose,” Jim said, smiling as he recalled the memory.

For Jane, it was always a delight to speak with her scholars face-to-face at the annual reception.

“When I meet my students, I’m filled with joy,” Jane Flaherty said at the 2016 event. “It’s like I’m meeting my children.”

Finding Fellowship in STEM and Life

Mary Jane F. McCartney, TMC ’69, has met many student scholars. But Sophie Cote was the first one who Googled her before they met in person.

“I discovered that at Con Ed, she was the first female in like four different high-level positions, and I just think that’s the coolest thing ever,” gushed Cote, a first-year math and economics student at Fordham College at Rose Hill interested in the technology and energy sectors. “And this is really similar to what I want to do with my career.”

Cote isn’t a recipient of any of McCartney’s scholarships. She is a Cunniffe Presidential Scholar who was impressed by McCartney’s resume and met her at the reception.

McCartney also spoke with one of her scholarship recipients, Rodolfo Keesey, FCRH ’20, an integrative neuroscience student whose research includes gene expression and 3D printed prosthetic hands. A few weeks ago, McCartney and Keesey first met at the Rose Hill undergraduate research symposium. Recently, she helped him secure an undergraduate research grant for this summer, he said.

“We’re all STEM people,” Keesey said, turning toward Cote and McCartney. “It’s great!”

A few paces away, Bob and Sue Stone, PAR ’15, were engrossed in conversation with the recipient of their scholarship, Robert Magrino—a Gabelli School of Business junior studying business administration.

“We come to this event every year. Rather than writing a check, which is easy to do in terms of time, coming here is a chance to find out where the money is going and if it’s helping,” Bob Stone said. “And clearly, it is.”

“The way they were talking to me, they made it seem like I could go to J.P. Morgan or Morgan Stanley,” Magrino said in a private conversation. “Hopefully, that will come true.”

A Toast to Fordham

As the evening drew to a close, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, lifted his glass and announced a three-part toast.

“I propose a toast first to the students, whose hopes give us great joy, who point us to the future and make us smile and make us young again,” he said. “To the young saints.”

“Hear, hear,” the audience answered.

Father McShane dedicated his second toast to the “mature saints” who make it possible for the young saints to shine. His final toast, however, was for the 178-year-old institution that had brought them all together.

“That place where talent is tested, character is nurtured, and hope is born in every generation,” Father McShane said, raising his glass to the sculpted ceiling. “To Fordham.”

“To Fordham,” they echoed.  

More than 1,000 alumni and friends of Fordham attended the black-tie affair at the New York Hilton Midtown—a new venue for the dinner and a hotel that has hosted every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy.

The 2019 celebration lauded six longtime supporters of Fordham—Solon P. Patterson and Marianna R. Patterson; Joel I. Picket and Joan Picket; and Dennis G. Ruppel, FCRH ’68 and Patricia Ann Ruppel—and honored 44 Founder’s Scholars, whose Fordham education was largely made possible by the Founder’s Scholarship.

This year’s gala also celebrated and supported Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. Over the past two years, the campaign has reached more than 90 percent of its $175 million goal.

But at its heart, the dinner was more than a meal among those who love the University. It was a toast to the people—every person connected to Fordham’s 178 years of life.

In addressing the crowd, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, recounted the day he met a few friendly locals in a Florida fishing shop. They complimented the Fordham baseball cap atop his head—but they mistook his gear for a Florida State hat. They had no idea what Fordham was. But the innate issue was their question: “What is Fordham?”  

“Fordham is not a ‘what,’” Father McShane said. “Fordham is a ‘who.’”

“Now, I know that sounds like a bad new Dr. Seuss book,” Father McShane said, to the audience’s laughter. “But I truly believe it’s the truth.”

“Fordham is a world-class faculty, a hardworking staff, talented and devoted administrators, students, trustees, donors, alumni—all of whom are men and women for others.”

A Bittersweet Thank-You

Beneath the dimmed lights of the Grand Ballroom, Amie Ko, GABELLI ’19, spoke on behalf of the Founder’s Scholars.

“On this night, standing before you, I can’t help but think that in 54 days I will no longer be an undergraduate student at Fordham,” said Ko, an aspiring tax accountant who will intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers this summer. “From the start of the semester, I have been asked countless times: ‘How does that make you feel?’ And to be very honest, I am scared. I am nervous. I am sad,” she said.

