For that, she said, one need only harken back to the efforts of the faculty, staff, and administrators of the past. It’s a notion she has seen both in New Orleans, where she served as president of Loyola University before coming to Fordham and in the Bronx.

“When I was a child, my dad used to stop us every time we walked past a live oak, one of those massive, majestical trees draped in moss, and tell me, ‘The person who planted that tree did it for their grandchildren, not for themselves.’” We passed a lot of oak trees in New Orleans, so I heard this story a lot,” she said.

“But he was right, and so it is for us. The people who planted the elm trees on our Rose Hill campus did it knowing they wouldn’t be beautiful for generations to come. But they did it anyway. The success and resources we have today at Fordham came from people just like us, who carefully set aside money at the end of every year to grow in the endowment or to invest in new programs, new research, new ideas.”

Our job now, she said, is to plant new seeds, “play the long game,” and be creative.

“At this moment in higher ed, the riskiest bet available is to double down on inertia and short-term thinking,” she noted.

Fordham is already in an excellent position to advocate for change she said, as an institution that fights against hate and racial injustice and promotes values such as human dignity, welcoming the stranger, and understanding that we are all equally loved by God.

“At a time when the richest 10% of Americans own almost 90% of the wealth, we fight against the ways the game is rigged. We refuse to squander this country’s talent,” she said.

Fordham brings the promise of elite academic excellence to students from everywhere—from both poverty and privilege, and from every creed and color. “Twenty percent of our students are the first in their family to go to college, carrying the hopes and dreams of generations on their shoulders. Almost half of our undergraduates are students of color.”

She also noted that as a Jesuit institution, constant improvement is a trait that “is written into our DNA.” The motto “change nothing, improve everything” is particularly relevant to the moment, she said, noting that members of the Society of Jesus actually have a name for the concept: “indifference.”

“It’s an odd name because it also means the opposite of indifference. It means we decide what matters most—our guiding principles, our mission, our purpose —and to those, we cling fiercely. But we let go of our attachment to everything else,” she said.

“Indifference also means—prepare yourselves—letting go of our attachment to the way we’ve always done things. That’s obviously easier said than done.”

Tetlow noted that she was still in the process of introducing herself to the community and learning about the inner workings of the University. When it comes to specific plans for the future, she prefaced her remarks by saying she’s inspired by her Uncle Joe, a 91-year-old Jesuit who is her “personal Obi-Wan Kenobi.” During the pandemic when she agonized about decisions related to COVID, she said, he kept telling her that “the answer to the crisis can be found inside the crisis.”

“It got annoying because I knew I was supposed to know what it meant, and I didn’t. But then it dawned on me. This is one of those great insights of Jesuit discernment. Instead of trying to project the answer to the crisis from the outside—to use the premade solution—we find the answers by digging into the particulars of how the problem presents itself here, with us, at this moment,” she said.

“I imagine that some of you will be eager for me to present a fixed vision of the strategy ahead, but right now, I am in deep discernment mode. I am trying very hard to avoid jumping to conclusions, or thinking I have the answers too quickly.”

Tetlow promised she’d circle back in a month or so to share the insights she’s learned. In the meantime, she said, it’s worth reflecting on why change is necessary.

“Now that we all have the curse of living in interesting times, we’ve learned that no one puts up a sign saying, ‘Heroes, turn this way,’ or ‘Major moral choice on the horizon.’ Instead, those opportunities come in thousands of daily decisions. Little things that add up to big things,” she said.

The good news, she said, is that doing the right thing, and having an impact, will make Fordham stand out in a crowded market. And the current generation is on board.

“They want to challenge authority, transform systems, question orthodoxy. They demand that we move beyond our own narrow self-interest,” she said.

“There is nothing more Jesuit than that.”

The beauty and magic of being part of a university is it gives one the opportunity to be a force multiplier, she said. So when we feel tired and cynical ourselves, it’s important to remember that we have the privilege of teaching thousands of students who still have hope and idealism.

“Our students need the skills to make a difference in the world, but not just that. They also need the emotional intelligence to actually make a difference. They need to understand that liking a protest video on TikTok or indulging in displaced anger, does not count as effective activism. We at Fordham can model for our students how to not just tear down, but to build. To solve. To inspire.”

Watch the full address below:

“For Fordham, this past year, difficult as it was, was marked by heroism, creativity, determination, flexibility, and devotion,” he said. “I find myself filled with deep gratitude to all of you for all that you did to enable our beloved community to emerge from the many challenges it faced with such strength, such conviction, and such discerning love.”

New Talent On Board

Father McShane began his speech by welcoming several new leaders at the University, including Jose Luis Alvarado, Ph.D., the new dean of the Graduate School of Education, John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry, and Anand Padmanabhan, vice president for information technology.

 Admission Amidst Change

In an analysis of the past year’s student admissions, Father McShane said more than 46,000 applications were processed by the University for its three undergraduate colleges. Just over 53% of those who applied were admitted, which yielded a total of 2,848 students who enrolled—an increase of almost 800 from last year. The quality of the class is very strong, he said. The average SAT for the entering class is 1392, up 56 points from last year’s average, and the average GPA is 3.67. The increase in test scores could be partly be attributed to the test-optional policy instituted this year, he said.

As for the demographic breakdown, he noted that the following are our top three feeder states: New York, home to 36% of new students; New Jersey, at 13%; and California, at 7%.

“California sent 193 [students]—20 years ago it was just 20 students,” he said.

Massachusetts came in at 6%, Connecticut at 5%, Pennsylvania at 3%, Maryland at 2%, Illinois at 2%, Texas at 3%, and Florida at 2%. He noted that the Texas and Florida numbers are significant, as the University needs to draw more students from those regions, as well as the Carolinas, since attracting students beyond the Northeast is key to growth, he said. In addition, the University welcomed 172 international students in the new class, up from 111 last year.

Diversity in the New Class

Perhaps most importantly, he said, 44% of new students are from traditionally underrepresented groups, up from 39% last year. The number of Black students increased from 76 in last year’s incoming class to 189 this year, while the number of Hispanic students increased from 328 to 515.

“This is an inflection point in our history. This is a very important moment for us and we want to make sure we continue to engage, enroll, and retain larger numbers of Black and Hispanic students,” he said, before tipping his hat to teams from Office of Admissions, the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, and the HEOP and CSTEP programs.

Best Fundraising Year Ever

On the fundraising front, Father McShane noted the University recovered from last year when the pandemic had a negative impact on fundraising.

“We rebounded magnificently and were able to raise $83,727,733, making the 2020-21 year the University’s best fundraising year ever. Moreover, the amount that we raised last year brought our fundraising total over the past 18 years to more than a billion dollars.”

As mentioned in his past two convocation addresses, he noted that the University is still in the quiet phase of a new comprehensive campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student.

“As its name suggests, this new campaign is aimed at helping us enrich the student experience in all of our schools,” he said.

He said the campaign has four central pillars: access and affordability, for which the University seeks to raise $100 million; academic excellence, for which $150 million is being sought; student wellness and success, with a goal of $70 million; and athletics, at $30 million. Efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, for which the University is seeking $120 million, run through all the pillars, he said.

