“Faith & Hope has created opportunities for students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to come to Fordham, earn a world-class education, and seek employment,” said Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82, one of three campaign co-chairs and a first-generation college graduate herself. “These scholarships open doors to students who may not otherwise be able to attend, and give them the opportunity to transform their lives.”

The campaign raised $175,311,288 from April 2014 to June 2019, surpassing its original goal of $175 million. Donations funded existing scholarship funds and 197 new scholarship funds for students—including Fulbright scholars, community leaders, and first-generation college students.

“Scholarships are at the heart of Fordham’s mission, and are central to the Jesuit notion of service to the human family,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “Scholarships transform individual lives, of course, but in democratizing education and knowledge, they also help create a more just world and a more equitable society. I am deeply heartened that so many of our generous alumni and friends agree, and I am forever grateful for their openhearted and openhanded support.”

Breaking Records Across the University

The Faith & Hope campaign achieved historic results for Fordham. The 2017 fiscal year was the most successful single year of fundraising in the University’s history, at $75.8 million. This year, the University’s Development and University Relations (DAUR) division was recognized with a 2019 Educational Fundraising Award for sustained excellence in fundraising programs over the past three years, putting Fordham’s advancement effort among the top 90 colleges and universities in the nation.

At the 2019 Fordham Founder’s Dinner, nearly $2.6 million was raised for Faith & Hope—specifically the Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. It was the second-highest amount in the event’s 18-year history, with 100% participation from the Board of Trustees and the President’s Council. During the years of the campaign, the annual event raised nearly $12 million to support Founder’s scholars.

Nearly a million dollars was raised on Fordham’s third annual Giving Day last March—the most successful Giving Day to date. More than 3,000 participants—alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Fordham—raised $933,689 in 1,841 minutes. Most of the donations, which ranged from $1 to $100,000, came from the U.S., but some came from as far as Australia and the Philippines.

One of the campaign’s biggest accomplishments was the creation of the Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe Presidential Scholars Program—one of the most selective merit scholarships available to Fordham students. Three years ago, the scholarship program was established through a $20 million gift from Maurice J. (Mo) Cunniffe, FCRH ’54, and Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., UGE ’62, GSAS ’65, ’71. Over the next decade, it will fund a Fordham education—tuition, living expenses, internship, research, and study abroad opportunities—for dozens of talented students.

“Each year, Mo and I spend time with these students who are young stars with bright futures,” said Carolyn Cunniffe, a Faith & Hope co-chair. “We hope that they will contribute back to society far more than Mo and I can.”

Campaign co-chair Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, said Faith & Hope supported Fordham’s core values and identity.

“This campaign really went to the central mission of Fordham, which is our commitment to higher education and educating first-generation students, and keeping Fordham accessible, regardless of a student’s ability to pay,” she said.

Student Impact 

At the heart of the campaign were Fordham students and the donors who helped fuel their future.

In interviews and speeches spanning the past several years, students have described how a Fordham scholarship has changed their lives.

They talked about how a Fordham education helped shape their career paths. For some students, the University’s Jesuit values strengthened their Catholic faith, while others from different faiths said they felt welcome in the University community. Students also praised Fordham’s core curriculum, which encouraged them to connect with their neighbors in the Bronx. And they spoke about how Fordham helped them understand who they are and what legacy they want to leave behind.

Caroline Koenig, the daughter of seventh-generation French bakers, knew that attending Fordham would be a challenge. In high school, she experienced an injury that dashed her hopes of winning a college track scholarship. Fordham initially gave her a generous financial aid package, but it wasn’t enough. She was taking extra classes to graduate early and considering a commute from Connecticut to save money—that is, until she was awarded the Peter and Carol Howe Endowed Scholarship. It helped her land a summer internship at KPMG and identify her passion for forensic accounting.

“My parents taught me the value of hard work and holding onto your dreams. Because of them and because of Fordham, now I can follow my own,” Koenig said.

The campaign also made a college education possible for Fordham students who, in the face of overwhelming student debt, found it difficult to continue their education.

One of them is Muhammad El Shatanofy, the son of immigrant parents who dreamed of becoming a doctor. Throughout his time in Fordham’s neuroscience program, he wondered how he could pay for his undergraduate education without incurring debt. After all, he’d soon be paying for four years’ worth of medical school.

When he found out he was awarded the Founder’s Scholarship, which would pay for almost all his outstanding tuition costs, he was thrilled.

“It really has given me that extra motivation, so that now I just want to accomplish so much,” said El Shatanofy, who went on to mentor 12 high school students from disadvantaged high schools and volunteer at Mt. Sinai Hospital. “I have this drive to make other people happy that they invested in my education and my future.”

For many students, scholarships have left an emotional impact on their lives.

“There’s just no words I can give to express how thankful my family and I are. It takes a big load off our shoulders, and … I’m just so thankful because I wouldn’t be able to go to Fordham without you and apply to grad school,” Jeannie-Fay Veloso, GABELLI ’17, tells her scholarship donor, Robert D. Daleo, GABELLI ’72, in a campaign video. Seconds later, the two alumni embrace in tears.

