As Fordham celebrates the successful conclusion of Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, the University is transitioning to a new campaign dedicated to enhancing the overall student experience.

The centerpiece of the campaign will be a new campus center at Rose Hill that is scheduled to be completed in 2025. The campaign will also seek support for other student-focused issues like wellness, financial aid, athletics, and STEM facilities, which are being developed in the University’s strategic planning process.

“The new campus center will be bigger, both literally and in concept, than its current incarnation,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “It will be at the heart of the student experience campaign, and the student experience is at the heart of the University. In caring for the whole person, we want Fordham to be a place where students can live, learn, study, celebrate, dine, play, and perhaps most of all connect—with their peers and with the faculty and campus community.”

The campus center project, which the University began work on over the summer, will take place in two phases and cost an estimated $205.3 million.

A Dramatic Expansion

The first phase is scheduled for completion in August 2021 and will entail the construction of a roughly 75,000-square-foot addition in the area in front of the existing McGinley Center.

The sleek glass and stone addition will be connected to the existing structure via a two-story glass arcade, with elevated walkways between the two buildings. The glass canopy-topped main entrance will beckon visitors into an airy space between the Rose Hill Gym and the new addition. The center’s façade, once defined by the modernist arches of the McGinley building, will now be dominated by vertical, soaring windows and stonework that complement the neighboring Gym. In a nod to iconic Rose Hill structures such as Keating Hall and Duane Library, it will also feature a four-story illuminated tower immediately to the west of the entrance.

Once the addition is complete phase two will begin, and the existing structure, which was built in 1958, will be gutted and renovated. When it is finished, it will feature 22,000 square feet of dining facilities and 36,000 square feet of state-of-the-art sports and fitness facilities. Ultimately, the new campus center, which is being designed by the architecture firm HLW, will be much larger, encompassing more than double the space of the original building. It will also include efficient LED lighting, heat recovery systems, enhanced insulation, solar panels, and other features designed to lower its carbon footprint.

The expansion will allow for a dramatic increase in space for several areas. The 20,000 square-foot fitness center will encompass more than half of the basement level, while more than 16,000 additional square feet will be devoted to sports medicine and a varsity weights training center. A 9,500-square-foot student lounge will occupy the first floor of the addition, while Career Services, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and Campus Ministry will be housed in larger offices on the second floor. The third floor of the addition, which will rise a floor above the existing McGinley Center, will feature space for meetings and special events.

Funding for the Center

Funding will come from a combination of fundraising, loans, and dining services provider Aramark, which has committed $13.3 million toward the renovation of the dining facilities. Fordham will borrow $150 million through a bond offering, and raise up to $85 million for the project through the next capital campaign.

Together, nine donors have already committed $10 million toward the Campus center. Maurice J. “Mo” Cunniffe, FCRH ’54 and Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., UGE ’62, GSAS ’65, ’71, whose generosity in the previous campaign led to the creation of the Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe Presidential Scholars Program, has given $3 million.

Other donors include Board of Trustees Chair Robert (Bob) Daleo, GABELLI ’72, and Linda Daleo; Trustee Fellow Emerita Kim Bepler; Trustee Emeritus Robert E. Campbell, GABELLI ’55, and Joan Campbell; former Trustee Stephen J. McGuinness, GABELLI ’82, ’91, and Anne McGuinness; Trustee Brian MacLean and Kathy MacLean, both FCRH ’75; Brian Kelly, LAW ’95; former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; and several anonymous donors.

The center will feature many spaces with naming opportunities. Among the high-profile spaces in the new building are the fitness center, arcade, career services space, and special events space. When refurbished, the original building’s main dining room, ballroom, and student affairs suite will be available as well.

A Positive Financial Picture

The bulk of the funding for the project will come from a loan that the University will take on through a bond offering via the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

Martha K. Hirst, senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer, noted that Fordham is able to do this in part thanks to the University’s solid financial footing. Last month, for instance, global rating agency Standard & Poor upgraded its outlook on Fordham from negative, which it issued in 2017, to stable, and affirmed its “A” long-term rating on outstanding bonds. The University previously borrowed $212 million in 2008 via bonds for the construction of the new Law School building; Hirst said it continues to be the best way to finance big projects.