During the quiet phase the University has raised slightly over $155 million. He noted the public phase of the campaign will begin at this year’s Founder’s Dinner, which will be held at a new venue, the Glasshouse in Manhattan, on Nov. 8.

Father McShane noted that he and the Alumni Relations team have hit the road again after spending a year socializing on Zoom.

“You can’t shake hands remotely,” he said dryly.

He noted that alumni events are back in full swing, but he called out the “fusion” events in particular, where prospective students meet alumni.

“These are magic! Our alumni sell the place from heart, with great gusto, with stories, and with conviction. Therefore, the yield at these events is about three times higher than our overall yield rate,” he said.

Reviewing the Rankings

Father McShane noted that the University has seen its rankings in U.S. News & World Report rise and fall over the years. After a climb from No. 74 to No. 66 in last year’s rankings, this year the University fell two places to No. 68. However, the peer assessment score, which climbed from 3.1 to 3.3 last year, remained constant; the indicator gauges how other university presidents, provosts, and admissions leaders think about the institution.

“This a great achievement; it’s the most difficult thing to move the needle on,” he said.

He mentioned several “points of pride” that members of the University can tout.

“We are still No. 41 among all private research universities in the country—that’s pretty damn good, pretty darn good, sorry,” he said, to chuckles from the audience. “We’re No. 7 among the research universities in New York state; No. 6 among Catholic research universities; and No. 4 among Jesuit research schools—not bad.”

He highlighted the social mobility section of the ratings as an indicator that aligns with the University’s mission. The national ranking places the university at No. 179, up from No. 203 last year, landing Fordham as 18th among the overall top 70 schools—many of which did not receive a positive ranking in this area.

“That means we do a far better job than most other private intuitions in the country in making sure that our students achieve to such a degree that they are upwardly mobile socially,” he said, noting that this is particularly important to students from modest means.

Praise for Publishing and Pushing Forward

Father McShane said that despite the challenges of the past year, students and faculty continued to conduct research, receive awards, and publish in books and in journals.

“In the past year, our faculty published 195 books and book chapters and 525 articles,” he said. “In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $17.46 million.”

Students also shined, he said.

On the prestigious scholarship and fellowship front, they won 72 awards, including three Fulbrights (and three alternates), and one Marshall scholarship.

In seeking acceptance to doctoral-level health professional schools, 80 students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center applied for admission to doctoral-level health professions programs last year and 73% were admitted to at least one program. Two-hundred twenty-four students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the Gabelli School of Business applied for admission to law school, and 83% were admitted to at least one program.

Firm Footing for Finances

Father McShane said that frugality, caution, and a surprisingly bullish stock market pushed the endowment past the $1 billion mark, up substantially from the $830 million. The current total stands at approximately $1,028,000,000.

He said that with freezes on both salaries and in hiring, curtailed operating budgets, and infusions of cash from both the federal government and donors, the University was able to present balanced budgets during the pandemic’s nearly two-year run.

“As a result of these same factors, we were able to get through the pandemic without any firings or furloughs,” he said. “Out of an abundance of caution, the present year’s budget is a conservative one, but one that will still allow us to begin to increase our hiring across the University.”

Returning to Normal with Caution and Hope

Father McShane noted that the advent of the vaccines has made it possible for the University to resume many of its activities as in years past.

“But we are still not out of the woods,” he said. “Therefore, we have to remain vigilant as the coming months, and perhaps years, unfold.”

He noted that 99% of the faculty, staff, and student body are now vaccinated, and everyone entering our campuses must provide proof of vaccination.

Confronting Racism

“As all of us know all too well, COVID-19 is not the only pandemic that we are wrestling with,” he concluded. “We are also wrestling with racism, a pandemic that sadly will take longer to address and overcome than COVID-19.  After all, racism has been a feature of American life for 402 years, and a wound that we have not been able to heal in those 402 years.”

He said that the mission calls for every member of the Fordham community to treat every human being with respect, affirmation, reverence, and affection.

“That same mission calls upon us to confront racism and to educate for justice,” he said.

The University has adopted a plan on addressing racism and educating for justice.

“We must give ourselves to that work with focus, conviction, creativity, and love in the coming months and years,” he said. “If we do so, we will be able to say that we have done our part in working to create a country and a culture in which all of our citizens are truly equal, a nation in which each citizen is treated with dignity, respect, reverence, and supportive affection.”

A full transcript of Father McShane’s address can be found here.

Welcome back. Welcome to the opening of the 180th academic year in the University’s history, a year that promises to be one of the most challenging years (if not the most challenging year) in our history. As we begin, I would invite you join me in praying for several of our colleagues who died in the course of the past six months: Fr. Joseph O’Hare, S.J., the longest serving president in our history; Dr. Joseph Cammarosano, a distinguished professor of economics who served for a period of time as our executive vice president (who is widely credited with saving the University in a period of financial peril); Fr. Daniel Sullivan, S.J., a longtime member of the Department of the Biological Sciences; Fr. Raymond Schroth, S.J, a former member of the Department of Communications who was a great and towering presence on campus for many years; Fr. Donald Moore, S.J., a longtime member of the theology department who was known and loved by many; Professor Joel Reidenberg, a peerless educator and a dear friend to all who were blessed to know him; and Professor Joseph Sweeney, another legendary member of the law school faculty. Let us pray in thanksgiving for their lives and their service to our beloved University.

In the course of our time together today, I would like to cover the topics or areas that I normally cover in the State of the University address, namely: New Appointments, Admissions, Fundraising, Diversity Efforts and Initiatives, Rankings and Accomplishments, and Finances, all of which are covered in detail in the customary letters that I send out at the beginning of every academic year.

Before turning to those topics, however, I would like to reflect with you on the two major issues/events of the past year: the pandemic and the blossoming of a new civil rights movement aimed at addressing racism in our country.

Confronting Racism and Educating for Justice

401 years ago, the first enslaved Africans were brought to America against their will. 157 year ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 155 years ago, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. 56 years ago, the Civil Rights Act was passed. 55 years ago, the Voting Rights Act was passed. 108 days ago (on 25 May), George Floyd was killed on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

401 years. Our nation is at an inflection moment in its history. After centuries, we still have not created the kind of nation that our founding documents promised to create. That is to say, we have not succeeded in creating a country and a culture in which all of our citizens are truly equal, a nation in which each citizen is treated with dignity, respect, reverence, and supportive affection, rather than with brutality, disrespect, and exclusion. Sadly, and tragically, the Black community has never enjoyed the kind of respect, and has never had access to the range of opportunities that other communities in our country have had. Therefore, the heartfelt protests that have occurred across the country in the aftermath of the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd are both a cry of the heart from a community that has been the victim of systemic racism for our entire history, and a call to a national examination of conscience on race relations and on racism itself. This is, then, indeed an inflection moment for us. This is a moment for hard, uneasy but absolutely necessary conversations, conversations that can (if we listen attentively to what the protesters are saying) lead to the creation of that “more perfect union” spoken of in the preamble to the Constitution.

