“One word: resilient.”

Resilience was an apt, recurring theme at the ceremony, held at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx, as the grads prepare to meet the surging demand for social workers in and beyond New York City. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently projected that employment for social workers will grow faster than the average for all occupations.

“All of us have come to this profession for one reason or another: a history of trauma, the yearning to help those in need, or to be the advocates that they did not have when growing up,” said Wallace-Mills, who directs the supplemental nutrition and home energy assistance programs in Ulster County, New York.

As she looked out on her 900-plus classmates, she said she saw “faces of resilience, motivation, and hope,” people with the desire and skills to make a difference.

‘Do Good by Doing No Further Harm’

For Jennifer Jones Austin, LAW ’93, CEO of the anti-poverty Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the ceremony was a kind of homecoming. Exactly 30 years after she earned a J.D. from Fordham Law School, the University awarded her an honorary degree for her “commitment to creating economic opportunity and greater social mobility for the most marginalized in our communities.”

Wiping away tears, she encouraged graduates to “do good by doing no further harm,” which, she noted, would require them “to do the things that aren’t always easy to do, to be the lone voice at the table, to have the courage to not look away, but lean in.”

Jones Austin, who once described herself as a “lawyer with a social worker’s heart,” said she has worked side by side with social workers throughout her career, including as deputy commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and senior vice president of the United Way of New York City. In February, she moderated Fordham’s annual James Dumpson Symposium, this year titled “Leading for Change: How to Create Sustainable Impact in Children and Family Services.”

On a personal note, she said she’s grateful for the way social workers accompanied her 13 years ago when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer and a “99% chance of imminent death.” They were instrumental to her own “mental and emotional journey to complete healing,” she said.

Finding the Right Balance

Addressing graduates and the friends and family who’ve supported them along the way, Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University, joked that she could omit some of her staple advice.

“At all of my other graduation speeches, I urge students to go out and matter to the world,” she said. “But I don’t have to say that here. You’ve already made that choice. You will literally go out to feed the hungry, comfort the grieving, visit those who are imprisoned, and gather the little children.”

Indeed, Fordham social work students, in particular, know what it means to practice the Jesuit principle of cura personalis, or care of the whole person, she said.

Sharing a few anecdotes from her days running a domestic violence law clinic in New Orleans, Tetlow encouraged attendees to take a practical approach to solving societal problems.

“I hope you will balance the need to turn up the pressure by railing against injustice with the need to sit at the table and find the answers, mired in the complexity necessary to solve complicated problems,” she said.

‘Be Relentless’

At the beginning of the ceremony, Debra M. McPhee, Ph.D., dean of the graduate school—the largest school of social work in New York state—told graduates that “connection is the lifeblood of the social work profession,” and they’d need to foster it as they “step into the lives of those who are struggling, disenfranchised, and often in pain.”

“Social workers bear witness to the nation’s deepest flaws,” she said. “Our work confirms that inequality, racism, and oppression are not just political buzzwords, but systemic realities that shape lives.”

McPhee implored the graduates to “be relentless in shining light into dark corners, exposing the consequences of oppression and injustice, and working tirelessly to rectify them.”

“You turned challenges and losses that you faced into your best teachers,” she said. “You didn’t let your experiences disadvantage you, but rather they inform the way you show up in the world: with compassion and a rare sense of humanity and humility.”

Music legend Stevie Wonder performed two songs from the Fordham Commencement stage, but not before offering the Class of 2023 some inspiration—and a challenge.  

“The youth are going to make the difference. I believe in you. That’s why I sing, and that’s why I’m motivated,” he said at the May 20 ceremony, just after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University.

‘Stand Up and Be Counted’

“Fordham has given you the tools to achieve, to excel, and to do great things in this world. But that’s not gonna happen by sitting on your hands,” he said.

“You’ve got to be activists. You have to vote. You have to serve your communities and you must enlighten the unenlightened.”

Wonder—a winner of 25 Grammys with 32 No. 1 singles— was honored for both his artistry and his leadership on social and humanitarian issues, such as making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday and expanding the availability of published works in accessible formats such as Braille, large print, and audiobooks.

