“There is so much that I could say about John and his legacy at Fordham. He gave of his time and energies as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2012, including eight years as chairman, guiding us through a pivotal period of institutional striving and growth,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

“He was a constant presence in the life of the University—taking part in our events, supporting our students, and sharing advice from his distinguished career in the securities industry. He was warm and kind, always. His presence added joy to our events and our endeavors.”

During his tenure as board chair from 2004 to 2012, Tognino helped usher Fordham into a new era of preeminence, advocating for an increase in international academic programs and partnerships while anchoring the University’s transformative $500 million capital campaign, Excelsior | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham.

The campaign, which kicked off in 2009 and concluded in 2014, was the University’s most ambitious and daring fundraising campaign in its history at the time, raising $540 million. That success enabled Fordham to increase endowed chairs and scholarships, expand academic and programmatic initiatives, and build much-needed facilities such as world-class residence halls for 800-plus students, a new Fordham Law School building, and a new home for the Gabelli School of Business.

Tognino was born on September 20, 1938, and grew up in the Jerome Park section of the Bronx, in the shadow of Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. His father, Gennaro, was a bus driver and his mother, Catherine, was a homemaker. He had a brother named Alexander, who died in 2008.

He graduated from Dewitt Clinton High School in 1956 and went directly to work in the financial sector, with a job in the mailroom at Merrill Lynch. He worked there for more than 35 years, retiring in 1993 as managing director of global equities. He went on to serve as executive vice president of global sales and members affairs at NASDAQ, and later, chairman of the Pepper Financial Group.

His path to success involved many treks from his workplace in downtown Manhattan to Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. It was there that he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1975 by attending classes at night twice a week and all day on Saturdays. In 2013, when he was honored at Fordham’s annual Founder’s Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, he reflected on those years in the early-1970s.

“It’s a short distance from the Bronx to this stage, but it is a long journey,” he said.

“Fordham opened their doors to me and gave me a chance. Attending Fordham at night and working full time on Wall Street during the day was not without its challenges, but I can tell you honestly, sincerely, that I would not have graduated, nor would I have been standing here, had it not been for one person, my wife, Norma.”

Norma Tognino, whom he referred that night to as “the real chairman of the board,” died in 2018. Together, the couple supported Fordham both financially and with their time, appearing at nearly every major University event. In 1997, they established the Tognino Family Endowed Scholarship to support nontraditional students enrolled in the Gabelli School of Business and Fordham School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and the Tognino Endowment for Disability Services, which supports special-needs students. 

In 2007, on the cusp of the Excelsior | Ever Upward campaign, the couple made a gift of $3.5 million to Fordham to support the great hall in Duane Library. In recognition of their generosity, the hall was renamed in their honor.

Upon his retirement in 2012, John Tognino was appointed Trustee Emeritus and awarded an honorary degree at the University’s 168th commencement for exemplifying “in his personal and professional endeavors, the spirit of service and commitment to the human family that lies at the heart of the University.”

Michael A. Tognino, GABELLI ’92, said it was hard to overstate how thoroughly his father lived and breathed the ideals of service. When his mother died, he said, Michael found himself on the phone with his father and a friend who was also going through a rough patch. His father, he said, turned the conversation to the friend’s needs.

“I’ll never forget it because it was a conference call, and the person was like, ‘John, your wife just passed.’ And he said ‘I know, but you’re going through what we just went through. What can we do to help you?’” he said.

Gerald R. Blaszczak, S.J., FCRH ’72, an assistant to the president and alumni chaplain at Fairfield University who rejoined the Board of Trustees this year after serving from 1998 to 2004, echoed the sentiment, calling Tognino a man “of loyalty, warmth, and skill.”

“John Tognino was a friend you could go to at any moment with any sort of problem, and he was there for you,” he said, noting that he solicited Tognino’s counsel when he left Fordham in 2005 to become rector of St. Ignatius Church in Manhattan.

“It was normal to turn to John Tognino. He had his Rolodex in his head, and he was never afraid to turn to people and say, ‘I know how to solve this,’ or ‘I know who you need.’ He wasn’t arrogant to think he could solve everything himself.”

Patricia McGlynn Nazemetz, TMC ’71, GSAS ’89, PAR ’04, a member of the board from 1997 to 2017 who was appointed vice-chair the same year that Tognino became chair, called him “the great connector.” In 2006, for instance, a group of trustees traveled to Rome together for what would become the first of several trips that served as bonding exercises for the group.

“John always put his best leadership foot forward, in terms of the way he brought people into the conversation, the way he engaged with people,” she said.

Working together with Father McShane, she said he used his background in business to transform the way the board operated, making it more productive and collaborative.

