“Historically, we had hundreds of new hires every year, and all of those were handled manually,” said Damarie Cardona-Reilly, senior director of human resources information systems. “This new system takes away all of the tedious manual effort involved in both the front and back ends. Now applicants have a much more streamlined way of getting access to open positions and being able to apply for them.” 

The move to modernize the University’s hiring system began in 2019, said Cardona-Reilly.

“IT has always been in the forefront of finding new technology and better ways of integrating different systems. A few years ago, their strategy for system integrations transitioned from flat file to Ethos, and the Office of Human Resources decided to leverage the Ethos integration for our applicant tracking system implementation,” she said.

Throughout the pandemic, IT and the Office of Human Resources worked together to integrate data from two platforms, Ellucian Ethos and PeopleAdmin, in order to create an online platform where prospective talent could easily apply to jobs and new hires could “seamlessly” enter the University system, said Cardona-Reilly. 

“In the past, applicants used to apply for positions by completing a paper application. When hired, they would complete paper onboarding forms that included personal information. We also had a team that manually input information for personal, employee, and job records. Now all of that is seamless. Instead of filling out paperwork and applying for a position manually, it’s all automated. This increases transparency, streamlines the process, and helps us to better secure personal and confidential information,” said Cardona-Reilly.

Thanks to the new online system, Fordham has been able to expand its reach to prospective hires, said Cardona-Reilly. From 2020 to 2021, nearly 1,000 applications were received for 60 open positions. In addition, 50% of recent hires are coming through this new award-winning system, while the other half are still coming through the older system, which is transitioning to the updated version.

The $25,000 grant was awarded to Fordham in April, in recognition of the University’s ability to use technology to operate more efficiently and to offer a better employee experience. The grant will be used to further enhance technology and streamlining processes at Fordham, said Cardona-Reilly.

“This integration was a huge effort by many members within HR and IT, and this could not have been achieved without the support of Fordham’s leadership. This is also the first time that HR has received an award in technology,” Cardona-Reilly said. “To see that our colleagues at Ellucian and other schools understand and appreciate the effort that was involved in that—that’s important to us.”

We are all aware of the economic impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the nation, the region, and higher education.  Fordham, like other institutions of higher learning, is dependent on tuition, as well as executive and continuing education, as its major source of funding.  Enrollment projections for the Fall semester are uncertain.  While the extent of the economic impact is not yet fully known, Fordham has begun planning for a range of scenarios.   Therefore, the University has had to take a renewed approach at a realistic budget for next year, and find cost-cutting measures.

Adjustments to the 2020–2021 Budget – Guiding Principles

• Fordham will focus on strategies that enable us to retain all of its employees.
• The culture and mission of the University must be preserved.
• Budget adjustments should not undercut Fordham’s capacity to deliver on its strategic plan.

While many decisions and choices will come into sharper focus in the future, it is already clear that some actions must be taken immediately to align Fordham’s spending with the decline in revenue.

• With the cooperation of the Faculty Senate and the Unions, the University plans to implement a salary freeze for fiscal year 2021
• The University will be instituting a University-wide hiring freeze

We are still working to obtain a more complete picture of the financial conditions of the University, and we will be scrutinizing the FY21 budget to determine what other steps may be necessary to respond to the financial impact of the pandemic on our operations. We will continue to communicate with you as more information becomes available.

We recognize the strain and the disruption that COVID-19 has caused for every member of our community.  Challenges will continue to confront us in the days ahead, but we are confident that, together as a community, we will adapt to meet these new challenges as they arise.

We thank you for your flexibility, patience, and teamwork. Together, we will find our way through this crisis.

Sincerely,

Kay Turner, Esq., SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Vice President for Human Resources

Fordham has named Kay Turner, Esq., a human resources professional with more than 15 years of executive HR leadership, to serve as vice president for human resources at the University, effective September 18, 2017.

This is a newly created position, designed to reflect the renewed importance of human services to the University, and Fordham’s commitment to continuous improvement. In this role, Turner, a certified senior professional in human resources and an attorney, will spearhead state-of-the-art strategies and programs to recruit, hire, develop, and retain diverse and talented Fordham faculty, administrators, and staff.

“I am delighted that we were able to attract someone of Kay Turner’s broad experience and deep talent to oversee Fordham’s human resources area,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University. “We believe she will be a terrific asset not just to HR but to the entire University community. Her appointment underscores what we all know: that attracting and retaining top-tier faculty, administrators and staff are among Fordham’s most important functions.”

Turner will enhance delivery of HR services, including benefits design and administration, performance evaluation, professional development initiatives, labor and employee relations, and HR information systems, and ensure compliance. Reporting to Martha Hirst, senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer, Turner will provide strategic and organizational guidance, advice and support to senior University leaders and to the entire community on human resource issues and administration.

Since diversity is a University-wide priority, Turner, as vice president for human resources, will work with the chief diversity officer and the assistant vice president for student affairs for diversity and inclusion, as a diversity leadership team with which Father McShane and the cabinet will regularly consult.

Turner has an extensive background in human resources and employment law at higher education, nonprofit, and government institutions including multi-location, multistate operations in the tri-state area. She joins Fordham after serving for four years as vice president of human resources at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where she acted as an adviser to the board of trustees and university president on executive compensation considerations, secured three years of funding to advance technology within HR, and also launched a successful internal HR marketing campaign that led to a widely published cadre of HR services and solutions.

Prior to her role at NJIT, Turner was vice president of human resources at JCCA, formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association—a nonprofit providing child welfare and mental health services to the city’s most underprivileged families and children. In her role, she supported and trained more than 800 full-time employees and 300 per-diem employees in its multiple New York locations. She also led a program restructuring which resulted in $1.2 million in annual savings.

