Who He Is
Manager of Custodial Services for Lincoln Center

What He Does
“My official title is manager of custodial services, but that doesn’t tell everything—I fit into a lot of shoes. I oversee the grounds, the custodial services, and the mailroom operations for Lincoln Center and our three off-campus locations in Manhattan. We’re in charge of setting up for the graduations, Jubilee, and all the events at Lincoln Center.”

What Brought Him to Fordham
Thyagaraj started in 1989 as site foreman for a private company that ran the security at Lincoln Center. Then, in 1996, he was offered a position as night custodial supervisor for Fordham. Two years later, he was promoted to custodial manager at the Lincoln Center campus.

His Favorite Part of the Job
“My favorite part of the job is when the kids come on move-in day. We’re there helping them with moving in, telling them where everything is, where they can get their IDs, where the lounges are, etc. And we greet the parents who come to drop off their kids. We want to make them feel comfortable, like this is home.”

Quirkiest Part of the Job
“Whenever Father McShane is speaking here at Lincoln Center, it’s my task to hand him the microphone. Sometimes he likes the lavaliere microphone and sometimes he likes the cordless microphone. I have both of them ready to go so that when he’s ready, he can pick.”

What Keeps His Spirits Up
“I love the people at Fordham. Our staff is excellent, very professional, which makes my life a lot easier. I tell them one thing: Respect. You have to respect one another, never look down on anybody. That’s very important.”

His Favorite Spot on Campus
“The 12th-floor Lounge/Corrigan Conference Center was renovated a few years ago. I like going up to that lounge and the President’s Dining Room when the guys are done with setups. Those are my favorite places on campus, and they show the kind of work we do.”

Snow Day? No Such Thing
On days that are “snow days” for the University, Thyagaraj and his team work extra hard. During the most recent snowstorm, which closed Fordham for two days, Thyagaraj stayed on campus overnight to make sure that the snow cleanup went according to plan. That included making sure the equipment was working, that all needed staff were on hand, that all the emergency exits were clear, and that the fire hydrants and sidewalks were visible.

What Makes Him Proud
At the 2013 University Convocation on March 3, Thyagaraj was one of three Fordham employees to receive the Sursum Corda award, which recognizes staff members who have made outstanding contributions to the life and mission of the University. His wife, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fordham, and his 10-year-old daughter were in the audience to watch him receive his award. “I’m a Fordham guy,” he said. “I couldn’t see myself working anywhere else.”

At a ceremony held in Lincoln Center campus’ Pope Auditorium, 14 staff members received the Archbishop John Hughes Medal for Service, honoring administrative employees who have been at Fordham 40 or 20 years, and 14 members of the faculty received the Bene Merenti medal for 40- and 20-year service to the University.

The Sursum Corda award, which recognizes staff who have made outstanding contributions to the life and mission of the University, went to Paul Thyagaraj, manager of custodial services and facilities management at the Lincoln Center campus; Judy Kelly, administrative assistant in the dean’s office at Fordham College at Lincoln Center; and Karl Mitchell, a carpenter in facilities operations at Rose Hill.

“I’m a Fordham guy,” said Thyagaraj, who, before taking the stage to receive his award, had worked tirelessly with his team to hang banners and set out chairs for the ceremony. “I couldn’t see myself working anywhere other than Fordham.”

For some medalists, the ceremony marked an opportunity to express their gratitude to Fordham, as well as to celebrate their longstanding service.

“It’s heartwarming—I have always thought of Fordham as my extended family,” said 40-year Bene Merenti recipient Margot Nadien, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology. “There is a feeling of connection and caring for the University and for its principles. They are my principles as well.”

A musical prodigy who left her family as a child to study music composition in New York, Nadien made Fordham history in 1980 by becoming the first psychologist tenured at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. And though her four decades of research in development, aging, and the psychology of women have earned her numerous accolades, Nadien remains humble about what the experience has meant for her.

“I don’t know if I can say I feel pride,” she said. “I care most of all for the students and for my interactions with them. They have enriched my life.”

For others, the ceremony was a reminder that time flies.

“It’s one of those things that creeps up on you,” said Nicholas Johnson, professor of law and a recipient of the 20-year Bene Merenti medal. “You think it doesn’t mean much, but it was actually a great thing. I was happy to be part of [the ceremony].”

Addressing the award recipients and their friends and family members, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, said that the last decades have brought “anything but peaceful and uneventful business” for these faculty and staff.

“The faculty members have been about the world-changing work of helping their students develop those habits of heart and mind that will help them transform the world,” he said. “They have, in short, been about the work of educating men and women for others—men and women with a deep sense of mission.”

Father McShane called the administrators “the quiet strength of the University.”

“From the first moment that they arrived in our midst, they have cared for us, nurtured us, protected us from harm, heat, and cold,” he said. “They have been valued and graced colleagues in all of our attempts to fulfill the mission that Archbishop Hughes left in our hands.”

The Fordham University Choir, led by choir director Robert Minotti, enriched the afternoon’s event with their performances of Eric Whitacre’s “With a Lily in your Hand” and the University Alma Mater.

The annual event was sponsored by the Office of the President.

(To read more on Sursum Corda awardee Paul Thyagaraj, see At Work.)

The 31 recipients of the Archbishop Huges Medal for Service, the Bene Merenti medal, and the Sursum Corda award, were recognized at the 2013 Fordham University Convocation on March 3. (All honorees are listed below.)

Photo by Bruce Gilbert

Convocation Honorees 2012-2013

Bene Merenti Medal (20 years)

Cathy S. Berkman, Ph.D., associate professor of social work

Vassilios Fessatidis, Ph.D., department chair and professor of physics

Maryann Forgey, Ph.D., associate professor of social work

Nicholas J. Johnson, professor of law

Frank Retzel, adjunct instructor of music

Natalie Riccio, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of social work

Rita Seidenberg, adjunct clinical associate professor of literacy education

Patricia Shea-Bischoff, Ph.D., clinical professor of education

Susan R. Wabuda, Ph.D., associate professor of history
Bene Merenti Medal (40 years)

Mark Caldwell, Ph.D., professor of English

Edward Dowling, S.J., professor of economics

John C. Houtz, Ph.D., professor of educational psychology

Margot B. Nadien, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology

Gerard C. Reedy, S.J., University Professor of Humanities in the Office of the Provost

Archbishop Hughes Medal (20 years)

Juan I. Fernandez, manager of document delivery and interlibrary loan at the law library

Donald Gillespie, Ph.D., associate vice president for Institutional Research, Office of the Provost

Seth L. Knight, assistant manager of duplicating, ID, and mailing services at Rose Hill
Jorge A. Martinez-Santiago, associate director of the TRIO programs

Lesley A. Massiah-Arthur, associate vice president of government relations and urban affairs

Julia Olivo-Rodriguez, administrative assistant in the Office of the Provost

Shannon L. Ortiz, director of IT security

Fernando Ospina, manager of duplicating of ID and mailing services

Stephen J. Potsklan, head men’s and women’s swimming coach in the Department of Athletics

Wei V. Shen, conservation librarian in the William D. Walsh Family Library

Frances J. Tiburcio, administrative assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences
Leslie Timoney, resident manager at the Lincoln Center campus
Archbishop Hughes Medal (40 years)

Thomas E. DeJulio, general counsel for the Office of the President

Carol J. Rizzuti, Ph.D., assistant dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill

Sursum Corda Award

Judy Kelly, administrative assistant of the Dean’s Office at Fordham College at Lincoln Center

Karl Mitchell, craftsman of the carpentry shop in facilities operations at Rose Hill

Paul Thyagaraj, manager of custodial services and facilities management