Cooney, a beloved professor, chair, and associate dean, who dedicated more than 40 years of her life to Fordham, passed away at the age of 73 on Feb. 22 at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.

“First of all, we were all stunned,” Doyle McCarthy, professor of sociology and American studies, said about her friend and former colleague. “Very strong personality, a tough person, and a heart of gold. She was an extraordinary mentor and teacher. She was the most prepared member in the room at a faculty meeting. She was a very thorough and detail-focused person.”

Cooney started her career at Fordham as an assistant professor of sociology in 1974. She moved up the ranks, becoming a full-time professor who received tenure in 1980, before becoming the associate chair for undergraduate studies, the associate chair for graduate studies and then, the department chair. She was appointed as the associate dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill in 2000 until she retired in 2016.

“I know the Fordham family joins me in mourning Dr. Cooney’s death,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University. “During her long tenure here she championed the values and actions that set Jesuit institutions apart from their peers. Rosemary elevated us, instructed us, and loved us. For those qualities and many more, we will miss her deeply.”

Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., who worked with Cooney for the last four years of his tenure as the dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, said that she was a “wonderful person.”

“She did such an incredible job, because she is so efficient and so on top of the numbers,” he said. “She was a wonderful person to have in the office. She was always upbeat. All of the assistant deans really loved Rosemary.”

Cooney earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in 1969. She earned both her master’s in 1971 and her Ph.D. in 1973 in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1977, she was recognized in Outstanding Young Women of America and in 1980, she was included in the International Who’s Who in Education.

She published numerous scholarly articles, focusing mainly on labor, family life, immigration, and civil rights in China, Puerto Rico, and the United States. She co-authored many of these articles with her students.

Orlando Rodriguez, Ph.D., professor of sociology, said Cooney did a lot of work at Fordham’s Hispanic Research Center, which operated from the late-1970s until the mid-1990s and focused on issues related to the Hispanic population.

“We did one publication … called ‘New York’s Newest Hispanic Populations,’” he said. “She did all the very fine census analysis. That was in 1985 and that was a time when Ecuadorians, Dominicans, Peruvians, Mexicans—groups that were not part of the Hispanic population back then—popped up in the census. She was able to show that the Hispanic profile of New York City had changed quite a bit, so that was a major contribution.”

McCarthy said that she really saw Cooney shine when she worked with graduate students.

“I think she felt most at home as a mentor of graduate students, supervising research projects—that’s where I think she was strongest and best and outstanding, in fact,” she said.

One of those students was Jiali Li, GSAS ’92, who became one of Cooney’s best friends. Li said Cooney was having health issues and trouble speaking Friday night and was taken to the hospital; she died Saturday morning.

“In the classroom, she was the best teacher,” said Li, for whom Cooney served as a Ph.D. mentor. “She was the best professor I had at Fordham. She was very easy to understand and very fun. [In] every one of [her classes]she was very lively and gave great examples; her class was never boring.”

Li said Cooney helped diversify the sociology program’s offerings, adding classes such as those on demography, that gave students like Li an opportunity to learn skills that could be useful in their careers.

The two co-published articles together that include “Son Preference and the One Child Policy in China: 1979-1988,” featured in Population Research and Policy Review in 1993, and “Household Registration Type and Compliance with the One Child Policy in China, 1979-1988,” published in Demography in 1994.

Right after she graduated, Li said that she remembered Cooney saying to her, “you’re just going to call me Rosemary … no more Dr. Cooney.”

From then on, Li said they became best friends, and Cooney was someone she could always depend on.

“She’s a caregiver to everybody, even to me,” she said. “So many people are like, ‘oh I can help you,’ and end up not showing up. She would go out of her way to make sure she did everything she promised.”

She was also known for going above and beyond to help her students, Rodriguez said, particularly those who were the first in their families to pursue an advanced degree.

“She was very interested in mentoring people whose parents were not [academic]professionals, who were new to graduate work, and that required quite a bit of work and she was very good at it,” he said.

Cooney was also supportive of faculty, particularly when they were looking to advance in their careers, McCarthy said.

“If we were going up for promotion or tenure, she would be encouraging to us—those are very difficult things for faculty members who are young,” she said. “If you don’t have a chair that does that, it can be demoralizing for faculty. She was just the opposite, she always encouraged us.”

Cooney’s work was recognized by many at Fordham. The University’s Graduate Student Association named her the “Teacher of the Year” in 1987 and she received both the 20-year and 40-year Bene Merenti Medals in 1994 and 2014, respectively.

After she retired from the University in 2016, Cooney and her husband, Patrick, established a scholarship fund. Named the Santana Cooney Endowed Scholarship Fund, the gift will provide financial aid and foster diversity of the student body by supporting minority students.

“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,” Cooney said about the scholarship in fall 2019.

Rosemary and Patrick Cooney met in high school and were married during their junior year of college. Patrick, who earned an M.B.A. from Fordham in 1979, collaborated with his wife on Discovering the Mid-Atlantic: Historical Tours, a guide book for amateur historians and parents looking to spark their children’s interest in historical places. Rosemary, who loved to take photos, contributed all of the photographs for the book.

Li said that her friend loved life and loved traveling, particularly to Arizona and Utah, and was looking forward to continuing to grow her other passions.

“She wanted to enrich her life,” Li said. “She was learning piano, she was really into photography—she took tons of pictures.”

Cooney leaves behind her husband and their son, Carl.

“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.