I believe with all my heart, therefore, that the present challenging moment is an opportunity, an opportunity to listen and to heal, an opportunity truly to become what our founding documents promised at the time of our national beginnings. I may be wrong, but I think that the peaceful protests that have taken place all over our country in the course of the summer are the beginning (or the first sentences) of our necessary national conversation. They have brought together people from every race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and age group in our country, all united in the strong belief and an urgent message that Black Lives Matter, that Black Lives Are Sacred. They have called us to understand, in this inflection moment in our national history, that attention must be paid, and that change must be effected.

We at Fordham have not been immune to these tensions and this pain. The heartfelt testimony given by members of our community in the course of the summer have made it searingly clear that racism is present here at Fordham. As painful as that admission may be, we must face up to it. Therefore, let me be clear: anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion are institutional and mission priorities at Fordham, priorities that grow out of our identity as an American, Catholic, and Jesuit institution located in the City of New York. As a result of our roots, our mission calls us to treat not just every member of the Fordham community but indeed every human being with respect, affirmation, reverence, and affection. That same mission calls upon us to confront racism and to educate for justice. (With regard to confronting racism, let us be honest. This is and will be an ongoing challenge, for we will be called upon to confront both the kind of blatant, brutal racism that was behind the deaths of George Floyd and so many others of our sisters and brothers, and the racism of indifference that gives blatant racism its real power: the racism of the blind eye, the racism of silence, and the racism of self-absolution.) In the course of the summer, the University developed and published an Action Plan for Confronting Racism and Educating for Justice. The plan contains nearly 40 concrete actions that we will be taking in the coming months and years. I want to stress, however, that the plan is just a beginning. I also want to stress that it will (and must) evolve over time—with the input of the members of the Fordham community. For my part, I want to take this opportunity to apologize from the heart to those members of the Fordham family who have suffered the painful sting of racism here at Fordham. Let us now take up and meet the challenges that lie before us.

The Pandemic and Its Fallout

Six months ago yesterday, we made the difficult but necessary decision to send our students home and to complete the 2019–2020 school year remotely. As you know, after only two days (to give the faculty time to adjust their courses to an online format and to allow the students time to get home), we resumed the semester remotely. Initially, we thought that we might be able to return to normal at the end of spring break. By that time, however, it was clear that the national health emergency would not be over in such a short period of time. Therefore, the final third of the semester was completely online.

I cannot thank the faculty enough for the energy, creativity, and generosity of heart that they showed as they made the difficult transition to online instruction. I also cannot thank the staff of the University enough for all that they did to make the students’ departure from our campuses so smooth. (I would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary work done by the study abroad office staff to get hundreds of students back to the United States and to place them in online courses at Fordham.)

When it became clear that we would not be able to complete the semester on-ground, we had to face the task of balancing a budget that suddenly had a $38 million hole in it ($25 million of which was devoted to refunding room and board charges for our resident students). In order to close the gap, we suspended all University travel, froze all salaries and hiring, and swept as much of the money in discretionary accounts as we could to the bottom line. As a result, we were able to finish the year with a balanced budget.

As the pandemic continued to rage (and as the metropolitan area saw catastrophically high numbers of cases and fatalities), we faced a new set of challenges: drawing up a plan for reopening for the fall semester; creating a contingency budget that would be based on a set of informed assumptions concerning enrollment and expenses; and preparing the campuses to receive students back.

With regard to the planning, informed by the guidelines drawn up by the state and the CDC, the Fordham Forward Task Force drew up a plan that would (we believed) make it possible to resume our work and fulfill our educational mission. Dr. Jacobs worked with the deans and the faculty to develop a hybrid flex model of instruction; Mr. Valera worked with his staff to ensure that our facilities would be up to the codes that the state and the city developed; Mr. Gray worked with his staff to prepare for the safe return of our students. Since the health and well-being of every member of the community was our first and central concern, the task force worked especially hard on developing a layered approach to monitoring the health of the community, an approach that included preliminary education, universal testing (followed by surveillance testing), universal daily screening and contract tracing, as well as a universal mandate for the use of face coverings on campus.

With regard to creating a contingency budget, the cabinet and I went through an extended period devoted to scenario planning, during which we looked at 18 different scenarios. The general headings for the exercise were three:

-On-ground for the full year;
-Online for the full year;
-Online for one semester, and on-ground for one semester.

Under each of these headings, we considered the following variations:

-Full enrollment (based on the preliminary budget that we had built, which was itself based on last year’s budget); then budgets based on projected enrollment declines of 5%, 10%, 12%, 15%, and 25%.

After taking the temperature of our admissions markets, the experience of our peer and aspirant schools, as well as the situation in metropolitan New York, we focused our attention on the scenario that assumed that we would have one semester online and one semester on-ground, and that we would experience a 12% drop in enrollment. (As it turns out, we seem to have landed where that scenario predicted that we would. That meant that we had to close a budget gap of $105 million—the gap between the budget that we had planned to present to the Board in April and a budget that would be based on the conditions I just outlined.)

In drawing up the contingency budget, we were guided by three principles:

1. People come first. Therefore, we have done all we can to hold on to our people, the treasure that makes the University what it is and has always been.
2. We will do all we can to protect and preserve the University and its mission, the mission of providing our students with a world-class Jesuit education that is informed by our commitment to excellence, rigor, and cura personalis.
3. The need to emerge from the pandemic with the strength needed to fulfill our mission and to confront the challenges of the future with renewed hope and vigor.

All of our budget discussions, debates, and tussles have been guided by these principles. I wish that I could tell you that it was a painless exercise, but that would be a lie. The discussions were at times tense. At times, they were hard and painful. The budget that we put together is also a hard one, and one that includes a number of painful but necessary cuts.

Among other things, we have:

-Continued the hiring and salary freezes that we imposed in March;
-Suspended all University-sponsored travel;
-Suspended our overseas operations;
-Pared discretionary spending to the bone;
-Cut back on part-time work;
-Cut back on the use of outside consultants;
-Introduced voluntary separation plans for clerical workers and administrators;
-Reduced University events;
-Reduced hourly labor;
-Utilized unspent endowment funds;
-Tapped all contingency funds;
-Reduced capital spending.

At the present moment, we are approximately $16 million away from a balanced budget for the 2021 fiscal year. We are watching enrollment figures, expenses, and residence hall occupancy (which is now down by 33%—with 1,595 empty beds on our campuses) by the day to see if we will have to seek additional cuts to the budget on top of the $16 million that I just mentioned. For my part, I have to tell you that I stand in awe of the generosity of heart, the patience, and the devotion to Fordham and its mission that every member of the University has shown in the face of these challenges. And my heart is filled with gratitude to all of you. Every day. We will get through this. Of that I am certain. That, of course, is not enough. We have to come through standing tall and ready to continue the sacred mission of the University, a university that has withstood the Civil War, the World Wars, the Great Depression, and a host of other challenges.