“You were expected to participate on committees, and you were expected to attend extracurricular activities,” she said, noting that John and Norma led by example.

“He inspired the rest of us on the board to do the same. Lots of people will attend ball games and sporting events, but this was every assembly, every graduation, every building opening, Founder’s dinner—he was always present. You always felt you needed to be there too,” she said.

“He made you feel like a partner in building the university community.”

Peter Howe, GABELLI ’70, served with Tognino on the board from 2008 to 2013. He got to know him well on the executive committee and stayed friends with him and Norma after their terms were up.

“He not only knew all the trustees well, he knew the faculty, the deans, the administrative staff, he knew the maintenance people at Fordham. He was the kind of person who just attracted people, and he would make these unusual connections, introducing you to people you might have never met,” he said.

That ability to connect with people is ultimately what made him successful at Fordham, Howe said.

“There were periods of time on the board when difficult decisions were made, and he was able to balance the interests of as many as 40 trustees to get things accomplished. I felt he was a mentor to me, but if I asked anyone in that room, they would say the same thing,” he said.

Rosemary Berkery, who worked at Merrill Lynch for 25 years, said Tognino stood out not only for his business acumen and as a pioneer in NASDAQ, but also for his ability to bring people together. She accepted his invitation to join Fordham’s board and served for six years.

“I knew him by the floor he was on, depending on what building we happened to be in at the time, whether it was the World Trade Center or the World Financial Center. His area was always called ‘the Tog Shop.’ Everybody would say, ‘I’m going down to the Tog Shop, or I’m going up to the Tog Shop,’ and we would say, ‘Oh, I wish I could go with you,’” she said.

“He built a great team in London, and they called themselves the ‘Across the Pond Tog Team.’ He just engendered such loyalty, such respect, and such affection.”

Tognino is survived by his daughter, Katherine Albanese, and her husband, Mark; his son John Jr. and his wife, Teri; his son Michael Tognino, GABELLI ’92, and his wife, Jennifer Daddino, GSE ’19; and five grandchildren: Christopher, John III, Michael Jr., Joseph, and Isabella.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 29 at 10 a.m. at the University Church on the Rose Hill campus. Out of an abundance of caution, the Mass is limited to family members. It will be live-streamed here.

Notes of condolence can be sent to Michael A. Tognino, 4 Fairview Court, Cross River, NY 10518.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to either the Tognino Family Scholarship Fund at Fordham or the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Institute in the Weill-Cornell Department of Neurology.

“Our hearts go out to John and the Tognino family. It was a great gift to know Norma Tognino. She was a woman of deep faith, deep strength, and great warmth,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “Norma was beloved by the Fordham community, and indeed by anyone who had the great good fortune to know her. She was generous, funny, and a great friend to Fordham. We will all miss her, and she—and the Tognino family—will be in our prayers always.”

Together with her husband, Norma was among the University’s most significant donors, making major gifts to support scholarships and special-needs students. In 2007, Fordham named Tognino Hall in Duane Library in the couple’s honor.

A Warm, Reliable Presence

Norma could always be counted on to attend Fordham functions and enliven the festivities with her joyful spirit. Many in the Fordham community recalled her warmth, her down-to-earth attitude, and her penchant for making them laugh. But Norma has been missed for the last year and a half; in July 2017 she was involved in a car accident, and since then had suffered through a series of ailments.

“Until she was hospitalized, Norma never missed a Fordham event; she was a treasured member of the Fordham family,” said Robert D. Daleo, chair of the Board of Trustees. “We will miss her warmth and kindness, and her unflagging support for the University and its students, faculty, and staff. The Board of Trustees sends its love and profound condolences to the Tognino family, and hopes that Norma’s memory will forever be a comfort.”

Bronx Roots

Norma was born on July 1, 1940, to Ernestine and Ralph Borrelli, a barber. She grew up on Burke Avenue in the Bronx with three brothers, Paul, Anthony, and Ralph, all of whom worked for IBM, and all of whom predeceased her.

She and John met at a dance at St. Phillip Neri church, his parish. They married in November 1959. Later, when he was attending Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies in the evenings, she was “extremely” supportive and played an “intricate role” in his success, said John, a trader who currently owns Pepper Financial Group. His career included 36 years at Merrill Lynch, as well as terms as president and chief executive officer of the Security Traders Association and executive vice president and head of Global Sales and Member Affairs at Nasdaq. He was Fordham’s board chair from 2004 to 2012 and is a current trustee emeritus.

“Norma had a deep affection for Fordham,” he said, that began during his years as a student and continued until her death.

