On Oct. 14, Tania Tetlow was formally inaugurated as Fordham’s 33rd president, making history as the first layperson and first woman to lead the University.

Now, she said, it is time for us all to make history.

“Today I am asking you to hope. To have the courage to hope. Not because these are hopeful times; they are not. But because these are urgent times,” she said.

“At a moment of darkening clouds in the world, we gather on this bright, shining day to remember that Fordham has such power to make the world a better place.”

Taking Inspiration from a Providential Past

The day began with a Mass at the University Church, in which Joseph M. O’Keefe, S.J., GSAS’ 81, provincial of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus, confirmed Tetlow in her mission as director of the apostolic work of Fordham. The Mass brought together Jesuits from around the province, including Fordham President Emeritus Joseph M. McShane, S.J., who received several rounds of applause throughout the day.

The festivities drew some 2,000 guests to the Rose Hill campus. In addition to Tetlow’s family and friends, Fordham alumni, faculty, students, administrators, and delegates from nearly 60 universities around the world were present. The formal ceremony on Keating Terrace was followed by a “Prez Fest” celebration on Edwards Parade and a concert featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans. The event concluded a weeklong celebration that kicked off with a lecture on Tuesday about Fordham’s place in the world.

In a spirited call to harness the resources of the University to change the world, Tetlow tied her vision of the University’s future directly to the past, citing Archbishop John Hughes’ founding of Fordham 181 years ago.

“In 1841, Archbishop John Hughes struggled to serve the hundreds of thousands of immigrants streaming into New York, so desperate and so determined. He organized food and shelter for them, but he also recognized their deeper hunger for education and opportunity,” she said.

“Hughes founded a college on this spot and called it St. John’s. He did so as an act of hope, because he could see the talent and potential in those desperate people coming off the ships.”

That she should end up leading that college—now a global university—is almost kismet, she said, noting how her father and mother met at the Rose Hill campus as graduate students. Her father, who had been a Jesuit priest for 17 years, made the “agonizing decision” to leave the Society of Jesus to marry her mother and raise Tetlow and her two sisters. Her Uncle Joe, who is 92 years old and watched the ceremony via livestream, is a Jesuit priest and prolific author. Tetlow said she grew up thinking of all Jesuits as uncles.

“I like to think [my father]  made the right choice, but regardless, I hope I’ve made it up to the Jesuits,” she said to laughter.

Today, she said, there is a greater need than ever to take a stand for both faith and reason, as Jesuits always have. Education doesn’t dilute faith, she said, it fuels it.

“Within Catholic tradition, there are many models of service, including goodness rooted in purity, in monastic seclusion from the wicked world. The Jesuits chose the riskier path—to engage, to push to make the world better,” she said.

“It often got them in a great deal of trouble. Sometimes it was because of missteps, but more often it was because the world preferred not to be reminded of the clear lessons of the gospels. As my father used to say, ‘They’d rather think Jesus was just kidding.’”

“My dream for Fordham is that we use our resources—especially the brilliance and creativity of our people—to make even more of an impact, starting always in our own community here in the Bronx and expanding outward.”

From NOLA to NYC, Testimonies Abound

The program featured speeches from a wide array of dignitaries. Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, delivered the invocation, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer extended his thanks to Father McShane and well-wishes to Tetlow.

Marc Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, shared recollections of his relationship with Tetlow, which she began when she walked into his campaign headquarters as an 18-year-old college student. He called her a “true steel magnolia.”

“She has this incredible humility, this charm, but this underbelly of strength and determination,” he said.

“She will smile, she will listen to you, she will nod her head. But make no mistake about it; she is processing every single word.”

Thomas B. Curran, S.J., president emeritus of Rockhurst University, related his experience of working with her as a board member of Loyola University, where she was president before coming to Fordham.

“Very soon, if it’s not already the case, you will discover what I have come to know of Tania Tetlow. It’s a privilege to know her, it’s a gift to work with her, and it’s a rich blessing to learn from her,” he said.

“With Tania, we are called to be collaborators. This will move us towards the end for which we have been created and help bring forth the greater glory of God.”

Robert Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees, praised Tetlow as “eminently qualified—by temperament, experience, and ability—to lead Fordham at this inflection point in higher education, and in the political and cultural life of our nation.”

John Drummond, Ph.D., Fordham’s Southwell Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities, offered his greetings on behalf of the University faculty, while Linda LoSchiavo, TMC ’72, director of the University Libraries, welcomed Tetlow on behalf of administrators and staff.

Students were represented by Djellza Pulatani, president of the United Student Government at Lincoln Center, and Santiago Vidal, executive president of the United Student Government at Rose Hill.