As director of employee relations at the nationally recognized Hackensack University Medical Center, a 900-bed nonprofit, research, and teaching hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey, Turner helped the organization secure $8 million in annual savings and ensured federal and state legislation compliance. From 2001 to 2008, Turner served as director of employee relations and diversity at the MTA Metro-North Railroad, the second largest commuter railroad in the country with 6,000 employees on three shifts and 18 collective bargaining agreements.

She held a number of positions in law during the 1990s, including attorney and assessment liaison for the New York City Board of Education; assistant district attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York; and attorney and mediator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the City University of New York and a juris doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law. Turner and her family reside in the Bronx.

“The University will greatly benefit from Kay Turner’s expertise,” Hirst said. “I am grateful to my colleagues on the search committee: Robert Grimes, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center; Michael McCarthy, S.J., vice president for mission integration and planning; Elaine Crosson, general counsel; Marco Valera, vice president for facilities management; Ellen Fahey-Smith, associate vice president for academic affairs; Keith Eldridge, dean of students at Lincoln Center; and Jacqueline Reich, Ph.D., professor and chair, communications and media studies. We were assisted in the national search by Neumann Executive Search (now Koya) principals Liz Neumann and Amy Sugin.”

Who She Is
Benefits Manager in the Human Resources Department. From retirement plans to disability insurance, Busby is one of a staff of four who oversee benefits for Fordham’s employees.

Where She’s From
A native of New York state, Busby’s family hails from the Bronx with strong ties to Fordham. Her father, Eugene O’Brien, graduated from Fordham College Rose Hill in 1948 and from Fordham Law in 1951. Her aunt, Sister Mary Walter Santer, attended the Graduate School of Religion.

Background
She worked in human resources at Gannett newspaper’s Journal News in Rockland County, New York. “The main difference between my job at Gannett and my work here at Fordham is that was a small HR location of a larger corporation. Most of the decisions were made at the headquarters. Here at Fordham we do everything. We’re responsible for the medical coverage, retirement accounts, working with vendors—and for handling the billing.”

Biggest Misperception of HR
“I think when people are told to call HR they feel that its not a good thing, like they’re in trouble. But we’re here to help you. It actually makes everybody’s life a lot better if employees come to us to ask questions about benefits rather than asking a co-worker. Your co-workers may have an idea, but they don’t know all the answers. There are four of us here and this is all we do.”

Getting Personal with the Personnel
“Sometimes people are hesitant to talk about personal issues at work, but, honestly, people come to us with intensely personal business on a daily basis, and confidentiality is of the utmost importance. It never leaves our office. Sometimes it’s about a serious health issue. We are trained to deal with confidential issues and be sensitive to what employees are going through.”

The Key to Good HR
“This job is about listening. Sometimes people just need to talk, but mostly they want to understand the specifics of their benefits.”

The Payoff
“My favorite part of this job is when someone comes to me with a real problem. By getting them the information they need, I feel that I’ve lifted their burden a bit—even if it’s just a little.”

The Fordham Baby Boom
“We also get to hear lots of good news around here too. People come to us when they’re purchasing houses, getting married. Babies are one of the best parts of the job. The University is experiencing a little baby boom right now. I love to hear about that—and the adoptions!”

Down Time
In the warmer months, Busby and her family get out onto the Hudson River for sailing, a pastime, which has become the subject of her photography. Several of her photographs hang in her office. She has exhibited and sold in Rockland County. In addition to shooting the sailing landscapes, she often pops into Manhattan to shoot street scenes.

The survey, conducted by the NYC Kincare Task Force, gathered responses from 137 kin caregivers—people who are the main source of care for younger family members who are not their children.

It was released at a meeting of the task force held in conjunction with Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service.

Eighty-six percent of the respondents were unemployed and 75 percent were over the age of 60, said Amy Roehl, staff attorney of MFY Legal Services Inc., who presented the results in McMahon Hall on the Lincoln Center campus.

This is a telling statistic, according to the task force, as caregivers who are senior citizens and those without jobs are more likely to have difficulty gaining assistance.

Survey participants were asked about their experiences with various service agencies, including the Human Resources Administration, New York City Housing Authority and Department of Education.

Barriers that guardians often face within service agencies include inadequate benefits, difficulty getting necessary help, and income limits that make them ineligible for assistance, the survey indicates.

That may help explain why roughly 250,000 children in New York City are being raised by kin caregivers, but only about 5,400 are part of the city’s foster care system, according to the task force. Those in foster care have access to a wide range of services, while others do not.

A major complaint listed by 46 percent of the respondents was dissatisfaction with service workers. Peggy Lee, a grandparent caregiver, offered reasons why.

“I applied for welfare, which was very complicated. Trying to work with the social workers in the center was not easy,” Lee said. “I dreaded going there, but when recertification time came, I had no choice. They talk to you as if you were not human. They answered as if they wanted to take your head off.”

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, commissioner for the New York City Department of Aging, sympathized with the trials that grandparent caregivers face.

“I understand the responsibility of taking care of a child in your 60s. I understand the sheer exhaustion and I know that children are demanding. We want to be there for you and take care of you while you are taking care of your children.”

In addition to releasing the survey, the task force gave recommendations that agencies can follow to better assist kin caregivers. Recommendations range from providing caregivers with clear and concise information to reducing the time it takes to address issues that affect the quality of life and health of the family.

The recommendations have minimal financial impact on the service departments, but would have vast and indispensable beneficial outcomes, according to the task force.

The report, “Removing Barriers to Successful Kin Caregiving,” was funded by the AARP Foundation through a grant from the New York Life Foundation.