“This shift represents an investment in our marketing and communication efforts,” Tetlow said. “That work raises Fordham’s profile, connects with our alumni and donors, and most of all, increases our enrollment. Investment in this area will pay dividends across the University.”

For decades, the University’s marketing and communications team has been a department within Development and University Relations, a division that encompasses about 120 professionals who work in fundraising, event planning, and alumni engagement, in addition to marketing and communications. The latter represents nearly a quarter of the division, but it is responsible for a wide range of enterprises, including advertising and marketing, communications and media relations, photography and video, social media, and website management. 

With the creation of a new vice president role, Tetlow has now placed University Marketing and Communications directly in her cabinet, where she can address the team’s needs. The division will be led by Lehmann, formerly the associate vice president for marketing, who has led the University’s marketing operations since 2017. She will serve as the interim vice president while the University conducts a national search led by Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School of Business and a professor of marketing. In the coming months, the search committee will ask for input from the University community.  

“I am excited to assume this role and thankful to the president for her confidence in our team,” Lehmann said. “We’ve very eager to tell Fordham’s story on a national and international stage.”

Though the marketing and communications functions are equally crucial, said Tetlow, the search for a permanent vice president will focus on someone with more experience in marketing, since this position will have a more direct impact on Fordham’s finances. Lehmann’s counterpart in University Marketing and Communications, Bob Howe, will remain in his current position as associate vice president for communications and special advisor to the president. 

Budget-wise, this position will replace the vice presidency for Lincoln Center. (Frank Simio, the previous vice president for Lincoln Center, plans on retiring on June 30.) 

Tetlow said the new shift will help to enhance Fordham’s reputation, both locally and around the world.

“The remarkable team in Marketing and Communications will continue to grow Fordham’s profile, engage our alumni, and most of all, help us to recruit our best and brightest students,” Tetlow wrote in a Feb. 17 email to the University community. “My hope is this new focus will lift and support their work.” 

Fordham’s Office of Marketing and Communications oversaw the upgrade, which was supervised by Donna Lehmann, director of online communications. Lehmann and her team began working on the new site in the fall of 2013; their efforts represent the biggest change to Fordham’s web presence in 14 years.

“fordham.edu was overdue for a redesign, reorganization, and an upgrade in management technology,” said Lehmann, whose team rebuilt the website from the ground up. “Starting fresh with a new content management system allowed us to purge outdated content and apply best practices in design and usability.”

“It was also an opportunity to rework our web content so that it better reflects the spirit of Fordham and our community, which is caring, committed to service, and committed to intellectual rigor. This is most evident in the text on the site and in the photography, which captures not only the beauty of our campuses but also of the friendliness of the students here.”

Lehmann said the team also needed to make the site more accessible to mobile devices.

“Mobile traffic is overtaking desktop traffic on fordham.edu(and worldwide). We know that for prospective students, their first experience of a university is on their phones, and obviously we want that to be a good one,” she said.

As the University’s individual pages are updated, the new fordham.edu will consist as a hybrid of old and new. Several sections of the website will be completed and launched separately in the coming months and throughout the spring semester.

All of the old site pages will still be available at a new address: legacy.fordham.edu

— Janet Sassi

Miraldi will accept the honor at a ceremony at the Lincoln Center campus’ Corrigan Conference Center on Wed., Nov. 19 at 4 p.m., where he will give short talk on his book, Seymour Hersh: Scoop Artist (Potomac Books, 2013).

The Sperber prize, presented by the Department of Communication and Media Studies, is meant to encourage biographical works that focus on media professionals. It is given in honor of Ann M. Sperber, author of the biography of Edward R. Murrow, Murrow: His Life and Times, (Fordham University Press, 1999) and was established with a gift from Sperber’s mother, Lisette.

Miraldi, who holds a doctorate in American studies and a master’s in journalism, said that investigating one of America’s best investigative journalists required a combination of scholarly research and gumshoe reporting.

The 77-year-old Hersh’s career began in the early 1960s. Miraldi bookends the biography with Hersh’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1969 free-lance coverage of the My Lai Massacre and his 2004 reporting for The New Yorker on the U.S. military’s mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

Miraldi, a professor of journalism at the State University of New York’s College at new Paltz, said the research took about eight years. He said he called the legendary journalist to inform him of his plans to write the biography, to which Hersh replied, “I’m not dead you know.”

Miraldi said that as a scholar he “dug” into Hersh’s work, which includes nine books, dozens of New Yorker articles written from 2000 to 2010, hundreds of articles for the New York Times written from 1972 to 1979, and a trove of articles that Miraldi uncovered from the Associated Press archives written between 1962 and 1967. He also examined memos, letters, CIA documents, and FBI files.

Miraldi also contacted hundreds of Hersh’s colleagues, including the late great Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, who told Miraldi that not hiring Hersh “was a helluva’ mistake that I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”

“One is intimidated by investigating one of the greatest investigative journalists, so I’d say that I approached it more as a historian than as a reporter,” Miraldi said. He added that a historian would interview a source and ask “Do they have papers?” to back up a claim, whereas a reporter would ask “Do they have a telephone?”