‘A Great Enthusiast’

Throughout her life, Norma nurtured a love for the piano. She took lessons as a young girl and later studied at Juilliard and the London School of Music when she and John lived in London from 1988 to 1991.

“She was very shy and she would never play to show off; she would enjoy playing when no one was around,” John said. “She played mostly classical music.”

John and Norma had three children: Katherine; John Jr.; and Michael, a 1992 Fordham Gabelli School of Business graduate. When they were young, Norma was very active in their public schools in Ardsley, New York, where the Togninos had moved after spending their first six or seven years of married life in the Bronx. Norma also served as a member of the women’s auxiliary at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Ardsley. The couple eventually made their home in Bronxville, and when her children were grown, Norma worked as a furniture buyer in Westchester.

“She was devoted to her family,” John said. “She was a great enthusiast with great respect for everyone.”

A Love of Travel

That enthusiasm was evident on the many international trips–several to Italy– that the couple took with Fordham’s Board of Trustees, when Norma would often gather the group for fun dinners and lead the way on shopping excursions.

“You could always count on her and John for a great time and a lot of warmth and hospitality and genuine friendship,” said former trustee Pat Nazemetz, TMC ’71, GSAS ’89, who, together with her husband, Jim, socialized with the Togninos in Westchester and traveled with them as well.

“When we traveled, Norma could always be relied on for finding the best shops and doing lots of power shopping when we had any kind of breaks from sightseeing,” said Nazemetz.

Patrick Ryan, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham, accompanied the Togninos on a trip to the Amalfi Coast.

“They were my hosts. We had an awful lot of fun,” he said, adding that Norma “was very unpretentious, very warm, had not lost the common touch at all.”

Father Ryan also played a part in toasting the couple for their 50th wedding anniversary, which they celebrated with a party in Tognino Hall in 2009.

“I made up a song for that,” he said. “It was sung to the tune of Ode to Joy.”

It began: “Sing with me a song of Norma:/ Fifty years ago today/ She was wed, not just pro forma/ To the guy she brought to bay.

And a later verse, calling out the unassuming nature for which the couple was known:

“Keep us mindful, God our Father/ Of the way their parents toiled/ Making sure, for all the bother/ Each grew straight and was not spoiled.”

Nazemetz, now a trustee fellow, said that in the nearly 20 years that she has known the Togninos, Norma “has always been [John’s] rock.”

“She was a kind, caring, giving person. I think of her as the big sister we all like to have,” she said. “She was sensitive and thoughtful, but she also had a toughness about her.”

Whatever struggles she might have been going through—a fall or an illness, for example, “it never wore her down,” Nazemetz said.

One time, Nazemetz and Norma were discussing whether they should go to Las Vegas, which Norma loved, or travel to Italy.

“Her comment to me was, ‘I want to do it all.’ She had a very can-do attitude and spirit, and always made people feel welcomed.” Though the Togninos were people of means, Nazemetz said, “you never got any of that vibe.”

“It was just, ‘I’m that kid from the Bronx who met my husband in the Bronx, and those are our roots, and we’re proud of them and we’re proud to be part of the team.’”

In addition to John, Norma is survived by her children, Katherine Albanese and her husband, Mark; John Jr. and his wife, Teri; and Michael and his partner, Jennifer, and the Togninos’ five grandchildren, Christopher, John III, Michael Jr., Joseph, and Isabella.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. at the University Church on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. There will not be a wake. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Tognino Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at Fordham or to the Alexander Tognino Foundation, 547 Saw Mill River Road, Ardsley, NY 10502.

“John and Norma Tognino’s longstanding service and generosity to Fordham have been nothing short of remarkable,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “They have been tireless supporters of the University’s mission, and our achievements are rightly considered their achievements, as well. Indeed, we are proud to count them as members of the Fordham family, and proud that the Great Hall will now bear their names.”

The gift and renaming of the second-floor facility was announced in the Great Hall during the inaugural Archbishop Hughes Society Dinner for some of the University’s largest benefactors.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to say thank you to Fordham,” said John Tognino (FCLS ’75), chairman and chief executive officer of the Pepper Financial Group. “We are honored to be joining the Archbishop Hughes Society. It is difficult to express what this means to our family but suffice it to say we will always cherish tonight. Norma and I both hope that we can, in a small way, help Fordham fulfill its mission and ensure continuing generations of students the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

Tognino spent 36 years at Merrill Lynch & Co., where he held numerous positions, including managing director for global equities and managing director for international equities.
After retiring from Merrill Lynch in 1993, Tognino served as president and chief executive officer of the Security Traders Association and executive vice president of capital markets and trading at Charles Schwab & Co. In 1991, Tognino was appointed executive vice president of global sales and member affairs at Nasdaq.