He challenged the graduates assembled on Edwards Parade to use their education to respond to the realities of the world’s suffering. 

“You really do have to be woke. Now, maybe some leaders in this nation don’t understand what being woke is. Let me tell you what it is. It’s being awake. And being awake means being aware,” he said, citing issues such as health care, education, and the recent chokehold death of homeless man Jordan Neely on the subway.

“So stand up and be counted as one against oppression, hatred, and let’s keep the truth alive,” he said.

To the crowd’s delight, a keyboard was brought on stage, drawing loud cheers from graduates and families who were gathered under a light rain. 

Wonder sang a song from his new project, Through the Eyes of Wonder, before segueing into “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” drawing more cheers and applause.

‘What Makes You Special Is How You Will Use Your Gifts’

In her first Fordham Commencement address, Fordham President Tania Tetlow offered personal reflections about learning from her youngest sister, who graduated from high school despite having severe learning disabilities. She also talked about her parents and grandparents, who overcame the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II.

Like them, she said, the Class of 2023 has shown determination in the face of obstacles these past few years.

“There is so much about the pandemic we are eager to forget,” she said. “But when we look at those generations forged in the fires of suffering and crisis, we see the generations who’ve mattered most to history.”

And while she lauded graduates for their “blazing talent” and being “blessed by abundant gifts from God,” she cautioned that those gifts “do not make you better than anyone else.” 

“What makes you special is not that good luck. It’s what you have done with your gifts. The endless hard work, in the library and the labs, the dance studios, and moot courtrooms. What makes you special is how you will use your gifts to matter to the world—as teachers, lawyers, social workers and health care workers, as business people who will build new forms of opportunity.”

Facing a fast-changing world with enormous courage, as graduates are, is quintessentially Jesuit, she said.  

“Graduates, look around you—this is the family you have chosen. And Fordham is your forever home.”

The University conferred degrees upon 3,453 graduates today. Including those who graduated in August 2022 and February 2023, the University conferred about 5,453 academic degrees to the Class of 2023.

In addition to Wonder, Fordham conferred honorary doctorates on seven other notable figures: Norman Francis, a widely respected civil rights leader and former Xavier University president; Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York; Regina Pitaro, a Fordham trustee fellow, graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill and a managing director of GAMCO Investors; Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Jeh Johnson, an attorney and widely quoted expert on national security issues who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017; and Jennifer Jones Austin, chief executive officer of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies in New York City.

— Photos by Bruce Gilbert, Chris Taggart, Chris Gosier, Marisol Diaz, and Matthew Septimus

“It is an honor and a thrill to welcome Stevie Wonder to Fordham,” said Fordham President Tania Tetlow. “His music has charmed us, consoled us, elevated us, and entertained us for more than six decades. He is a shining example of an artist’s ability to stir the soul.”

A child prodigy, Wonder—born Stevland Morris—was signed by Motown Records at age 11, and in 1963, as 12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder, he became the youngest recording artist to achieve a No. 1 single, with “Fingertips, Part 2.” He’s regarded as a musical genius and a pioneer—a master of many instruments and groundbreaking in his use of synthesizers. His songs have topped the charts for decades, bridging the genres of pop, R&B, funk, soul, gospel, and jazz.

To date, Wonder has amassed 49 Top 40 singles, 32 No. 1 singles, and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. He has earned 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. His iconic 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life, is archived in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic significance.

“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories,” he once said. “And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.”

While Stevie Wonder’s songs are unequivocally classic and his influence timeless, equally laudable are his humanitarian efforts, philanthropic leadership, and generosity of spirit. His accolades include awards from the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, and the American Association of People with Disabilities. In 1983, he spearheaded the realization of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday, and his single “Happy Birthday” was the rallying song for the movement.

His participation in the 1985 “We Are the World” fundraiser for hunger in Africa is a music industry milestone, while his involvement in efforts to put an end to apartheid in South Africa is legendary. In 1999, he became the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. He is a Commander of France’s National Order of Arts and Letters, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Last year, he was awarded the inaugural Icon Award from the Legal Defense Fund. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a designated United Nations Messenger of Peace with special focus on persons with disabilities.