For his part Hersh was accommodating, if not fully accessible, since he’s at work on a book about former Vice President Dick Cheney. Miraldi said the journalist gave the project a “semi-blessing” and was helpful, but drew the line at access to his family. Nevertheless, the two exchanged plenty of emails and held several phone conversations.

Miraldi said that Hersh was part of movement in journalism that was fed up with “the rule of objectivity,” in light of the horrors of war. With journalism today in a state of profound flux, Miraldi said that he still holds out hope that new generations of journalists will carry on long-form investigative pieces that challenge authority.

“It begs the question as to whether will we see investigative journalism in an age of quick hits, but on the other hand the long form really can flourish in new media,” said Miraldi.

Ignatius advised the superior to first ask himself, “Who are you? And who are you seeking to serve?” If a printing press is needed to carry this out, then he should purchase one.

Ignatius was centuries ahead in understanding the importance of brand, said Matt Malone, S.J., GSAS ’07, editor of America magazine, who spoke at a 2014 Jesuit Advancement Administrators conference session at Fordham.

Brand, which equals identity, is vital to an organization’s success. Father Malone offered America’sbranding process as an example. Founded by the Jesuits in 1909,America is among the oldest weekly magazines in the country and the only national Catholic publication of its kind. At 105 years old,America has survived countless iterations of communications technology — an accomplishment few publications enjoy.

Despite its ecclesiastical connections, the magazine owes its longevity to neither divine intervention nor philanthropic loyalty. Its success, Father Malone said, boils down to brand.

“The defining characteristic of a modern media organization — the thing that is going to allow it not only to survive, but to prosper in this rapidly-changing media environment — is having a brand,” he said. “It’s what every organization needs to get right to accomplish what it’s trying to do.”

The first and most important question for an organization to ask itself is, “Who are we?” The answer should clearly distinguish its brand from its product.

“Brand is platform- and product-neutral,” he said. “For example, if IBM’s brand came down to ‘We make typewriters,’ then they would no longer be in business. Instead, their brand is, ‘We solve business problems.’”

Any ensuing questions, such as what an organization does, who is its audience, and how it accomplishes its mission, will derive from that first answer. Again, Father Malone stressed, the answers to these questions should never be tethered to a platform or product.

The brand inquiry at America generated a simple statement: “America is a Jesuit media ministry, a smart Catholic take on faith and culture that leads the conversation by producing content that is unique, accessible, relevant and impactful.”

“None of that has anything to do with our platform, that is, whether we’re in print, we’re online, or we have an iPad app,” Father Malone said.

Platform neutrality is especially important for media organizations, he said, because the communications field is in constant flux. These groups, which includeuniversity marketing and public relations departments, should focus on one task: To move from producing content that fits a single platform (such as print) toward content that can be disseminated across multiple platforms — print, digital, social media, and more.

And brand, Father Malone said, is what links it all together.

“Good media companies know that when you’re trying to build a community across multiple platforms, you need one thing that narrates the experience,” he said. “That’s brand — what makes multiple platforms cohere.”

Moreover, when a certain technology no longer serves the brand, then organizations must move on and find technologies that do, Father Malone said — though this often causes great heartache for media outlets grieving the decline of print.

But there, too, Ignatius was in the vanguard. Ignatius advised the superior that if he does purchase a printing press, then he shouldn’t get just any press — he should get the best. And if that should become obsolete, then he ought to move on to whatever will best accomplish his mission.

“We have to ask ourselves these questions, tough as they are,” Father Malone said. “We have to be unafraid to cherish what is perennial — the values that form our brand — and to discard the things that no longer work, no matter how much they’ve contributed to our wellbeing and prosperity.”

For many New York City public school students, the idea of going to college is a unique goal. But the idea of going to graduate school might be utterly foreign.

“A lot of these kids aren’t even aware that you can go back to school after college,” said Julia Zangwill, president of the Fordham Graduate Marketing Society at the Graduate School of Business Administration (GBA).

Before coming to Fordham, Zangwill worked with Publicolor, a nonprofit whose gateway program transforms schools into welcoming environments by getting the student volunteers to repaint their institutional-looking environments with upbeat colors and murals. On Saturday, Jan 25, Zangwill and her fellow society members donned painter’s cloths and chipped in to help at Public School 50 in Manhattan.

An important upshot of the project is that the grade school students get to meet and work with graduate school students. With 15 GBA students on hand, the kids got some one-on-one time that opened their eyes.

“Wow, you must love school,” seemed to be the initial reaction the students had to hearing how much time can be spent studying after high school, said Zangwill. But that quickly changed when they heard that that their fellow painters were business students.

“The kids were joking . . . asking about what stocks they should buy,” said Zangwill.  “They knew the lingo.”