A Focus on Students

Jeff Gray, senior vice president for student affairs, said the new campus center will dramatically increase the ability of the University to deliver the services and spaces that students need to thrive.

“We have clearly outgrown the current campus center over the years, and it’s going to bring online a lot of exciting new spaces that will improve the quality of life for all our students,” he said.

He noted that in recent surveys of students at Rose Hill, 60% indicated that current student club and programming spaces are inadequate for their needs, which is not surprising given that the center was built to accommodate just 2,500 undergraduates total, 850 of whom lived on campus at the time. Today, 3,500 students live on campus, another 1,000 live in off-campus housing and another 2,000 commute to campus. The new campus center will be a place where all of these students can come together to socialize and collaborate.

For a preview of the benefits to come, Gray pointed to the 2016 renovation of the garden level of the Lincoln Center campus’ 140 W. 62nd Street.

“There’s a retail dining facility there that’s very popular; there’s a large community lounge where students gather, study, and meet; there’s dedicated space for student clubs; and dedicated space for important student services, like the dean of students, student involvement, health services, counseling, and career services,” he said.

“They’re all located in that hub, and that’s had a very palpable, positive impact on the quality of life for our students at Lincoln Center. We hope to achieve some of the same benefits at Rose Hill on a larger scale.”

Studies have shown that the longer a student remains on campus and in an academic mindset, the greater their chances are for academic growth and success, Gray said, noting that student retention is a key priority for the University. The new campus center at Rose Hill, he said, will be designed to give students a better sense of place outside the classroom.

In addition to dining, fitness, student lounge, and career services spaces, Gray said he expects that students will benefit greatly from the improved office spaces for departments such as Campus Ministry, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and the Office of Student Involvement, which supports student clubs and activities.

“Those services are certainly central to our mission and what we do, and I think all of those things have the net effect of improving the overall student experience for the students,” he said.

Fordham and the New York Giants, two institutions with deep connections to New York football and each other, will team up on an array of initiatives after signing a formal partnership this summer. Benefits will include academic offerings for students and exposure for the University.

“Our identity has been tied to the gridiron since the 1920s, with Fordham’s ‘Seven Blocks of Granite’ dominating the sport in the 1930s, and John Mara is of course a distinguished Fordham Law alumnus,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

“We are therefore pleased to deepen our family connection to the Giants and excited to enter a partnership with the team that will be mutually beneficial.”

The partnership has the potential to result in new academic programs and new initiatives in the areas of community service, student enrollment, fundraising, alumni relations, branding, and special events.

“As a graduate of Fordham Law, I was fortunate to experience firsthand the wonderful educational opportunities that Fordham has to offer,” said John Mara, LAW ’79, president and co-owner of the New York Giants.

“This partnership will create new academic programs, student internships, and community service initiatives that will build upon and strengthen those experiences for Fordham students and our community.”

Academic Programming and Marketing

Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D., vice provost for Fordham, said there are many benefits to the new partnership.

“This initiative furthers the university’s strategy of deepening partnerships with leading New York City institutions, using them as a springboard to develop new academic programs and create unique opportunities for our students,” he said.

“It draws on our strengths across a number of different disciplines, from business and marketing to communications and media studies. It also takes Fordham’s visibility to the next level.”

The University and its programs and schools will be featured on in-stadium advertising during Giants games, as well as radio, digital, and social promotion.

Anthony R. Davidson, Ph.D., dean of Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies, said an intriguing aspect of the partnership is the way he sees Fordham leveraging it to create new academic programming in sports business at the school—potentially at the graduate level. Davidson said he’s eager to collaborate with colleagues in the department of communications and media studies, which currently offers a minor in sports journalism, and the Gabelli School of Business, which offers a concentration in sports business.

“I think this allows for us to develop our offerings in sports, an area of interest for many students,” he said, noting that the opportunities in the field extend far beyond working for individual teams or leagues.

Davidson said also he expects that members of the Giants organization will likewise take advantage of continuing education opportunities that Fordham offers.

Internships and Class Projects

This semester, three students will be interning with the team. Annette McLaughlin, director of Fordham’s Office of Career Services, said the internships—in departments such as corporate partnerships, premium services, and media production—are well aligned with the academic interests of Fordham students.

