“What Matters to Me (and Why),” a series of lunch-time discussions held at the Lincoln Center, Rose Hill, and Westchester campuses, was part of the programming tied to Ignatian Heritage Week.

For Anne Fernald, Ph.D., special advisor to the provost for faculty development, and Debra McPhee, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Social Service, their talk at the Lincoln Center Campus centered on three Cs: contribution, community, and change.

The Three Cs

They kicked off the afternoon by asking the audience how they contribute to their community. McPhee noted that recent studies show that the feeling of making a tangible contribution to society has a greater effect on people’s happiness than any other variable.

“It’s kind of a shocking thing, right? You’d think it’d be health or money, or something like family. But it’s really contribution that was the most significant element, whether the person is in the workplace or out of the workplace,” she said.

“It resonates with both me and Anne in terms of what drives us to be in the profession we’re in, and the work we do at Fordham.”

Of course, the concept of the community that one might contribute to has changed radically in recent years. Fernald recounted how she’d reunited this summer with a friend she hadn’t seen in 20 years. The meeting only happened because they realized, via Facebook, that they were going to be visiting the same upstate New York region at the same time.

Her friend was dropping her son off at a camp for trampoline enthusiasts. He had developed a passion for the activity, and bonded over it with other campers, via videos of their exploits shared on Instagram. Up until that point, though, he’d never met them person.

“When he got out of the car, she said it was amazing. There were a dozen other 14-year-old boys who saw him, and said ‘Emmitt’s here!’ And they all enveloped him in this giant hug, and then went over the trampoline to show each other their flips in person.” Fernald said.

“So, when we think about community for our students, it’s not the same kind of community that’s anything like what any of us grew up in.”

Beware the Temptation to Restrict Your Circle

McPhee said a major challenge for older generations is appreciating the positive aspects of online life while acknowledging the pitfalls. Older generations’ conceptions of community were constrained by geography, and were therefore more limited, whereas young people can be pickier and limit their circle to say, only fellow teenage male trampoline enthusiasts. There is a potential downside to this, she said.

“When you can pick from the whole world, most are going to pick those that are like you, as opposed to those that are different. So do we navigate that difference better because we have a more global perspective, or do we actually restrict ourselves because we just sing to the choir and go to the people who are interested in what we’re interested in? I don’t know that we have an answer to that,” she said.

Embrace Change

All of this leads to the third C, which is change. Long gone are the days when educators are the keepers of information, said McPhee.

“My students can Google anything I’m going to tell them before they walk into a classroom, so what does that do to the nature of what we’re doing? That “sage on the stage” bit gets challenged quite a bit in terms of what it means for the entire institution, how we react to teach other, how we see our own jobs, and how we see change.”

That, said Fernald, is why the class environment is more important than ever: She challenged everyone to imagine ways to make the classroom an occasion for students to imagine themselves as each other’s colleagues in learning. Both acknowledged how easy it is to accept the narrative that says that anyone under 30 is not engaged in the world, is not a critical thinker, and is not engaged in community. It’s a narrative that should be rejected.

“Those in charge of the education need to bring their whole self to it, and say ‘This is hard for me, it doesn’t resonate with me, but I need to look at the gap. I need to look at the difference,” McPhee said.

“The current challenge in front of us is, how we engage that narrative, and how we engage the change that’s right in front of us.”

It was a day of reflection for staff, faculty and students throughout the Fordham community. Dorothy Marinucci, associate vice president for presidential operations, and John Kezel, Ph.D., director of the Office of Prestigious Fellowships, hosted a What Matters to Me luncheon at the Rose Hill campus. Stephen McGowan, recruiter and admissions associate at the Graduate School of Social Service, and Joan Cavanagh, Ph.D., director of spiritual and pastoral ministries in the Office of Campus Ministry, hosted one at the Westchester campus.

The fourth annual exhibit of “Matters of the HeART: Supporting Creative Aging Through the Arts,” will premiere on June 2 in the lobby of Fordham Westchester. The exhibit, which will remain on display through June 15, features paintings, drawings, mixed-media creations, collages, photographs, and sculptures crafted by Westchester County seniors age 55 and older.

Co-sponsored by the Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee of Greenburgh, N.Y., the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation, and Andrus-on-Hudson, “Matters of the HeART” provides an opportunity for older adult artists to display their artwork.

“Since one in five Westchester residents is over the age of 60, this exhibit is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the creative expressions that our older residents are producing,” said Sarah Bracey White, the executive director of Greenburgh Arts and Culture. “So many things change as we age, but the creative spirit continues to burn brightly.”

The exhibit began its tour in the Greenburgh Town Hall, where it was displayed from March 12 to May 6. Several pieces were then brought to the Andrus-on-Hudson Retirement Community in Hastings, N.Y., while other pieces are now Fordham-bound.

“There has been an ongoing attempt to connect the Westchester campus with the surrounding community and to partner with various groups whenever possible,” said Joan Cavanagh, director of campus ministry at Westchester. “‘Matters of the HeART’ connects many different groups.”

An opening reception with the artists will be held in the lobby on June 7 from 3 to 5 p.m. For more information or to RSVP for the reception, contact Joan Cavanagh, or call (914) 367-3202.

A participant reflects at the Fordham Ignatian retreat.
(Photo courtesy of Campus Ministry)

After a long academic year, silence and reflection can be golden. Just ask a group of faculty and staff members who participated in Fordham University’s most recent Ignatian retreat.

“The demands and distractions of the school year do not leave enough time for me to talk to God,” said Juliana F. Gilheany, Ph.D., adjunct professor of history. “I went on the retreat because I wanted to find the peace and quiet that would let me get closer to Him.”

“Living in the Spirit in Ordinary Time,” was held from May 25 to 28 at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center in Ossining, N.Y., and was organized by Campus Ministry.

The setting on the Hudson River was “conducive to quiet reflection on God’s nature, in company with His birds, deer, rabbits, turkeys and chipmunks,” Gilheany added.

The first of the faculty and staff retreats, which also are open to graduate students, was held in 1998, said Joan Cavanagh, associate director of campus ministry. There is a fee to attend, though a limited number of scholarships are available. Activities include prayer, Eucharist, optional confession and conferences on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.

“The purpose of the retreat is to encourage faculty and staff to step back from the busyness of life and spent a few days in prayer and reflection in line with Ignatian spirituality,” Cavanagh said.

Giselle Esquivel, Psy.D., professor of school psychology in the Graduate School of Education, said she found much peace “in silence, walks by the river, conversations with her spiritual director, art work in the creativity room, labyrinth walks and sleeping to soft music.”

“Most of all, I feel a sense of grace in a community of love and inclusiveness. I am awed to be able to kindle and express my spirituality among those with whom I work. It is indeed a rare gift to have such blessings,” Esquivel added.

Melissa Alvarenga, associate coordinator of service learning at Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, agreed.

“The retreat gave me the opportunity to reflect on my work during the past year while connecting more deeply and intentionally with the University’s mission,” she said. “As a young professional, I was able to take four days to grow my spirituality in a beautiful retreat center in the middle of a serene, picturesque setting on the Hudson. By nurturing my mind and heart, I was able to rejuvenate and center myself.”

For more information on this retreat and other like it, contact Joan Cavanagh at [email protected].

-Gina Vergel