The GBA’s Graduate Marketing Society aims to enhance the educational and professional experiences of students and alumni of the GBA marketing program. On Thursday, Jan. 30 they will hold their capstone event when they host a career panel on entertainment marketing. Click here for more information. 

A couple of dozen Fordham employees—let’s anoint them the “Good Sports Club”—competed in a pie-eating contest that was a raucous hands-behind-the-back, face-full-in-sickeningly-sweet-filling event. While some gave up long before making a dent in their dessert, others went the full distance, chowing down to the bottom of the aluminum pan.

The winner (pictured above and below) was Richard B. Gussenhoven, LTC, professor of military science, who teaches in Fordham’s ROTC program. It was clear that military training helped Gussenhoven, a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, go the distance.

“It was mind over matter, I just kept eating,” he said.

Others took a more measured approach, especially as co-workers and loved ones looked on.

“I wanted to make everybody proud, but more than that I didn’t want to barf on the table,” said Patrick Verel, assistant editor at INSIDE FORDHAM who represented the Office of Marketing and Communications in the event.

More pie, anyone? (Photos by Bruce Gilbert)

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 27 | 6 to 8 p.m.
Exhibition: May 26 through June 20, 2010

Most of the respondents indicated that they read at least some aspects of Inside Fordhamevery time it arrives, while three quarters said they prefer to read the eight-page, printed version of the newsletter over its online counterpart.

News about faculty research and University growth was deemed to be most interesting. Respondents also showed interest in coverage of fundraising, guest speakers and staff members.

Roughly 75 percent said that Inside Fordham’sbi-weekly publication schedule during the academic year is appropriate, and 80 percent indicated that the newsletter staff did an adequate or good job of reporting fresh information pertaining to Fordham faculty and staff.

“This is encouraging news,” said Kate Spencer, assistant vice president for University marketing and communications. “It’s clear that the readers we reached liked what we do, and found the news useful. We’re looking forward to doing a more in-depth survey in the coming academic year.”

Methodology
The survey was designed by members of Fordham’s Office of Marketing and Communications to determine who is reading Inside Fordham, how often, and what they think about its content and distribution. It is the publication’s first readership survey.

On April 27, faculty and staff members received a Web link to an online version of the survey through the University’s Lotus Notes e-mail system. There are more than 1,300 full-time faculty, administrators and staff members at Fordham, according to the Department of Human Resources. Online surveys were submitted by 124 people.

Likes and Dislikes
Survey-takers were asked to check the attitude that best described their thoughts, feelings and opinions about specific sections of Inside Fordham, using the following scale:

5 = exceptionally interesting;
4 = very interesting;
3 = moderately interesting;
2 = slightly interesting;
1 = not interesting at all.

Some of the highlights are as follows:

• 65 percent found stories about University growth to be very or exceptionally interesting (mean score = 3.7)
• 45 percent found faculty research profiles to be very interesting (mean score = 3.7)
• 50 percent felt “At Work,” the staff Q&A, to be moderately interesting (mean score = 3.1)
• 40 percent felt news about guest speakers to be very interesting (mean score = 3.0)
• 75 percent found fundraising stories to be moderately or very interesting (mean score = 2.9)
• 40 percent found sports news to be moderately interesting; 15 percent said it was slightly interesting; and 25 percent said it was not interesting at all (mean score = 2.5)

Reader Habits
Inside Fordham is read consistently, according to the survey results. Fifty-eight percent of those who responded said they read Inside Fordham every time it arrives. Twenty-eight percent said they read it occasionally and 14 percent said they rarely read it.

While 75 percent said they preferred to read the publication in print, based on open-ended comments solicited with the survey, some people suggested that a link to the online version be sent to the University community. As such, a link to Inside Fordham Online will be included in the Today at Fordham Spotlight e-mail blast beginning this fall.

More than half of those surveyed said they read between two and four stories in each issue. Twenty-five percent said they read at least five stories. Twenty percent said they read one or less.

Seventy-four percent of those who responded felt the amount of photography in Inside Fordham was appropriate. Twenty-six percent said the publication would be better with more photos.

Forth-five percent of those surveyed indicated that Inside Fordham does an adequate job of reporting fresh information pertaining to Fordham faculty and staff. Thirty-five percent said the staff of Inside Fordham did this job well.

The News and Media Relations staff will conduct a larger survey in fall 2009 based primarily on random, in-person interviews.

The show runs through November 29, 2008, and is curated by Kat Griefen and Carey Lovelace.
A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

• Faculty Experts Database
• RSS Feeds
• Blogs
• Photo Gallery
• Audio Library

We’d like to thank Fordham IT, especially the Webgroup, and the staff of Marketing and Communications, for launching the eNewsroom in what has been a long and grueling week—the culmination of months of programming and design work.

We’d like to hear your thoughts on the eNewsroom: especially what features you’d like to see added in the future. You can comment here or write to us privately at:[email protected].