Endowment

As a result of the careful policies adopted by the board, a market that has proven to be rather turbulent and resilient at the same time, and conservative budging, the endowment and operating investments now stand at approximately $810 million, down $30 million from $840 million last year.

Fundraising in the COVID Era

Although we were in good shape on the fundraising front for the first three quarters of the fiscal year, the pandemic had a negative impact on the final quarter (the quarter during which we usually close many of the gifts that we have been working on). As a result, when we closed the books on the fiscal year, we had raised only $52,338,612, down substantially from the $67 million that we had raised the previous year when we closed out the $175 million Faith and Hope Campaign for Financial Aid.

As I mentioned at last year’s Convocation, as soon as the last campaign was over, we began to plan for our next campaign, a campaign that will focus on raising money to enrich the student experience in all of our schools, and whose goal has tentatively been set for between $350 and $400 million. We engaged the services of Community Counseling Services to assist us in the preparations for the campaign. Their research has indicated that there is great enthusiasm among our donors for the campaign, but that there is also some hesitancy about entering the public phase of the campaign before late in the fall of 2021.

Fundraising was not the only Development casualty of the pandemic. Our traditionally full calendar of alumni visits had to be pared down considerably after 9 March. (This meant that we were not able to hold “fusion” events to which we invite both our alumni and our prospective students. Since our yield from the student groups who attend our fusion events on the road is around three times higher than our overall yield rate, this had an impact on our admissions efforts as well.) We intend to return to the road as soon as the national health emergency is over.

Admissions in the COVID Era

Undergraduate Admissions:

Last year, we had our 28th year of application growth. In fact, this past year, we received and processed 47,884 applications for admission to our three traditional-age undergraduate colleges, 16 more than last year. We offered admission to 52.5% of those who applied. At the end of the cycle, we enrolled a total of 2,059 students, a decline of roughly 200 from last year. (In order to enroll the entering class and to make it possible for many of our upper-class students to return, we had to increase our financial aid budget. As a result, our discount rate rose, putting further strain on the budget.) The quality indices for the class are very strong: the average entering SAT for the class is 1336, down 19 points from last year’s average, and the average entering GPA is 3.64. The number of National Merit Scholars is 43 (down from 54) and the number of National Hispanic Scholars is 57 (down from 62). The number of Presidential Scholars is 6 (even with last year).

As for demographic breakdown, the following are our top 10 feeder states:

New York: 37%
New Jersey: 14%
Connecticut: 7%
Massachusetts: 5%
California: 5%
Pennsylvania: 4%
Texas: 3%
Illinois: 2%
Florida: 2%
Maryland: 1%

In addition, we have 114 international students in the freshman class, down from 168 last year.

As for gender breakdown: the class is 41 percent male and 59 percent female.

As for ethnicity, 39 percent are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society. While total enrollment fell from 2,236 to 2,059, Asian enrolls went up from 286 to 310.

Finally, we enrolled 108 students in our HEOP program.

New Hires and Appointments

I would like now to turn to the first topic that I mentioned a few moments ago, namely the introduction of a key new hire:

Dr. Tyler Stovall, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Dr. Stovall comes to Fordham from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he was dean of the Humanities Division and Distinguished Professor of History. Before arriving at UCSC in 2015, he served as dean of the Undergraduate Division of Letters and Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2016–2017, Dr. Stovall served as president of the American Historical Society, the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. He earned a Ph.D. in modern European/French history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Internal Promotions and Appointments

Ms. Margie Ball has been named Secretary of the University and General Counsel of the University.
Dr. Akane Zusho has been named the Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Education.
Mr. Edward Kull has been named the Interim Athletic Director of the University.
Mr. Nicholas Milowski has been named the Assistant Treasurer of the University.

Faculty Hiring

This year, we have welcomed 45 scholars to the faculty of the University. They include 6 endowed professors, 34 tenure-track faculty members, and 5 non-tenure track visiting scholars. (You will find more information on these new scholars in one of the traditional opening-of-school memos that I will send out next week.)

Rankings and Accomplishments:

Rankings and rating first. As you know, in the course of the past several years, we have seen our U.S. News ranking among national research universities fall from a high of #53 to a disappointing #74 last year. Thanks to the hard work of many members of the University community, this year we saw a significant turnaround: we rose from #74 to #66, a rise of 8 spots in one year.

Looking more closely at the numbers, this year we are #41 among private research universities in the country; #7 among research universities in New York state; #6 among Catholic research universities; and #4 among Jesuit research universities.

Overall: #66

• Rankings in the Categories Behind the Overall Ranking:
• Peer Assessment: 3.3 (up from 3.1)
• Undergraduate Teaching: #44 (down from 34 last year)
• Student Excellence/Selectivity: #69 (up from 70 last year)
• Pell Graduation: 80%
• Faculty Resources: #56 (down slightly from 54 last year)
• Financial Resources: #108 (up slightly from 110 last year)
• Graduation and Retention: #73 (up from 78 last year)
• Veterans’ Ranking: #38 (up from 45 last year)
• Alumni Giving: #45 (up from 52 last year)
• Best Value Ranking: #82 (up from 87 last year)
• Social Mobility: #203 (which puts us at #23 among the top 70, and #34 among the top 100; as well as #6 among private schools in the top 70 and #8 among all schools in the top 100)

In addition, I remind you that The Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked us #15 among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of very modest means.

The Gabelli School of Business

• Undergraduate Program: #67 (down slightly from 66 last year)
• Entrepreneurship: #15
• Finance: #14
• International Business: #10
• Marketing: #20

Graduate Program:

• Full-Time MBA: #80
• Part-Time MBA: #58

The School of Law

• Overall: #27 (up from 39 last year)
• Part-Time Program: #2 (up from 3 last year)
• Trial Advocacy: #9
• Dispute Resolution: #13
• Clinical Training: #17
• Intellectual Property Law: #21
• Business-Corporate: #17
• Contracts-Commercial Law: #23
• Criminal Law: #17
• Constitutional Law: #25

Separately, in the recently released National Law Journal’s “Go-To Law Schools” ranking, Fordham Law ranked 21 overall and 11 in alumni promoted from associates to partner. This ranking is based on law schools that sent the highest percentage of the J.D. class of 2019 to the largest 100 law firms.

The Graduate School of Social Service: #25

The Graduate School of Education: #39

Achievements and Accomplishments

Student Achievements

Prestigious Fellowships and Scholarships: 235 Awards, 2 Alternates, 14 Finalists, 5 Semifinalists.

Highlights include seven Fulbright U.S. Student Program (with two alternates); one Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship in Cote d’Ivoire; one Fulbright Hays Fellowship in Senegal and Burkina Faso; one Coro Fellowship; three Critical Language Scholarships; one Henry Luce Fellowship (declined); one Boren Fellowship; one MacArthur Fellowship; one Goldwater Fellowship; two Department of Defense (DoD) Cybersecurity Scholarships; two Truman
finalists; one University of St. Gallen’s Wings of Excellence Award; two U.S. Presidential Management Fellows; one Horatio Alger Award; one Technology and Public Purpose Fellowship; one NYC Urban Fellowship; two U.S. Department of State Student Internships (Undergraduate); four U.S. Department of State Student Internships (Graduate); one DHS Honors Internship Award; one American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship; one U.S. Foreign Service Award; three continuing Clare Boothe Luce Fellows; one Clare Boothe Luce Fellow; four continuing Clare Boothe Luce Scholars; six Clare Booth Luce Scholars; and four Clare Boothe Luce Summer Research Scholars.