“But most of all, I am incredibly thankful.”

Ko, a Division I athlete for Fordham’s swimming and diving team who recently led her team to its first undefeated season in almost a decade, spoke about her gratitude for her teammates, her four years of Fordham memories, and the donors who made her current reality possible.

She also took a moment to remember one Founder’s scholar who couldn’t make it: Rachel Ragone, GABELLI ’18, who died last January after a long battle with bone cancer. As Ko recounted Ragone’s four years at Fordham—her studies in applied accounting and finance, her semester spent at Fordham’s London Centre, her passion for raising funds and awareness for children’s cancer—a photo collage of Ragone appeared in the background.

“As Rachel’s mom Kim Ragone has shared with us,” said Ko, “‘Fordham gave Rachel the best time of her life.’”

Honoring Three Couples

During the festivities, Father McShane presented the Fordham Founder’s Award to each of the three couples honored this year.

The Pattersons, natives of Atlanta, have been married for nearly 60 years. Solon Patterson worked for 48 years in investment management; he retired in 2007 as CEO of the investment firm Montag and Caldwell. Marianna Patterson worked in the banking industry before becoming a full-time mother.

The couple has been instrumental in helping Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center to prosper over the past decade. In the early 2000s, they created an endowment to establish the Patterson Triennial Conference on Orthodox/Catholic Relations.

“In the process, they have enabled Fordham to become the only Catholic university in the world that offers degree programs in Eastern Orthodox studies,” said Father McShane.

They also established the Father John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies, now held by Professor George Demacopoulos. 

“Solon is Greek Orthodox, and I am Roman Catholic, and we have long prayed for the end of the separation of these oldest and largest Christian bodies. Their reunion would be a positive event for all Christians the world over,” Marianna Patterson said.

The Pickets are longtime New York philanthropists. Joel Picket, a Manhattan native, is the chairman and CEO of Gotham Organization—the real estate development firm that was key to constructing several buildings on campus, including the Law School/McKeon Hall complex at Lincoln Center and the William D. Walsh Family Library at Rose Hill. He is a two-term member of the Board of Trustees and a current trustee fellow who helped make the master plan for the Lincoln Center campus redevelopment a reality. Joan Picket, who has worked as an advertising copywriter and real estate broker, has served in multiple service organizations.

Together, the couple’s generosity spans several initiatives at Fordham, from scholarship support for Jewish studies to the funding of new campus facilities.

“Neither of us have a Fordham education,” Joel Picket said. “[But] from my first introduction to Father O’Hare to what we consider a special relationship with Father McShane, I have seen what strong and dedicated leadership means and grasped the greatness of the Jesuit education.”

The last couple includes a Fordham alumnus—Dennis Ruppel. Today, Ruppel is chairman of Freedom Bank, chairman of AmCap Insurance, and co-owner of the Press Hotel in Portland, Maine. He is a current trustee fellow who has served multiple terms on Fordham’s board of trustees. Dennis and his wife, Patricia Ann, champion multiple organizations, particularly those devoted to early childhood education.

“In her own words, Pat has ‘adopted Fordham,’ and carries the University in her heart,” said Robert D. Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of Fordham’s board of trustees and a Founder’s 2019 co-chair.  

At Fordham, the couple created the Dennis and Patricia Ruppel Endowed Scholarship. They have also supported athletics, WFUV, career services and experiential education, the sailing program, and other University endeavors.

“Fordham had few students from Florida when I arrived in 1964, never having been in New York City. I was the virtual stranger in a strange land,” Dennis Ruppel said.

“Within weeks, I realized how special Fordham is: classmates who were bright, questioning, and welcoming; professors whose love and mastery of their subject was infectious; an atmosphere filled with the Ignatian care for the whole person; and, in the Jesuit tradition, the expectation that we live our lives in the service of others.”

The 2019 awardees join 47 other Founder’s Award recipients, the first of whom were honored in 2002.

Examples of a Life Well Lived

“I praise God for what you have become and who you have become and how you have become, first of all, examples of a life well-lived with a strong moral compass,” Father McShane said, gazing at the hundreds of faces across the ballroom. “Tonight, it is my great honor to look at all of you and say to you, ‘You, my friends, are our treasure.’”

To make a gift to the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, please visit fordham.edu/foundersgiving.