What It Means to Give 

Faith & Hope’s scholarships were made possible through donations both big and small.

Among the campaign’s biggest donors, in addition to the co-chairs and their spouses, were Brian W. and Kathleen H. MacLean, both FCRH ’75; Susheel Kirpalani, LAW ’94; William J. Loschert, GABELLI ’61; Alice Lehman Murphy, the McKeon Family Foundation; Grace A. Dorney-Koppel, UGE ’60, and Ted Koppel; and Alex and Jean Trebek.

Many of them said they give back because they want to support the next generation of leaders and help families break out of the cycle of poverty through education. Some donors once stood in the same shoes as the students they now support.

“I came from a family where my father was a factory worker and my mother worked as a seamstress. I had two other brothers. So if I was going to do it, I was going to do it on my own—and my brother, too,” said Daleo, honorary campaign chair and chair of the Fordham Board of Trustees, who established a scholarship in his brother’s name. “We both went to Fordham. We both had scholarships, worked and paid our way. That scholarship helped me [and]  made the difference.”

Rosemary Santana Cooney, Ph.D., established a scholarship with her husband Patrick in recognition of her 42 years as a professor and associate dean at Fordham, her belief in generating a diverse student body, and her Puerto Rican heritage. Her scholarship will support minority students across Fordham.

“I was always aware that I was different—an outsider—because I tend to be dark, like my father. And I always worked extra hard because I figured as a woman and a minority, you had to work extra hard … I know, sympathetically, how hard these kids who try to make the transition are having to work. And I wanted to make sure that some of them were getting some help,” said Cooney.

For many donors, their Fordham experience gave them not only academic, social, and life skills—it showed them what they’re capable of.

“It’s taught me things about myself that I didn’t even know before,” said Sophie Scott, FCLC ’18, who studied journalism and now works as a production assistant at CNN. “Fordham literally showed me the world in a way I didn’t know possible, and a way I could fit into the world.”

Scott, echoing a sentiment shared by many donors, said she hopes to give that same experience to someone else.

“It literally brings me no greater joy than to think that someone else could be having that same experience—someone who, from a financial perspective, may not be able to,” said Scott, who serves as chair of the Young Alumni Philanthropy Committee at Fordham.

Faith & Hope marks the third of Fordham’s biggest campaigns since the early 1990s—a growing list of campaigns that are already transforming the world.

“It really is a win-win for both the donors and the students,” said Salice. “And ultimately, the world at large.”

Now that the University has successfully closed Faith & Hope, administrators and volunteers are planning for the launch of a new fundraising campaign that will be focused on enhancing the student experience and will include the construction of a new campus center at Rose Hill.

To read more success stories, visit the Faith & Hope campaign site.

That’s the driving force behind a large number of pre-med students and alumni who have made theology a major component of their studies, with some going so far as to major in both theology and biology.

“The cruel reality of medical school admissions is, once you get to the door of your interview, no one wants to talk to you about how you did in biochemistry,” said Ellen M. Watts, assistant dean for pre-health professions advising.

“That’s just your foundation to get in. Then it’s very much a people-person field. The student who has a 4.0 GPA and 120 credits of science, who has never taken their head out of the book, is really not going to be successful going into this profession.”

Psychology and philosophy are also popular choices for students looking for another major to pair with biology, she said. Often, students choose to add another major to their workload after being exposed to it their freshman year.

That was the case for Taylor Jacob, FCRH ’14, who attended Fordham on a full scholarship, majored in biology and theology, and is now working toward a doctorate in Christian bioethics as part of a Fulbright fellowship in Scotland.

A theology course titled Vocation of the Health Care Provider exposed her to the human side of medicine, and inspired her to take a medical ethics class, she said. Her research examines access to womens’ health care in Catholic hospitals, and how it compares to access in other health care systems.

“The trends in medicine today are moving away from just understanding the pure sciences toward trying to understand the person as a whole, which I think a Jesuit education is pretty well suited to do, given the whole message of cura personalis,” said Jacob. She said she plans to enter medical school and work in pediatric medicine.

In his freshman year, Brandon Mogrovejo, FCRH ’15, who is enrolled in Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, likewise found himself enthralled with a subject that he “never in a million years” imagined himself being interested in— African-American studies. He chose it as his major along with biology, and he also minored in theology. He said he was energized by the back and forth among the courses he took.

“I was blown away by how philosophical the theology courses were. They asked questions about why we believe in God, and why certain religions revere a godlike figure at all. I really like asking those questions,” he said.

Although science and religion are often pegged as being at odds with one another, they’re seen as more complementary for students who’ve embraced as their vocation the healing of strangers’ bodies and minds.