Pulatani said she’s excited to see how Tetlow will “lead us through a new era of robust unity wherein the voice of every Fordham student is heard, listened to, and appreciated.”

“We are inspired by the trailblazer that President Tetlow is, showing the world that women always belong in the place of decision-making,” she said.

“Her presidency will undeniably become a turning point for the women of Fordham University and the successful futures they will have.”

Well-Wishes from Near and Far

David Wilkins knew there was something special about Tetlow from almost the moment he met her when she was a student at Harvard Law School.

“I had Tania as a student in her very first day of law school, and it did not take very long before it was very clear that she was really an extraordinary person,” said Wilkins, who is the Lester Kissel Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. “She was a brilliant student—at Harvard, we have lots of brilliant students—but she was clearly an extraordinary person.”

Wilkins said that what makes Tetlow so special is how she incorporates her values and principles into everything she does.

“She had a wonderful kind of mind that loves to think about problems and puzzle through them but always with a generosity of spirit,” he said. “When she approached the law and legal issues, it was never just, ‘How do I make my side win?’ or ‘How do I make the most complicated argument that makes me look really smart?’ It was always about, ‘How can we use the law as a tool to solve problems?’”

Wilkins said that Tetlow is someone who was “born to help bridge these divides” that the country is facing at this moment in history.

“I think those are the greatest qualities you can have as a university president—to be an empathetic listener and to be a creative problem solver,” he said.

Fordham students Alessandra Carino and Sean Power said that they were excited to be a part of the inauguration festivities since it was such a historic day for the university.

“I’m very excited about President Tetlow,” said Carino, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and the president of the Commuting Students Association. “I think just her perspective as a woman, as a layperson, is really important. I think her lived experience is going to bring a different [way of]  problem solving or just a different perspective than the University has seen.”

Power said that he was hopeful she would help maintain Jesuit values at Fordham as she ushers in a new phase.

“President Tetlow, she’s got as much Jesuit background as you can without being a Jesuit, so I’m really excited Fordham’s going to maintain that even with a layperson as president,” he said.

Adrienne de la Fuente, FCLC ’10, said she returned to campus with her husband, David de la Fuente, FCLC ’10, who is a doctoral candidate in systematic theology at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, to see the historic inauguration.

“It’s really great to see the transition from Father McShane’s legacy to President Tetlow,” she said.

De la Fuente said she saw firsthand the impact Father McShane had in making Fordham more of a national name, but she said she’s excited to see where the University can go next, particularly internationally. She works with students applying to schools in the United States, and “this is kind of the first wave of Fordham being something that I hear students ask us about, so I want to see that momentum continue.”

For Jennifer Avegno and her family, the purpose of the trip to Fordham was twofold—her daughters decided to take a tour of the University as prospective students, and she had the chance to see her friend be inaugurated as Fordham’s new president.

“She’s such a wonderful, well-rounded leader—compassionate, smart, thoughtful, spiritual. She’s really the whole package,” Avegno said. “Loyola was so lucky to have her. Fordham is really lucky.”

Avegno said she saw firsthand what Tetlow brought to Loyola New Orleans and she is excited to see what she will do at Fordham, in the heart of New York.

“Is New York ready for her, I think, is the question,” Avegno said with a smile.

—Additional reporting by Kelly Prinz

—Photos by Bruce Gilbert and Chris Taggart

—Video by Taylor Ha and Tom Stoelker

We write to you today with an update on the search for the next president of Fordham.

Since the beginning of the academic year, WittKieffer and members of the search committee have conducted almost 30 listening sessions with faculty (including several groups such as department chairs and the Faculty Senate), staff (including several groups such as the President’s Cabinet and the academic deans), students, trustees, key donors, alumni, and parents—a number of these sessions were open forums that anyone could attend. At these sessions, we asked for and received input on topics such as aspirations for Fordham, desired candidate qualifications, opportunities and challenges for the new president, and Fordham points of pride that we should emphasize with candidates.

The themes that emerged from those sessions are contained in the Leadership Profile, which all candidates receive, and which we think you will find useful in understanding the kind of leader we hope to bring to Fordham. We would also recommend you visit the Presidential Search site, which in addition to the Leadership Profile includes key dates in the process, the names of the search committee members, a form for community input, candidate resources, and links to all the previous communications about the search. You may still offer your thoughts on the search via the Community Input page, or by emailing FordhamPresident@wittkieffer.com.

The search is proceeding on schedule. The committee, aided by the executive search firm WittKieffer, is assembling a diverse pool of talented candidates with Fordham’s academic mission, reputation, and Jesuit, Catholic character at the forefront of their efforts. As we announced in September, we expect the search committee to identify and present its leading candidates to the Board of Trustees by early in 2022, and the Board intends to announce the new president of the University in the spring.