The all-day event aims to raise money for Fordham scholarships and financial aid through donations from alumni, students, faculty, and friends of Fordham. Unlike years past, the 2019 event features a new challenge: to garner the support of 1,841 donors in 1,841 minutes—in honor of Fordham’s founding year. All donations will support Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid or the donor’s fund of choice. Rams have until March 5 at 6:41 p.m. EST to make a gift.

But the purpose of Giving Day extends beyond financial donations, says a Gabelli School student.

“Giving Day is more than fundraising for Fordham,” said Chirayu Shah, GABELLI ’21, the Giving Day chair of the Student Philanthropy Committee at Rose Hill. “It’s about making time to reconnect with Fordham.”

This year, Fordham will host evening Giving Day receptions on March 4 for alumni, students, faculty, friends, and future Rams at the Rose Hill, Westchester, and Lincoln Center campuses. From 12 to 1:30 p.m., the Rose Hill reception will launch a kick-off toast, courtesy of the Fordham athletics department. From 4 to 7 p.m., the Westchester reception will feature face-painting, caricatures, and a visit from Ramses. And from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., the Lincoln Center reception will provide refreshments and giveaways.

For the first time, there will also be a Giving Day challenge for Fordham’s 36 regional chapters. The regional alumni chapter that exceeds its participation goal by the highest percentage will win a free happy hour.

The Giving Day festivities also extend to social media. If you download and print out a Ramses cut-out, snap a photo of him in action, and share it on social media with #FordhamGivingDay and a Fordham tag, then $1,000 could be donated to Fordham in your honor, courtesy of Cathy O’Brien Skinner, FCRH ’89.

Other 2019 Giving Day challenges include:

• Big Giving Day Challenge: If 1,841 people donate during Giving Day, Trustee Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, and her husband, Gerald R. Jordan, will donate $50,000 toward scholarships and financial aid.
• Future Rams Challenge, 3–6 p.m. EST: Have a future Ram in your family? Use #FordhamGivingDay and post a photo of your child (nieces, nephews, or grandkids are fine, too!) dressed up in Fordham gear. Rob Howley, FCRH ’89, will donate $500 to Fordham in the poster’s honor.
• Cap and Gown Challenge, 9 p.m.–12 a.m. EST: Dig up your favorite Fordham graduation photos and share them using #FordhamGivingDay for a chance to have $500 donated in your honor, courtesy of Rob Howley, FCRH ’89.
• Love Is in the Air Challenge, 7–10 a.m. EST: Did you meet your significant other at Fordham? Post a photo of yourselves, using the hashtag #FordhamGivingDay. Thanks to Jessica Leto, GABELLI ’98,’06, FAC, and Michael Leto, GABELLI ’06, $500 could be donated to Fordham in your names.
• Pet Post Challenge, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. EST: Share a photo of your pet celebrating Fordham Giving Day while dressed in Fordham swag using #FordhamGivingDay. Ramses will pick one lucky photo at the end of Giving Day and $500 will be donated toward the Fordham cause of your choice, courtesy of Gerry Tenebruso, GABELLI ’13.
• Faculty and Staff Challenge, 1–4 p.m. EST: Which Fordham faculty or staff members changed your life? Give them a shout-out on social media and use #FordhamGivingDay for a chance to have $500 donated to Fordham in honor of you and your mentors, courtesy of Eileen Hornor, GSAS ’92.

Brendan O’Grady, GABELLI ’13, helped sponsor the Recent Graduate Challenge. (If 200 alumni from the classes of ’09 through ’18 make a gift, $2,000 will be donated to Fordham.) He said he owes much of his success to Fordham, particularly his mentors at the Gabelli School of Business.

“The leadership at Gabelli really took the time to get to know each and every student—what they were going to school for, what they wanted to achieve, and most importantly, pushed them not only to achieve that but to think a little bit beyond that,” said O’Grady, who is now a manager in digital strategy at Ernst & Young. “That’s something that I’m incredibly appreciative of.”

The past two Giving Days have surpassed Fordham’s original goal. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the past two fundraising events have collectively raised more than $1.4 million.

The philanthropists are also very diverse. Last year’s donors span four continents and almost every U.S. state. Two donors are members of the class of ’23; one alum is from the class of ’51. And more than 120 donors are from the classes of 2018 and 2019.

Hara Chung, GABELLI ’20, the Giving Day chair in the Student Philanthropy Committee at Lincoln Center, recalled meeting Judy Zoller, a donor at the 2018 Women’s Philanthropy Summit. Zoller and her husband had created a scholarship that paid homage to their son, a Graduate School of Education alumnus who died at age 39.