Acceptances into Medical and Law Schools

Doctoral-level health professional admissions: 114 students and alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the College of Professional and Continuing Studies applied for admission to doctoral-level health professions programs last year. (These programs include M.D. and D.O. programs, M.D./Ph.D. programs, dentistry, veterinary, optometry, and other health professions schools.) To date, 78% of those applicants were admitted to at least one program, up just slightly from last year.

Law school admissions: 228 students or alumni from Fordham College at Rose Hill, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and the Gabelli School of Business applied for admission to law school. As was the case last year, 84% were admitted to at least one program. (Nationally, admissions were somewhat lower this year, so Fordham’s admissions rate is 14% above the national average.)

Faculty Achievements

Scholarly Work: In the past year, our faculty published 202 books and book chapters and 554 articles, with the following breakdown:

• Arts and Sciences: 130 books and book chapters, 252 articles
• Business: 10 books and book chapters, 116 articles
• Education: 2 books and book chapters, 37 articles
• Religion and Religious Education: 4 books and book chapters, 5 articles
• Social Service: 15 books and book chapters, 78 articles
• Law: 41 books and book chapters, 66 articles

In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $11.55 million.

Let me close now, if I could, by thanking all of you for all that you do for the University and its students every day. Your work on behalf of our students has always been extraordinary. During this past very challenging year, however, you have outdone yourselves. Every one of you. Every member of the University community: faculty, staff, and administration. You have given of yourselves generously. You have given of yourselves selflessly. You have worked as if there were no clock. (In fact, I know many of you have worked long into the night every night to make sure that the work of the University could continue, that the mission of the University might be accomplished every day in these difficult times.) Your generosity of heart and devotion to the mission of the University fill me with hope, as we face this most challenging year in our history together.

As I said before, I will repeat now. My friends, my sisters and brothers, my colleagues, my companions in mission: we will get through this. We will get through this. Of that I am certain. But as I also said before, just getting through is not enough for us. We’re Fordham. Therefore, we are what I refer to as a necessary university, a university that takes upon itself the great and challenging work of educating students who become graduates with a difference: graduates whose lives are lived by a sense of purpose, the noble purpose of transforming the world. The work of educating hearts and minds to take on that task is always necessary, but especially at this time—for the good of the whole human family.

And so, my dear friends, Fordham is necessary. And if Fordham is, it is necessary for us not merely to get through this; we have to come through standing tall, ready, and strong to continue the sacred and transformative mission that has always been Fordham’s. With your grit, your determination, your devotion, your love, and with the help of God, we will do just that. Fordham. The Jesuit University of New York. The Jesuit University of the Capital of the World. Fordham, the necessary university for this moment in human history, will do great things. Will continue to do great things. Will continue to astound the world with the goodness of its graduates, the excellence of its faculty, and the generosity of everyone associated with it. Thank you. May God bless you all. May God reward you for all that you do. And may God bless Fordham.

Welcome back. I hope and pray the summer was kind to you, and that you managed to squeeze in a good vacation in the course of the past few months. Dr.Freedman’s death has affected all of us deeply. I would ask you to continue to pray for his family as they continue to mourn his loss.

As you know, the Search Committee charged with identifying his successor has already been empaneled and hopes to complete its work by the end of January. In the course of our time together this afternoon, I would like to address the following topics and issues:

• Introduction of New Senior Staff and faculty members.
• The Progress Made by the various task forces created last year.
• Admissions and Enrollment Figures
• Development and the Campaign for Financial Aid
• Rankings and Recognition
• Facilities
• Strategic Planning Themes

I. The Introduction of New Senior Staff and the New Members of the Faculty

A. Dr. Jonathan Crystal has been appointed the Interim Provost of the University.
B. Dr. Peter Stace has been named the Senior Vice President for Enrollment Services and Planning.
C. Mr. Frank Simio has been named the Vice President for Lincoln Center, replacing Dr. Brian Byrne (who retired after forty years of service to the University.)
D. Mr. John Buckley has been named the Vice President for Admission and Student Financial Services.
E. Mr. Rafael Zapata has been named the University’s Chief Diversity Officer, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and my Special Assistant for Diversity.
E. Dr. Arto Woodley, who comes to us from Swarthmore College, has been named the Executive Director of Community-Engaged Learning.
F. Mr. Kareem Peat, who comes to us from Cornell, has been named the University’s Title IX Coordinator.
G. Mr. Shaya Phillips has been named the Interim Chief Information Officer.
H. This year, we have also welcomed 26 scholars to the faculty of the University.

A remarkably talented and diverse group, they will add immeasurably to the life of the University and to the growth of the students entrusted to their care. I would ask the new faculty members who are with us to rise to be acknowledged. Thank you for choosing to spend your professional lives at Fordham. (You will find more information on these new scholars in one of the traditional opening-of- school memos that I sent out two weeks ago.)

II. Task Forces

A. The Budget Planning Task Force: Co-Chaired by Stephen Freedman (now, Jonathan Crystal) and Martha Hirst, this task force has worked through the year to help us create a budget process that is more inclusive, data-driven and more attuned to the strategic needs and dreams of the University. They were assisted in their discussions and deliberations by Huron, Inc. At the end of the 2017-18 Academic Year, they finished the first draft of their report, a report that contains a number of recommendations. Those recommendations are now being reviewed and refined. Once the final report is completed, I will distribute it to the University community.

B. The Retention Task Force: Chaired by Dr. Joe Desciak, the retention task force worked through the year to prepare a recommended action plan that would enable us to address the issues that lead students to transfer out of the University. In response to the task force’s report, we created a small Retention Working Group to determine the next steps. Among the actions taken so far, the University has purchased the software called Student Success Collaborative which is the current state of the art application for tracking student progress as well as identifying students who may be in trouble academically. This software is only as good as its users, though. Over the next year, we hope to have faculty and administrators actively engaged in using the SSC platform for better understanding and supporting the student population.

Fordham College at Rose Hill has hired an assistant dean for student support and success, Ms. Cristie-Bell Garcia. Retention will be a strong component of Ms. Garcia’s responsibilities. Currently, there is a myriad of reasons why a student decides to leave Fordham, from financial to a personal family crisis to a decision to pursue a different academic path. To help understand the motivation, the Retention Working Group is developing a student exit survey. The Retention Working Group will continue to push and examine the retention dilemma. A strong retention rate is important for many areas of University life.

C. The Transfer Admissions Task Force: Chaired by Dr. Jonathan Crystal, the transfer task force also worked through the year to prepare an action plan that would address the barriers that stand in the way of our being able to attract more transfer students to the University. Their work has been wide-ranging, and has involved conversations with the cognizant offices on campus as well as with the Core Curriculum Committee. In the coming weeks, we will create a Transfer Working Group to examine the task force report and determine the next steps.