In 2016, he called for U.N. member states to join the Marrakesh Treaty, which expanded the availability of published works in accessible formats such as Braille, large print, and audio books. “Imagine if others like me were given the opportunity to function at their full potential, how much better our world would be,” he said to delegates, noting that just 25 member states had ratified the treaty at the time. Today, 118 countries have signed on.

The University will also confer honorary degrees upon Jennifer Jones Austin, a 1993 graduate of Fordham Law School, chief executive officer of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies in New York City, and a prominent advocate for underserved children, individuals, and families; Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and a leader in advancing the climate agenda of Pope Francis; Norman Francis, a widely respected civic leader and civil rights advocate who led the transformation of Xavier University of Louisiana during his 47-year term as president; Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York and leader of its current strategic plan to foster healthier, stronger New York City communities; Jeh Johnson, an attorney and widely quoted expert on national security issues who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017; and Regina Pitaro, a 1976 Fordham College at Rose Hill graduate and a managing director of GAMCO Investors who is also a philanthropist, author of a book on merger arbitrage, and a Fordham trustee fellow.

That question was taken up by five African-American scholars and theologians on Feb. 22 at an event titled, “Deliver Us from Hatred: Does Religion Have a Race Problem.”

The event was sponsored by the Center on Religion and Culture. Fordham’s Aimee Meredith Cox, Ph.D., an assistant professor of anthropology, moderated.

In his keynote address, Willie James Jennings, Ph.D., associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale Divinity School, said that the evening’s conversation comes at a critical moment for the nation.

“We live in a racial world not of our own choosing or making,” he said. “[Our] legacy is the creation of a radicalized identity which fundamentally distorts the way we see each other.”

With regard to American religion, Jennings said the whitewashing of Christianity developed the moment that European settlers took land from the First Nations and claimed it as their own.

“You can’t understand religion in America without understanding the taking of land,” he said.

Today, all Americans, regardless of their faith, need to “double down to understand how Christianity works,” particularly in light of the last election in which theology has been “transplanted into political philosophy.”

While some Americans might find President Donald Trump’s pronouncements “goofy,” he said, others hear the “word of God.” To fully understand this, one must engage his supporters at their level of faith. Jennings said that for some, a vote for the president was an “act of love” based on strongly held religious beliefs, particularly conservative Christian beliefs.

He said that there is pressure in today’s political climate for all religions to “look like white Christianity,” including Islam. Many American Muslims face the pressure of being the outsiders, so they opt instead to “sit quietly for fear of seeming un-American.”

“I deeply worry about the future of Christianity,” he said. “We’re in a moment where people have rolled their faith into their national identity.”

Jacqueline Lewis, Ph.D., senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan, made a point of using Jesus’ Aramaic name, Yeshua, in speaking about his beginnings and his true Christian message.

She said that Yeshua was born of a homeless, brown-skinned, unwed, Palestinian Jew and was adopted by a poor carpenter.

“God chose a multiracial baby,” she said. “That outsider-turned-rabbi is then killed for being outside of the power; he was scary enough to them to be murdered.”

Jennifer Jones Austin, LAW ’93, CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, noted that such histories and perspectives are lost on many Americans who have been failed by the public education system.

She said that small, mostly private liberal arts colleges might teach critical thinking skills, but the majority of Americans might not learn such skills until graduate school.

“In America, many may have degrees. But they’re not taught to think critically,” she said. “And that is what plays out in our religious settings as well. Christianity has been crippled by the lack of critical thinking.”

As such, educational institutions are also inherently a part of the race problem, said Darnell L. Moore, writer-in-residence at the Center on African-American Religion, Sexuality, and Social Justice at Columbia University.

“[In college and graduate school,] I had to struggle to find black and queer theologians,” he said.

Moore said that all institutions, including universities and religious establishments, must look to systemic change in order to commit to a more just, greater good.

“We have to distinguish between our commitment to the feel-good cosmetic conditions that are part of the problem and the structural conditions that are necessary,” he said. “Unless we’re ready to wrestle with the fundamental, thorny issue of structures, we are never going to create real transformation and real material change.”