“Career success depends on two things: connections and experience, which includes the classroom, internships, volunteer work, and campus leadership roles. Fordham does an amazing job on the academic side with projects and presentations. We prepare the students by helping them connect their experiences inside and outside the classroom for future employment,” she said.

“Our role is to facilitate and create opportunities that connect students to employers and introduce them to a variety of career options. The Giants internships really match well with the knowledge, skills, and interests of our students and will no doubt help them as they begin their next chapter.”

Students will also be able to work with the Giants in the classroom through a class project. The project, which will be treated like a case study, will bring together an interdisciplinary group of students to work on a business challenge. Students will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the Giants’ management team. The agreement will also bring Giants executives into the classroom for guest lectures.

Jeffrey L. Gray, senior vice president for student affairs at Fordham, called the agreement “a team effort.”

“It involved genuine collaboration by many individuals and units across the University and in the Giants organization,” he said.

“The process is a model for how to get complex projects across the goal line, and I am grateful for the time and effort put in by everyone in both organizations.”

Partnering on Community Service

Beyond the classroom and the field, the two organizations will pursue community service projects together. The Giants will support Fordham students as they assist in community service projects such as clothing drives for the homeless, food delivery to those in need on holidays, and visits to children in hospitals.

A Long History Together

Fordham and the Giants have shared many connections through the years. Wellington Mara, the son of the team’s founder, Tim Mara, graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1937. His classmate, Fordham football legend Vince Lombardi, got his start in the NFL as an assistant coach with the team. Several executives in the Giants organization are Fordham graduates. And Bob Papa, the radio voice of the Giants, who has broadcast the team’s games since 1995, is a 1986 graduate of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

Fordham’s Office of Multicultural Affairs has been honored for creating a new program devoted to improving race relations in the University community.

The Racial Solidarity Network, which debuted as a pilot program in February after more than two years of development, was lauded by the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA), with a March Community Impact Award.

The award was established to recognize efforts by Jesuit institutions that provide:
-Significant, positive impact in their collegiate community;
-Meaningful contribution on the college student experience; and
-Overall contribution in the spirit of the Jesuit mission.

Juan Carlos Matos, assistant dean and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the network is similar to the departments’ LGBT and Ally Network of Support.

“We’re really excited that the program will be able to launch formally in the fall,” he said. “We have a strong variety of activities and topics that participants can engage in.”

The new initiative features two noteworthy aspects: Training sessions; and racial caucuses in which members of the community meet separately for a portion of the second day by self-selecting their racial group as being white or a person of color. These caucus groups then discuss cards reflecting questions asked by the other racial group or things they’d like the other racial group to consider. The fall program, and thereafter, will offer a third biracial/multiracial caucus group.

Matos said the training sessions and caucuses, which will be held next year in November and February, will be constantly evolving, based on the feedback the events receive from participants. Among the suggestions the office received during the pilot phase was a request to create spaces where the conversations about race don’t fall into a black/white binary.

As a result, one of questions that will be addressed in the training sessions is, at what point did Irish, Italian, and German immigrants to America become accepted as “white?”

“When they arrived in the United States, many of these individuals who immigrated from Europe weren’t identified as white. There was a process of assimilation that many individuals went through, where they lost that culture,” Matos said.

The training will also provide participants with identity development models and a timeline that cover significant moments in history that connect back to White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, and Biracial/Multiracial people.

Jeffrey L. Gray, senior vice president of student affairs, said the network is meant to be a highly visible signal that Fordham is a diverse, welcoming community that is open to all questions and concerns. As with the LGBT and Ally Network of Support, he said there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that will work, and that promoting inclusivity has to be an ongoing effort.

This is particularly important, he said, given the fact that over 2,200 new undergraduate students arrive at the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses every year, students who come from nearly every state in the country  and multiple foreign countries from across the globe.

“They come from different places, backgrounds and families. They have different attitudes and predispositions when they come in the door, and they’re really trying to acclimate to a new community with new expectations and standards,” he said.

“Issues and differences sometimes arise, and for some who hope this will all just go away, I think they’re going to be perpetually frustrated, because it’s not going to go away—especially with the present tone and tenor of related discussions across the country and how this directly impacts a place like New York City. It’s always going to be an ongoing challenge.”