D. The Diversity Task Force: As you know, the Diversity Task Force completed its work and presented its final report at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. Once its report was presented, the University created its Diversity Action Plan. Among the first actions taken when the plan was completed was the appointment of a Chief Diversity Officer, Mr. Rafael Zapata along with the creation of a three- person team (Mr. Zapata, Kay Turner and Juan Carlos Matos) to lead our diversity efforts. That team has been hard at work for the past year-with telling and positive results. Their work, however, has just begun since the Action Plan is an ambitious one. You will read more about their work in a letter that I will send out next week.

E. The First-Year Experience Working Group: consisting of personnel from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Mission Integration, the first year experience working group met for several months over the last academic year and submitted a report during the summer. Studying models from other universities, the working group formulated an initial proposal for a “first year experience course containing a significant diversity component,” as suggested by the Diversity Task Force Report action plan. Among the recommendations was a course to be piloted, not in Fall 2018 but Fall 2019, as well as further committees to develop the course and to review multiple aspects of the Fordham first year experience. We look forward to further development of this course to be piloted next fall.

III. Admissions

Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment: on the undergraduate level, we had our twenty-fifth year of application growth. In fact, this past year, we received and processed 46,167 applications for admission to our three traditional-age undergraduate colleges, a 2.4% increase over last year’s number. We offered admission to 46% of those who applied. At the end of the cycle, we enrolled a total of 2,265 students. The quality indices for the class are very strong indeed: the average entering SAT for the class is 1355, up 11 points over last year’s average. The average high school GPA is 3.65. The number of National Merit Scholars is 45 and the number of National Hispanic Scholars is 57. The number of Presidential Scholars is 6.

As for demographic breakdown, the following states are our top ten feeder states, with percentages:
New York: 35%
New Jersey: 13%
California: 6%
Connecticut: 5%
Massachusetts: 5%
Pennsylvania: 4%
Texas: 2%
Florida: 2%
Maryland: 2%
Illinois: 2%
In addition, we have 207 international students in the freshman class.
As for gender breakdown: the class is 44 percent male and 56 percent female.
As for ethnicity, 37% percent are from traditionally underrepresented groups in American society.
Finally, we enrolled 110 students in our HEOP program.

On the graduate level, several of our schools continue to deal with challenging national and regional trends. The following schools are experiencing either gains or are in a steady state: Law, GSAS and GSSS. The following schools continue to roll with challenges that are affecting schools throughout the region and the nation: GSE, Gabelli and GSRRE.

Allow me to share an important observation on graduate enrollments: There continues to be significant turmoil in the graduate and professional school markets—some of which are due to the dramatically changed demographics in the Northeast, and some of which are due to uncertainty in international markets with regard to American immigration and economic policies. As a result, we continue to see a rebalancing of the component parts of our student census. That is to say, we continue to find ourselves more dependent on undergraduate enrollments to balance our budgets. (We have more than 9,000 undergraduates out of a total University headcount of roughly 16,250 students. This is, as I pointed out last year, a rather remarkable change from what we saw in the past—when we had far more graduate than undergraduate students at the University.)

While we are still doing well in the undergraduate market, I must point out that those markets are also in some turmoil, especially in the Northeast. (On a related note, we are continuing to watch how the Excelsior Program is affecting private colleges and universities in New York State. So far, we have not been adversely affected by its introduction, but many of our sister schools have significant declines in enrollment as a result of its introduction.)

IV. Development

In the course of the past year, we raised $49.5 million. In addition, as a result of the hard work done by the Development Office in the course of the past three years, we have made good progress on our new capital campaign, the campaign for financial aid. Indeed, we have raised $140 million toward our $175 million goal. Of course, the work of fundraising is never done. Once we have completed this campaign, we will have to gear up for our next campaign, a campaign that will be tied to our facilities needs on both campuses, and the work that we are doing on the strategic planning front.

In order both to complete the present campaign and to prepare for the campaign that will inevitably follow it, we are continuing to cultivate three groups of people in our base: first, those members of the Fordham family who have helped us in the past and who have a clear philanthropic interest in Fordham; second, our younger alumni to foster in them a spirit of giving; and third the parents of our present students. Since they have already invested in Fordham by entrusting their sons and daughters to us, we believe that we can convince them to do so again. At the same time, the Development Office continues to work with our alumni both to solicit gifts and to line up job opportunities for our present students.

V. Rankings. Ratings and Recognition

I would be less than honest if I didn’t tell you that the past year has been a mixed one for us in the world of ratings and rankings.
US News & World Report:
Overall: 70
Subcategories:
Undergraduate Teaching: 52
Counselor Ranking: 62
Selectivity: 66
Faculty Resources: 44
Graduation: 85
Financial Resources: 104
Alumni Giving: 56
Veterans’ Ranking: 37

Gabelli School of Business:
Undergraduate Overall: 62
Undergraduate Subcategories:
Accounting: 52
Entrepreneurship: 27
Finance: 15
International Business: 8
Marketing: 15

Gabelli School of Business Graduate Program:
63 overall,
51 in part-time MBA

Graduate School of Social Service: 24
Graduate School of Education: 70

School of Law:
37 overall,
3 in part-time program.

On a far more promising front, College Consensus (a group that claims that its rankings are based on a critical reading and evaluation of all other ratings and rankings) has a far more positive read on Fordham:
19th best dorms.
11th best school for veterans.
58th best national research university.
In addition, the Chronicle of Higher Education has ranked us #10 among private colleges and universities for improving the upward social mobility of students who come from families of very modest means.

Frankly, I am both dismayed and disappointed that we have not fared better in the rankings. Our student profile has gotten significantly better in the past decade. Our faculty has gotten stronger. Our programs have become more creative and stronger as well. Lest you think that I am indulging in idle boasts, let me share with you the following evidence for my statements:

1. Improvement in our student profile: since 2003, our average entering SATs have gone from 1186 to 1355. In addition, during the past year, we have the following to report:
A. Prestigious Fellowships and Scholarships: 122 Awards, 4 Alternates, 6 Finalists, 8 Semifinalists
Highlights included seven Fulbright Scholarships (with three alternates); one Newman’s Own Fellowship; three Graduate Boren Fellowships; three Gilman Scholarships; one Rangel Fellowship; one Coro Fellowship; one DAAD; one Carnegie Endowment James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship; one Henry Luce Fellowship; one Gates Cambridge finalist; one White House Fellow finalist; three Gates Millennium Scholars attending the University; five Clare Boothe Luce Fellowships; 10 Clare Boothe Luce Scholarships; and three Clare Boothe Luce Summer Research Grants.

B. Acceptances into medical and law schools:
At Rose Hill, 85% of applicants to Medical School programs have been accepted while at Lincoln Center the percentage is 62. Among all health professions, 83% have been accepted.
Among the three traditional undergraduate schools, 91% of those who applied to law school were accepted.

