“Reason is what attunes us to the reality of where we live, in a way that makes possible the fullest mutual movement of life and intelligent communication. It is to be understood theologically as the embodiment in time and space of the eternal receiving, communicating, and responding that is the life of the second divine metamorphosis,” he said.

“To live consistently as human spirits within this logos-animated exchange is deification—theosis—in the sense of growing into the filial identity for which we are all made.”

Williams, a distinguished theologian and cleric who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, delivered “The Embodied Logos: The Renewal of Mind and the Transformation of Sense,” on the second day of the Patterson Triennial Conference. The conference, which is held every three years by Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center, is possible thanks to a 2008 gift from Solon and Marianna Patterson. The two were honored in March at Fordham’s 18th annual Founder’s Dinner.

In his talk, Williams reflected on the writings of Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian monk who lived from 345-399. In particular, he focused on writings such as Ponticus’ The Gnostikos, which translates as “the person with knowledge.”

In it, he said, Ponticus proposed that there are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge we acquire from the outside, and knowledge that comes from God. The former allows us to engage with the reality of the material things around us, while the latter “brings realities into direct contact with our intellective capacity.”

A key challenge for us, he said, is to fully embrace the latter. When we allow ourselves to become enamored with the knowledge we acquire ourselves, or “passionate knowledge,” we neglect to see how we are connected to all things, and are thus prevented from experiencing logos—the Greek word for the word of God, also thought of as the principle of divine reason and creative order.

“The problem then is not that we have made a mistake about our world, but that in one crucial sense, we have mistaken what the world itself is. We have acted, or reacted as though the world were a separate agent or set of agencies with an interest or a gender standing in rivalry to our own individual interests,” he said.

“True knowledge is to know what we know in its relation to its maker. … To know anything or to know anyone is to know them in that way.”

Before introducing Williams, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, presented His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, with the President’s Medal, one of the University’s highest honors.

The Archbishop was awarded an honorary degree from Fordham in a ceremony in 2007, and given his retirement a month ago, Father McShane said it was fitting to honor him again for bringing the community of the Greek Orthodox church to a “position of great renewal.”

“He has been a man of deep learning and deep holiness,” he said.

“When I introduced him to Pope Benedict when the pope was here in New York, I reflected afterward that it was a great honor to introduce the pope to a saint. I stand by this. He has simply been an amazing presence in the United States.”

The archbishop, for whom the Orthodox Christian Studies program’s first chair was named in 2013, was equally effusive in his thanks, saying it was a great surprise to receive it.

“This is a tremendous gift, and knowing that Father McShane is a person of truth, in what he does, what he is, and what he says, that makes this offering that much more important,” he said.

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.