The University has also announced a national search to fill the position of athletic director, held by McLaughlin for 27 years.

“Frank McLaughlin is an institution at Fordham, and under his leadership the University’s athletic program has matured and prospered,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “We are delighted to retain his long experience and wisdom as we open a new chapter in the University’s athletic tradition.”

In his new position, McLaughlin’s responsibilities will include providing leadership for institutional efforts focused on athletic alumni relations, fundraising and external athletic affairs as well as supporting the overall University fundraising and campaign efforts with a special focus on intercollegiate athletics. He will also work closely with varsity coaches and athletic department staff in identifying fundraising needs and opportunities for individual programs, and advancing efforts in support of same.

“I am grateful, and humbled, by all the opportunities Fordham has given me, including this latest one,” McLaughlin said. “It has been an honor to lead the University’s athletic program, and I’m excited to step into this new role while continuing to mentor student athletes.”

McLaughlin has been at Fordham since taking over as the athletic director at his alma mater in 1985. After serving as the athletic director for 13 years, McLaughlin was promoted to executive director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation in the spring of 1998.

The University is assembling a search committee for the athletic director position, and will pursue highly qualified candidates from across the country, with the goal of filling the position during the fall semester.

“The athletic program has expanded significantly and become a professional operation on Frank’s watch,” Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Jeffrey L. Gray said. “I admire him personally and professionally. He is an outstanding husband and father, and the many achievements we’ve made in athletics are due to his strong leadership and good judgment. I look forward to working with Frank in his new capacity, where he will continue to serve the University and the athletic department in advancing our important mission.”

Under McLaughlin’s tenure, the Fordham athletic department has experienced numerous changes. Among those has been the recent renovation of the Bahoshy Softball Field, a new football locker room, new basketball locker rooms and renovations to Jack Coffey Field and the Murphy Field complex.  Both fields have been resurfaced with state of the art FieldTurf, with Coffey Field adding lights, a baseball press box and a new scoreboard. Murphy Field, a multi-purpose athletic facility, added tennis courts, a softball field, and a soccer, football and recreational field, all lighted.  Under McLaughlin’s watch, the athletic department constructed the Walsh Training Center, the first varsity training center at Fordham dedicated exclusively to student-athletes.

McLaughlin has also overseen the addition of eight full-time coaching positions, the promotion of several coaches from part-time to full-time status and the addition of full-time staffing in the sports medicine, strength and conditioning and sports information offices. He also directed the addition of women’s soccer and rowing as a varsity sports.

During McLaughlin’s time as athletic director, the Rams experienced success both on and off the playing fields. Since 1985, Fordham has won 26 conference championships, including the 2011 Atlantic 10 softball title last spring, the 2010 Atlantic 10 Women’s Swimming Championship, and two Patriot League football championships.

Academically, Fordham annually ranks among the leaders in the number of student-athletes named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and has routinely been among the national leaders in NCAA Academic Progress Rates, ranking 18th in the country in 2011.

A 1969 Fordham graduate and standout basketball student-athlete, McLaughlin captained the Rams during his senior season and was drafted by the New York Knicks following graduation.  He went on to become an assistant coach at the College of the Holy Cross and after a season there returned to Fordham as an assistant under Richard “Digger” Phelps in 1970-1971, helping the Rams to a 26-3 record (.897) and an NCAA Tournament appearance.  Fordham finished the season with a ranking of ninth in the nation.

McLaughlin moved to Notre Dame with Phelps the following year where he was a major part of the Fighting Irish’s program through his outstanding recruiting and academic guidance.  He helped the Irish to consistent national rankings and NCAA Tournament bids.

In 1977, McLaughlin was named the head coach at Harvard University, where he remained for eight years.  In his final season he compiled a 15-9 mark, and currently ranks fourth in both seasons and wins in Crimson history.

McLaughlin and his wife, Susan, have three daughters: Tara Marie (a 1999 Fordham graduate), Mary Heather, (a 2002 Fordham graduate) and Colleen Patrice (a 2005 Fordham graduate).  The McLaughlins reside in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.