2. Faculty Achievements:
Scholarly Work: In the past year, our faculty published 241 books and book chapters and 413 articles, with the following breakdown:
Arts and Sciences: 155 Books and Book Chapters, 246 Articles
Business: 18 Books and Book Chapters, 54 Articles
Education: 13 Books and Book Chapters, 24 Articles
Religion and Religious Education: One Book, Two Articles
Social Service: 14 Books and Book Chapters, 19 Articles
Law: 40 Books and Book Chapters, 68 Articles
In addition, our faculty have won grants in the amount of $13.2 million.
In light of these achievements, I really do believe that our ratings and rankings are off–and significantly so. Because of this, we have looked ever more closely at the reports that we submit to the various groups that publish rankings to make sure that we have not been shortchanging ourselves. We will continue to do so in the coming years.

VI. Facilities

The past year has been a year during which we did not have any large-scale constructions underway. We were not, however, idle. Far from it. At the Lincoln Center campus, we undertook a gut renovation of the sixth and eighth floors of the Lowenstein Center. In addition, we overhauled the dining facility on the first floor of Lowenstein. Finally at Lincoln Center we spruced up the corridor linking the south end of the campus with the buildings on West 62nd Street. In the coming year, we will begin the renovation of the admissions offices on the second floor of Lowenstein to make it possible for us to accommodate the very large number of prospective students who visit the Lincoln Center campus. (We have invested $400 million in improvements at Lincoln Center in the past 15 years.)

At Rose Hill, we worked on upgrading the computer science spaces in John Mulcahy Hall and have begun the preparatory work for the installation of an elevator in Collins Hall. (We will also improve the overall accessibility of the building as we proceed with the elevator project.) We also installed a solar field on the roof of the garage as part of our sustainability efforts. (This project will result in both savings in our budget and help us achieve the goals that we have embraced as part of our participation in the Mayor’s Challenge on Sustainability). In addition, we have begun a phased process to upgrade our electrical systems (which will require a great deal of work at Thebaud Hall.)

As I mentioned at last year’s Convocation, since we have added over 570,000 square feet of new space to the Lincoln Center campus and gut-renovated more than 181,000 square feet, the time has come for us to focus more attention on the needs of the schools that are housed on the Rose Hill campus.

One final bit of news on the facilities front: since the British Province of the Society of Jesus has decided to close Heythrop College (on whose campus we operated our London Centre), we had to find a new home for our London-based programs. After a great deal of study, we acquired and renovated a new facility in London. Located in the Clerkenwell neighborhood, it is close to the University of London and offers us enough room to expand our operations in Britain. (The new facility will be dedicated in late October.)

VII. Strategic Planning

As you know, for the past three years the University has been engaged in an effort to create a continuous planning process aimed at making us a more agile institution, and therefore an institution that is better equipped to deal and respond to changes in the world of higher education. Led by the members of CUSP, planning has proceeded apace—and in phases.

In the first year of its existence, CUSP identified six overall priorities to direct our efforts to achieve our vision of becoming the Model Urban Jesuit University for the 21st Century:
1) Innovative Jesuit Teaching and Learning
2) The Challenge and Inspiration of New York City
3) Strategically Focused Research
4) Global Engagement
5) The Creation of a Diverse and Inclusive Community
6) The Creation of a Strategic and Nimble Institution‎.

In its second year in existence, CUSP invited the divisions, schools and departments of the University to form local planning bodies. On the basis of my reading of the annual reports that were prepared by the departments, schools and divisions of the University, I can tell you there has been significant—but uneven progress on the local level. Some schools and divisions have, in essence, completed their local strategic plans, while the plans in others are still works in progress. (This is due to differing levels of complexity in the schools and
divisions.)

At the end of its third year in existence, CUSP suggested that the time had come for the University both to retain CUSP in existence, and to turn its attention to the creation of a more traditional strategic planning document (one that would have the more familiar elements of Vision Statement, Themes, Goals, Objectives and Action Plans). Therefore, in the coming year we will do just that. As we move into this new phase of planning, I would like to present you with a little environmental scanning to provide you with the context for all that we will be doing in the coming year:

1. Demographic challenges: the college-age population in the Northeast, the market from which we have traditionally drawn most of our students (on both the undergraduate and graduate levels) has contracted rather dramatically in the course of the past two decades. The decline in the number of students in the Northeast has
been matched or accompanied by waves of school closures or consolidations. As a result, we have worked assiduously to open new markets in other parts of the country and throughout the world.

2. Success with Challenges: thanks to the hard work of our admissions team, we have been able to meet the demographic challenges of the moment. In fact, we have seen our undergraduate population almost triple in size in the course of the past two decades. The growth of our undergraduate schools has coincided with a significant decline in our graduate student enrollments. (In 1992, we had roughly 3,200 undergraduate students and roughly 12,500 graduate students. This year, our undergraduate student population will be nearly 10,000 while our graduate student population will be roughly 7,000.) While the rebalancing of our student population has enabled us to remain fiscally sound, I continue to worry about the fact that we are now more dependent than ever on undergraduates—at a time when the demographics of our primary markets is declining.

3. Public Attitudes toward Higher Education: As you know, recent surveys and news reports have made it very clear (painfully clear) that the public views higher education with increasing suspicion. Moreover, these same surveys and news stories make it clear that the public’s concerns with higher education fall into a number of categories: cost (and return on investment), political attitudes, a suspicion that higher education is out of touch with the economic needs of the nation (and therefore a belief that colleges and universities should be more concerned than they appear to be with work-force development than with character development and the education of informed citizens.) Connected with this, it is sadly the case that the liberal arts have suffered acutely. In fact, the public’s loss of faith in their ability to prepare students for jobs has led to their becoming what one writer in the Chronicle has called “fragile disciplines.” Since we are and have always been an institution devoted to the liberal arts, this is an especially troubling trend.

4. Political Attitudes Toward Higher Education: although there are some differences in the way in which the two major political parties view higher education, it is undeniably true that both parties view what we do with some suspicion, and that both parties are concerned with the cost of higher education, the need to focus on work-force development and a desire to rein higher education in in significant ways. (For my part, I must tell you that I am deeply concerned with the government’s pull-back from the post-World War II covenant that called for the creation of a partnership of families, schools and the government to make college education available to all who wish to seek a degree. The government’s contribution to the fulfillment of that dream/promise has simply not kept pace with the rising cost of living in our country.)

5. Recent Political Action: Interestingly enough, while politicians have called the higher educational enterprise into question and while overall they have shown a willingness to cut government investment in the enterprise, there has been a call to make college free (or at least tuition-free). In New York State, this has given rise to the creation of the Excelsior Program, a program that has had a devastating impact on some of the more than 140 private colleges and universities in the State.

6. International Affairs: As I mentioned a few minutes ago, in the course of the past two decades (and especially in the course of the past five years) we have opened new markets abroad. We have also become rather heavily dependent on those markets for both our undergraduate and some of our graduate programs. Therefore, the present tense state of relations between the United States and other countries is a source of genuine concern for us at Fordham.