We expect to give you an update on our efforts in early January. In the meantime, we wish you a peaceful and happy holiday season and a bright new year.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Daleo, Chair
Fordham University Board of Trustees
Gabelli School of Business, Class of 1972

“We have lost one of the great ones today,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “He was so many things: a thoughtful and highly effective member of the Board of Trustees, a generous benefactor, and a dear friend. He was a man of great love and great integrity, and was singularly devoted to his family and the University. I know the Fordham family joins me in keeping his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers.”

Born in New York City on July 21, 1942, Bepler first encountered the Jesuits after his family moved to Seattle, Washington and joined a Jesuit parish, where he became an altar boy. That spiritual introduction grew into a lifelong intellectual relationship with the Jesuits that began at Seattle Preparatory School and culminated in a return to New York and enrollment at Fordham.

Two uncles and an elder brother, Peter, preceded him at the Rose Hill campus.

“They ask why on the important questions,” he once said of the Jesuits. “They’re willing to ask why, even if they don’t get the answers they want.”

At Fordham, Bepler worked six days a week, played intramural sports, and sang in the glee club, all while studying Greek and Latin. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in classics.

He also held positions as an equity portfolio manager at American Funds Washington Mutual Investors Fund, Capital World Growth and Income Fund, and EuroPacific Growth Fund. He and his EuroPacific Growth team were twice (1999 and 2009) recognized by Morningstar’s “Fund Manager of the Year” Awards in the international stock arena. In addition to his financial work, Bepler taught a course at Stanford University for more than a decade.

“Throughout his 40-plus year career at Capital Group, Steve embodied our core values. He operated with the highest integrity, was a collaborative partner with his colleagues, and made all decisions with the investor in mind. I speak on behalf of many of our long-tenured colleagues and retirees, when I say that he will be missed,” said Tim Armour, chairman and chief executive officer of Capital Group.

“Steve Bepler was a trusted colleague and a very astute businessman,” said Robert Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chairman of the Fordham Board of Trustees. “My heart goes out to Kim and his family on their great loss. Steve was generous with his time and gifts, and both genial and straightforward in his relations with his colleagues on the Board. I will miss his wisdom and his good company.”

Bepler and his wife, Kim, were married 14 years ago. The couple gave generously to a variety of educational institutions and causes, including the Archdiocese of New York, New York Nativity Schools, and Cristo Rey New York High School in Harlem. Bepler was also a benefactor and board member of the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut, Barnard College, the Inner-City Foundation, the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C., and Fairfield University in Connecticut. Bepler had struck up a friendship with Fairfield’s president, Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., when Father von Arx was the dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill.

Bepler held several leadership positions during his tenure on Fordham’s Board of Trustees, including chair of the Student Affairs Committee, vice chair of the Mission and Identity Committee, and member of the Executive Committee. He also served as a trustee of Barnard College.

At Fordham, the couple created several scholarships, supported science education, and gave generously to the Fordham Fund. Their generosity also had an impact on several Rose Hill buildings, including the University Church, where the couple contributed toward its restoration. Two years ago, their philanthropy was recognized with the naming of Bepler Commons at Faber Hall. The Beplers are among the three largest donors to the University.

“Steve was a quiet and generous philanthropist,” said James Buckman, FCRH ’66, a member of the Fordham Board of Trustees. “While a leading benefactor of Fordham University and other Jesuit apostolic enterprises, one would rarely find his name associated with them. He preferred to endow a university chair in the name of a favorite Jesuit teacher than his own. He will be sorely missed.”

When the University honored the couple with the Fordham Founder’s Award in 2007, Kim, a successful businesswoman in her own right, spoke of her husband’s affinity for, and devotion to, his alma mater.

“I love my husband and his love of all things Fordham,” she said.

At the 2014 commencement ceremony, Bepler received the University’s highest honor: a Doctor of Humane Letters.

Throughout his life, Bepler credited the Jesuits with laying the groundwork for his success in life. He specifically honored the educators so dear to his heart by endowing two Fordham faculty chairs: the John D. Boyd, S.J., Chair in Poetic Imagination and the Karl Rahner, S.J., Memorial Chair in Theology.

Father Boyd, one of Bepler’s professors, was a distinguished scholar whose work focused on the poetic imagination and its relationship to life.

“His was the third class I ever took at Fordham,” Bepler said in 2009, speaking at an inaugural ceremony to launch the chair. “He loved to teach. He made everything interesting, which is such an important and rare quality in an educator.”

“His love of poetry was apparent both in our conversations and in his endowing a chair with the splendid tile, ‘Chair in the Poetic Imagination,’” said Heather Dubrow, Ph.D., the holder of the John D. Boyd, S.J. Chair in the Poetic Imagination at Fordham. “I will always be grateful to Stephen and Kim Bepler for enabling me to come to Fordham.”