Over the years, Tognino has maintained strong ties to his alma mater. He has served as chairman of Fordham’s Board of Directors and the Executive Committee since 2004 and established the Tognino Family Scholarship, which provides financial support to Fordham College of Liberal Studies and College of Business Administration students, and the Tognino Endowment for Disability Services, which supports special-needs students.

The $3.5 million gift by the Togninos comes in the wake of other large donations in recent months. In March, E. Gerald Corrigan (GSAS ’65, ’71), Ph.D., made a $5 million gift to fund initiatives at both Fordham College at Rose Hill and the Graduate School of Business Administration. And Fordham Law School announced last winter that James Leitner (LAW ’82) and his wife, Sandra, had made a $3.1 million gift to establish a second Leitner Family Chair in International Human Rights and fund other initiatives.

The facility that will now be known as the John and Norma Tognino Hall had been the main floor of Fordham’s library. For more than 70 years, Duane Library served as an architectural and intellectual centerpiece of the Rose Hill campus. The building was closed in 1997 when the William D. Walsh Family Library opened, and renovation of the building began shortly thereafter.

Although Duane Library is not an official city landmark, it was treated as such during its three-year, $12 million restoration. The building was reopened in May of 2004 and now houses the Department of Theology, the Office of Admission, the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, a visitors’ center, lecture rooms and a University Commons.

In 2005, the New York Landmarks Conservancy awarded Fordham a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award for excellence in historic preservation for its renovation of Duane Library. A venue for conferences and lectures, the second-floor hall features a 47-foot-high sloped ceiling and a stained-glass window designed to represent the Jesuit tradition of education.

John N. and Norma Tognino have made a $3.5 million gift to the University, and the Great Hall at Duane Library on the Rose Hill campus has been renamed in their honor, the University announced on Oct. 11.

“John and Norma Tognino’s longstanding service and generosity to Fordham have been nothing short of remarkable,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “They have been tireless supporters of the University’s mission, and our achievements are rightly considered their achievements, as well. Indeed, we are proud to count them as members of the Fordham family, and proud that the Great Hall will now bear their names.”

The gift and renaming of the second-floor facility was announced in the Great Hall during the inaugural Archbishop Hughes Society Dinner for some of the University’s largest benefactors.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to say thank you to Fordham,” said John Tognino (FCLS ’75), chairman and chief executive officer of the Pepper Financial Group. “We are honored to be joining the Archbishop Hughes Society. It is difficult to express what this means to our family but suffice it to say we will always cherish tonight. Norma and I both hope that we can, in a small way, help Fordham fulfill its mission and ensure continuing generations of students the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”

Tognino spent 36 years at Merrill Lynch & Co., where he held numerous positions, including managing director for global equities and managing director for international equities.
After retiring from Merrill Lynch in 1993, Tognino served as president and chief executive officer of the Security Traders Association and executive vice president of capital markets and trading at Charles Schwab & Co. In 1991, Tognino was appointed executive vice president of global sales and member affairs at Nasdaq.

Over the years, Tognino has maintained strong ties to his alma mater. He has served as chairman of Fordham’s Board of Directors and the Executive Committee since 2004 and established the Tognino Family Scholarship, which provides financial support to Fordham College of Liberal Studies and College of Business Administration students, and the Tognino Endowment for Disability Services, which supports special-needs students.

The $3.5 million gift by the Togninos comes in the wake of other large donations in recent months. In March, E. Gerald Corrigan (GSAS ’65, ’71), Ph.D., made a $5 million gift to fund initiatives at both Fordham College at Rose Hill and the Graduate School of Business Administration. And Fordham Law School announced last winter that James Leitner (LAW ’82) and his wife, Sandra, had made a $3.1 million gift to establish a second Leitner Family Chair in International Human Rights and fund other initiatives.

The facility that will now be known as the John and Norma Tognino Hall had been the main floor of Fordham’s library. For more than 70 years, Duane Library served as an architectural and intellectual centerpiece of the Rose Hill campus. The building was closed in 1997 when the William D. Walsh Family Library opened, and renovation of the building began shortly thereafter.

Although Duane Library is not an official city landmark, it was treated as such during its three-year, $12 million restoration. The building was reopened in May of 2004 and now houses the Department of Theology, the Office of Admission, the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, a visitors’ center, lecture rooms and a University Commons.

In 2005, the New York Landmarks Conservancy awarded Fordham a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award for excellence in historic preservation for its renovation of Duane Library. A venue for conferences and lectures, the second-floor hall features a 47-foot-high sloped ceiling and a stained-glass window designed to represent the Jesuit tradition of education.