Anthony Halko, a Fordham College at Rose Hill senior majoring in theology and integrative neuroscience, said his studies have given him the ability to critically compare Christianity’s creation story and Darwin’s theory of evolution. He can understand the ways in which the former is useful, even if not interpreted literally. A volunteer fire fighter and a member of Fordham University EMS, Halko hopes that a theology background will allow him consider how best to treat patients in a way that benefits their psyche as well as their body.

Alyssa Ammazzalorso, FCRH’ 15, a Presidential scholar who is in her second year at Albert Einstein Medical College after majoring in biology and theology, is well acquainted with how the two fields complement each other—her father chose the same path and became a doctor.

“I’m very interested in biology and the mechanisms of life, and theology gives a meaning to life beyond those mechanisms. It’s two ways of looking at life, and you can’t just focus on one or the other in order to have a full appreciation of what life is,” she said.

In fact, Watts said the medical field has been pushing schools to teach pre-med students to excel in humanities for the last decade. In 2015, the MCAT exam even included sections on sociology and psychology. Medical schools want students who are able to deal with patients of different races, religions, cultural backgrounds, and emotional states of mind ethically, and can respect their experiences and their sense of self.

Theology department chair J. Patrick Hornbeck, D. Phil., noted that when the department redesigned the major in 2010, it created a specialization in the relationship between faith and culture. It now offers courses with potential pre-med students in mind such as Introduction to Bioethics, Vocation of the Healthcare Provider, and Moral Aspects of Medicine, Death and Dying.

“Theology courses provide students with the opportunities to ask questions about the ethics of medical care, the relationship between medical care and spiritual and religious beliefs, and about what it means to be human in some of life’s most defining moments,” he said.

“Future physicians and other health professionals who have a grounding in theological disciplines will be able to be more compassionate, more thoughtful and more empathetic towards those they care for.”

Jacob said that theology helped her to pay attention to what people believe at the highest level, and how important it becomes in creating a plan for the health of an individual.

“You have to take [what people believe]into account. If you tell them something that conflicts with their deepest beliefs, it’s going to be wasted time,” she said.

This month, the Cunniffes have taken their philanthropy to an even higher level, with a transformative $20 million gift that will be devoted to funding student financial aid.

The newly titled Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe Presidential Scholars Program will encompass one of the largest merit scholarships available to Fordham students, and will pave the way for a new generation of women and men to receive a comprehensive Jesuit education.

Presidential scholars are generally ranked in the top 1–2 percent in their high school class, excel in academics and extracurricular activities, and exhibit leadership in their academic and personal lives.

With the new funding, the program will challenge the scholars and enrich their undergraduate experience through partnerships among key academic units across the University, including undergraduate dean’s offices and the Office of Prestigious Fellowships. The gift will also support summer programs focusing on service learning, experiential learning through international immersion, professional internships, research opportunities, and close mentoring by faculty.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, called the gift—the second largest in the University’s history—a monumental display of generosity, one that puts Fordham’s current campaign for financial aid at $82 million towards a $175 million goal.

“We renamed the administration building Cunniffe House to acknowledge Mo and Carolyn’s great generosity and service to Fordham, as well as their integrity and steadfastness,” Father McShane said. “Having known Mo for more than two decades, I can say with authority that his accomplishments and humility are unparalleled. It is very much Fordham’s honor to have their names associated with our most prestigious scholars.”

Mo Cunniffe has been a part of the Fordham family for almost seven decades. A child of Irish immigrants in the Bronx, he lived within walking distance of the Fordham Rose Hill campus. He graduated from Fordham Preparatory School in 1950 and enrolled in the University, where he earned a degree in physics. After graduating, he went on to become a successful engineer, businessman, and entrepreneur. He served on Fordham Prep’s board of trustees from 1983-1995 and the University’s board of trustees from 1995-2003.

Carolyn Cunniffe received her bachelor’s degree from Fordham College at Rose Hill, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She was a vice president at Revlon and Chanel before joining Cablevision systems, where she was a senior vice president. She currently serves on the board of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, and Fordham’s Board of Trustees.

In 2010, Mo Cunniffe received the Fordham Founder’s Award, recognizing the ways in which his life reflects the University’s defining traditions, and at Fordham’s 171st Commencement ceremony in May, the University bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, for his role as one of the University community’s most vital and longstanding supporters.

He said that his latest gift not only recognizes and supports the place that has been like a home for nearly his entire life, but also makes it possible for more generations to follow in his steps.

“We believe in Fordham and its mission,” Mo Cunniffe said. “Fordham has educated people of all social strata, including immigrants and students without funds. It makes all kinds of sense to us to continue to support this mission, which is also in the interest of society.”

Roger A. Milici Jr., vice president for development and University relations at Fordham, called the gift a bold investment in humanity and in the promise that future Cunniffe Presidential Scholars offer our global society, their families and their workplaces. He noted that with cumulative giving approaching $35 million, the Cunniffes are setting the pace for philanthropy at Fordham.