“After being able to listen to the donors and the reasons why they give, it impacted me emotionally,” Chung said. “I wanted to give back more, even though I’m [still]a student.”

“Fordham has given us all so many different opportunities, whether it’s the people we’ve met or the professors we’ve had or the internships that we’re able to have because we’re in the city. So to give back to Fordham would be to give back to the next generation.”

Make your Giving Day 2019 gift here. Visit the Fordham Giving Day website for more information.

The all-day summit drew about 250 alumnae, students, faculty, and friends to Fordham Law School for a series of keynote speeches, forums, pep talks, networking breaks, and even a five-minute yoga session. But more than that, it was a chance for them to gather in the same room and discuss something they all had in common: how much Fordham meant to them.

The Power of Philanthropy

One of the first speakers was Gabelli School junior Arnell Stewart, who explained how alumnae donations directly impacted her life.

When Stewart’s older brother died suddenly last year, the family faced financial hardship. But with the help of two women—Stewart’s CSTEP counselor Tiffany House and Christina Seix Dow, TMC ’72, who established the Fordham scholarship Stewart received—she knew she could continue to attend college.

“This was the first good thing to happen to my family since the tragedy,” Stewart said, fighting back tears.

“Because of this blessing and Ms. Seix Dow’s generosity, I can stand here before you today as a member of the Fordham community, but also as one of the strong leading ladies here in this room today.”

How Do You Begin?

Many of the day’s speakers acknowledged that for women, pride in one’s wealth and success—and the power they bring—has not always come naturally.

“Some women feel uncomfortable with the idea of wealth. For men, for generations, it’s been culturally and socially acceptable—generally speaking—to be okay with that idea of, ‘I’m wealthy. I’m rich,’” said Veronica Dagher, GABELLI ’00, ’05, a senior wealth management reporter at The Wall Street Journal and a panelist at the summit. “For women though, in general, that’s been frowned upon.”

So for many, thinking about philanthropy has not been top of mind. But guests gained some insight on how to take their first steps toward giving from the day’s first keynote speaker, Harriet Edelman, GABELLI ’80, Vice Chair of Emigrant Bank—the largest privately held, family-owned-and-run community bank in the nation. Her advice: first pinpoint what you’re passionate about, consider how you want to donate—alone versus with “like-minded souls,” establish a budget, learn how to say no, and research possible organizations through sources like Charity Navigator.

And while she acknowledged that differences between men and women may be part of the day’s discussions, it wasn’t a critical point of focus for her.

“What matters,” Edelman said, “is why you give—why one gives; and, based on the fact that you are here, it means we have a common desire to be intentional and responsible, and share a common interest in the success and sustainability of Fordham.”

Kirsten N. Swinth, Ph.D., associate professor of history and American studies at Fordham, spoke about societal challenges for women in her keynote, “Women Organizing for Change: Feminism’s Forgotten Fight for Work and Family.”

“We are one of two nations in the entire world that does not have [mandatory] paid maternity leave,” Swinth. “Our companion in that status is Papua New Guinea.”

Swinth said that women can take action by joining or creating groups like giving circles, building workplace networks and unions, getting more involved with the government, protesting when necessary, and, perhaps most difficult of all, prioritizing the “collective restructuring of society.”

At the keynote panel session Women’s Giving: How Women Accumulate and Distribute Wealth, panelists discussed how women are achieving parity in the United States.

“Right now, in the United States, 39 percent of the top wealth holders are women. Forty percent of U.S. households have a female breadwinner. And 45 percent of the millionaires in the United States are women,” said the panel’s moderator, Elizabeth S. Zeigler, GSE ’00, CEO of Graham-Pelton Consulting.

And at Fordham, thousands of women possess potential financial power—perhaps more than we think.

“More than half of Fordham’s living alumni are women,” said Martha K. Hirst, Fordham’s senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer. “Which means together with the women among the University’s friends, faculty, administrators, staff, and other supporters, our collective impact potential on the University we love is boundless.”

Having It All: A Career, Love, Family, and Happiness

One of the day’s most popular panels was Work/Life Balance at Every Stage of Your Life, a forum where women traded stories about how they balance their careers with everything else: motherhood, romance, and “me time.” They acknowledged that women often feel that others have a better handle on the balancing act than they do.