7. Delivery of Services: As we are well aware, the world of higher education is not only being changed by these forces. It is also being changed—and changed radically—by the introduction of new methods for the delivery of instruction. These new modes of instruction have called for an adjustment in the way in which we operate and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the ways in which the new generations of students understand, encounter, and engage with the world challenge us to find new ways to educate them.

8. The State of the Church: Since we are a Catholic and Jesuit university, we cannot think that we’re going to be immune from of will be immune from the fallout that’s going on in the church. sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the Church worldwide is a source of concern for us—as it should be. To be sure, we should expect that we may see a hesitancy on the part of parents to entrust their sons and daughters to us. But that is an issue and a challenge that pales in comparison to the other challenges associated with the sexual abuse crisis. Let me pause here for a moment to address this issue.

As a priest, I am ashamed, embarrassed and furious with and by what my brothers in the priesthood have done to young people in our country and around the world. As a priest, I am furious that some of my brother priests have used their positions of trust in the Church to engage in criminal and sinful behavior. They have destroyed lives. They have used the most vulnerable in society for their own pleasure. They are criminals. Criminals. Despicable human beings. I hope and pray that Pope Francis will take the steps that are necessary to address the many issues associated with the crisis, including the removal of those who enabled these criminals in their actions. The Church may be impoverished by the actions that he takes. So be it. The survivors are our primary concern and must remain our primary concern. Their stories must be heard. Their lives must be given back to them. They must be healed. We at Fordham must be attentive to them and their needs.

Fordham’s Value Proposition:
It is against this background that I would suggest that in spite of all of the challenges that we face, we have a value proposition that is compelling and (I hope) compellingly attractive to offer to prospective students. At its heart, the value proposition is born of our distinctive identity as the Jesuit University of New York. Fordham grew up in and with the City it was founded to serve. Therefore, ‎it has evolved with the City, and has been enriched by the City’s energy, innovative spirit, inclusive embrace of “outsiders” and its unique urban culture. (That culture is one that is visionary, pragmatic, open-minded, brash, experimental, innovative in the face of challenge, welcoming and inclusive.

It is also a culture that has valued the arts and put a premium on that civic virtue that inspires the thoughtful, and values the individual citizen–no matter what that citizen’s social status may be. It
is as a result of its possession of these characteristics that, over time, New York has become what it is today: one of the world’s few idea/thought capitals and one of the very few cities in the world in which the future is being created every day—through the creative interplay of vision, pragmatism, openness and exertion. As a result, it has solidified its claim to being the Capital of the World. It remains at heart a harbor city, but now it is as much a metaphorical harbor city as it is a literal harbor city. In this new age, it seeks to capitalize on its role as a harbor that draws dreamers to itself and that plays a major role in the creation and exchange of ideas and discoveries.

Fordham’s evolution has been fostered by the changing and urgent needs of the students whom it has served. At the same time, however, it has never lost its recognizably Jesuit character and mission. That is to say, it has never shed its devotion to the liberal arts, dialogic learning, innovation and a firm belief that education has to be about the preparation of ethical leaders who can transform the world. This combination of the traditional and the innovative have served it, its students and its city quite well.

At this challenging moment in the nation’s and the City’s history, a moment that could be referred to as an inflection or (in Jesuit terms) frontier moment, I believe that Fordham’s history and peculiar culture have prepared it to serve as the necessary university in New York and in America once again. Allow me to explain.

And so we come to the key question concerning our value proposition: What exactly does Fordham offer students that oth‎er schools don’t?

For my part, I think that we make some fairly standard promises that all schools rooted in the liberal arts make. That is to say, in both the core curriculum that we offer our undergraduates and in the curricula that we offer to our graduate and professional school students, we promise students that at Fordham they will learn how: to read critically, to think analytically, to appreciate art in all its rich and enriching forms, to write with precision, elegance and persuasive power, to speak with eloquence, to frame penetrating questions, to read and respond to the signs of the times, to set their moral compass so that they can be strong moral agents in the world, to engage in strong and rigorous debates, debates that require the discerning use of evidence and logic, so that they can live their lives with a sense of noble purpose: the transformation of the world through leadership marked by wisdom, integrity and passion.

In addition, however, Fordham challenges its students in several ways that are not so readily either embraced by or celebrated in other schools. To wit, we challenge our students to learn how to plumb the depths of faith. Moreover, since Fordham is a school that lives under the mandate to seek the magis (the “more” in secular terms, and the greater glory of God in religious terms), we both warn our students to be uneasy with intellectual smugness and/or triumphalistic orthodoxies (wherever they are found or however they are framed), and exhort them to live lives marked by a humble sense of wonder (which is the sign of a truly educated person). I would also submit that since they are advised/exhorted/expected to engage and/or embrace the world from this vantage point, our students are invited to live their lives with a restless or bothered excellence. In other words, they will be forever open to further questioning—and further discoveries.

These emphases would be useful in any age and any city. In New York at the present time, a time of turmoil, polarization, dislocation and the emergence of new ways of knowing and communicating, they are simply indispensable, even necessary. Therefore, I would like to make my case for thinking that Fordham is the necessary university for the City, the nation and the world at this time by placing before you a series of forthright statements that I believe make my case:

In an age of political polarization, we exhort our students to be and to become informed, critical citizens.
In an age fascinated with the glib, our devotion to the liberal arts leads our students to frame discerning questions and to seek wisdom, and not mere throwaway lines.
In a xenophobic age, we remain a school that welcomes and values immigrants and that even believes that they are a gift to our country and the world.
In an age in which both the world and our nation wrestles with religious pluralism and religious violence, we take religion seriously. We take pride in being a place where faith is honored and respected, and where interreligious dialogue is fostered. We enshrine the study of religion in our core curriculum to ensure that our students understand both the power and promise and the volatility of religion.
In an age of digital overload, we seek to provide our students with the intellectual tools that will enable them to be both savvy and critical consumers of cyber knowledge, and to become players in the development of a new and responsible digital culture.
In an atomistic age that values and canonizes rugged individuals, we stress the need for the development of the kind of civic engagement and civic virtue that lead to responsible citizenship and responsibility for all.
In an age that can be all too utilitarian, we honor creativity. We continue to believe that the arts offer timeless insights into the human heart and affirm the transcendent value of the human soul.
In an age that can all too frequently value people on the basis of wealth and devalue people on the basis of race, we teach our students that each person has intrinsic worth and is endowed with a dignity that must never be abridged or attacked.
In an age that is awash with what is referred to as fake news, we teach our students to question easy answers to difficult questions and to weigh all claims on the basis of hard evidence, no matter how unsettling that evidence may be – even to their own sensibilities.
In an age filled with competing orthodoxies, we teach our students that the art of the question is just that: an art. And a saving, balancing art at that.
In an uncertain age, we are serious about, and remain committed to the proposition that education is about character development, and that the world needs men and women of character, wisdom, integrity, and strength.
This is the work, the mission of Fordham, the Jesuit University of the Capital of the World and the Necessary American University for the 21st Century.
This is what we offer, and what should guide us in all of our planning.
May God bless our efforts with success but protect us from complacency as we seek to carve out a challenging niche as the necessary university for our age.