As avid art and antique collectors, the couple traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia.

In addition to his loving wife, Kim, Bepler is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Bettina, Peter, and Galen; his brother Peter, and sister, Cathy; and two grandchildren. He also leaves behind three dogs, to which he was devoted. 

“We all come to this end point in our lives. But I have known preciously few who have spent willingly their entire lives in full conscious preparation for this moment,” said John Kehoe, FCRH ’60, FCLC ’85, a Fordham trustee. “Steve was such a rare person. His generosity of spirit in all things was as effusive as the quickness of his wry wit and humor. He treasured the gift of his early Jesuit education and, as a true disciple, labored to extend it to as many young people as he could in as many ways as he could find to do so, right to the end of his life. Because of that, and of his wife, Kim, having shared fully in that journey, his work and spirit will continue to live and be remembered long into the future.”

Investors will rely more than ever on savvy wealth management to protect their assets, said speakers at “The Demands of Expertise in Investing in Challenging Times.”

“The condition in which everything is always going up, that’s not going to happen again anytime soon,” said Gabriel Burstein, Ph.D., global head of investment research at Thomson Reuters.

The invitation-only event was hosted by Fordham University Trustee Robert Daleo (CBA ’72), executive vice president and chief financial officer of Thomson Reuters, at the corporation’s Times Square headquarters. On hand to listen and learn from the panelists were roughly 50 alumni of the College of Business Administration at Fordham and other guests.

The conversation, which featured speakers from Thomson Reuters and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, focused on the future of global finance and changes wrought by the worldwide economic crisis. All agreed that financial growth will be slow in coming, and will be predicated on the actions of governments and willingness of investors to accept risk.

“Given the state of the world economies, the solution will have to involve some combination of cutting spending and increasing taxes,” said Stanley G. Lee, senior vice president of Newberger Berman. “That hasn’t been factored into the market right now, but when it comes, it will cause some pretty major shocks.”

Steven Wilson (CBA ’89, GBA ’91), adjunct business professor at Fordham, said he is consistently surprised at how disconnected people are from their retirement accounts. Many have no knowledge of their asset allocations, while those who do don’t know how to manage their funds.

“Two years ago, some people who were near retirement lost 40 percent of their value,” he said. “There’s no way you should tolerate that kind of risk at that age.”

Panelists differed on how the crisis has changed investors and financiers, with some believing that the recent turmoil will be a watershed event.

CBA Dean Donna Rapaccioli told guests about Fordham’s plans to renovate Hughes Hall. Photo by Chris Taggart

“There have been several bubbles and bursts, but I don’t think that people have observed major institutions go out of existence,” said Eric Jones, global head of product management and strategy at Thomson Reuters. “People know now that risk really means that you could lose everything.”

Others argued that human nature and the emergence of new financial leaders will continue the cycle of financial bubbles and bursts.

“People will go right back to doing what they did before unless they learn new habits. Greed has not changed. Ignoring the fundamentals has not changed,” said Patricia Doran Walters, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of accounting at Fordham.

“The crisis hasn’t affected my day-to-day life very much, nor has it for many of my students,” she said. “Part of the problem is that most of the people who are going to be the financial leaders of tomorrow haven’t been affected.”

The biggest change in global finance, the panel agreed, will be a shift in leadership from the economies of Western Europe and the United States to India and China.

“We’ve seen growth markets decouple from established Western economies,” said Stephen J. McGuinness (CBA ’82, GBA ’91), co-chief operating officer of the investment management division at Goldman Sachs.

“It’s hard to understand these places unless you go there,” McGuinness said. “Seeing the drive and efficiency of the people in Southeast Asia and India—you’re really bowled over. To the people in Western Europe, you have to say, ‘Folks, wake up here. The rest of the world is coming.'”

Supporting McGuinness’ assertion about emerging Asian dominance, Thomas R. Robinson, Ph.D., managing director of the CFA Institute’s educational division, said that the organization’s fastest-growing area is Asia, including India. He pointed out that while attrition in the institute’s training program hovers around 30 percent worldwide, in India it stands at less than 9 percent.

The CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals, is a program partner of the College of Business Administration.

“CBA is the only undergraduate school of business in the tri-state area to receive that distinction,” Daleo said.

After the discussion, Donna Rapaccioli, dean of CBA and the Fordham business faculty, extolled the virtues of CBA’s partnership with the CFA Institute and presented her vision for the future of the college. The coming years will include the transformation of Hughes Hall into a new home for undergraduate business.

For more information about the Hughes Hall Renovation, please click here.

Joseph McLaughlin