“We live in a day and age where you can constantly be bombarded with the ‘perfect’ [on social media] and somebody else who appears to be doing it better than you’re doing it. You have some sort of imposter syndrome. And why is that? You’re doing so well. You’ve achieved so much so early in your career. Why would you think that that’s not success?” said Beth Savino, GABELLI ’03, a partner in asset management practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Marianne Cooper, FCRH ’77, a managing director at IBM who is a breast cancer survivor and the mother of a child with special needs, noted that priorities shift with age. And, she said, it’s important to take stock of what you will leave behind.

“What do you want to get out of your life?” asked Cooper. “When you go on, hopefully, up to heaven, how do you want to be remembered by your family, friends, and colleagues?”

Finding Meaning in Giving

Alumnae held a candid conversation about the spirituality behind giving at Keeping the Faith: Engaging the Next Generation in Conversations of Spirituality and Service, a panel moderated by Christine Firer Hinze, professor of Christian ethics and director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham. 

“Beyond the huge terrible things that are going on in the world today, there are day-to-day tragedies and heartbreaks. You can feel overwhelmed, like nothing you can do makes a difference,” said Anne Conroy, FCRH ’79, director of development and communications at the Center for Family Representation. “By being involved—whether it’s a faith community, a social justice opportunity, whether it’s giving to nonprofits or volunteering—my experience has been doing those things makes me feel less alone; it gives me a sense of hope and optimism. And as a Christian, I feel more connected to God.”

The day’s closing keynote speaker, Anne L. Williams-Isom, FCLC ’86, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone, talked about meaningful opportunities that giving can provide. She urged all the women in the room to consider how they could help others achieve the American dream. Williams-Isom, the daughter of a single mother from Trinidad and Tobago, acknowledged that it’s difficult—but not impossible.

“I know you guys don’t want to hear about ‘stretching beyond your reach’ because everybody feels like they’re pulled to their limit,” said Williams-Isom, who serves on the University’s President’s Council and works to end generational poverty in Harlem by providing high-quality education and social services to children and families. “I’m here to tell you that you haven’t even begun to touch all the potential that is inside of you.”

Honoring the Past, Looking Toward the Future

The summit honored a group of women who have supported Fordham students in various ways. Receiving the Pioneering Woman in Philanthropy Award were Mary Higgins Clark, FCLC ’79; Rosemary Santana Cooney; Eugenie F. Doyle, M.D., MC ’43; Christine Driessen, GABELLI ’77; Brenda L. Gill, LAW ’95; Alice Lehman Murphy; Frances K. Reid; Margaret Mary (Peggy) Smyth, FCRH ’85; and Valerie Torres, FCRH ’83, GRE ’01, ’08.

Doyle, a retired professor of pediatrics and director of the division of pediatric cardiology at the New York University Medical Center, was a pioneering practitioner of using open-heart surgery to save babies with a rare disorder: “blue baby syndrome.” She and her late husband, Joseph, established two scholarships that benefit pre-health students at Fordham.

“You have quite literally changed the world, one baby and one student at a time,” Justine Franklin, senior director of development at Fordham, said to Doyle. “And have shown all of us how working for the common good is truly life-giving.”

The second summit also recognized Fordham’s six new giving circles—groups of individuals who donate money to a pooled fund and collectively decide how the money should be spent—that were established at last year’s summit. In just a year, the circles have raised more than $400,000 in Fordham scholarship funds.

“Joining a giving circle is a great first step in the start of your charitable giving journey,” said Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82, a University trustee and co-chair of Fordham’s Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. “By raising money as part of a fundraising group, your giving impact is that much more powerful and allows for you to connect with others who share your unique passion for helping Fordham educate more deserving students.”

Last year’s inaugural Women’s Philanthropy Summit raised almost half a million dollars. Donations for this year’s summit are just starting to come in. But perhaps more important than dollar amounts is the question of how to educate the next generation of philanthropists, said one alumna.

“How are we ensuring that the next generation of leaders are being cultivated with a love of community, a heart for justice, and a heart for servant leadership and love of neighbor?” asked Laura Risimini, FCLC ’10, GSAS ’13, foundation manager of the Sister Fund. “And what are we doing to make sure that the next generation—which is going to be taking the reins of leadership soon in the next couple of decades—is prepared?

“Our future literally depends on it.”

Complete bios of all speakers, panelists, and honorees can be found here.