The ceremony, held on June 28 at the Lincoln Center campus, honored the 54th graduating class of Fordham’s International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance (IDHA), an intensive four-week training program geared toward mid-career professionals in the humanitarian aid sector.

In addition to 22 IDHA graduates, two graduates of the Master of Arts in International Humanitarian Action program, a joint degree offered by the International Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, were lauded.

On his last day as Fordham’s vice president for administration, Thomas A. Dunne was also honored for his ongoing work with Fordham Law Schools’ Dilly Pro Bono Project, which assists immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border.

In his address, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, made a point of telling graduates that he schedules his annual year-end retreat so he can attend the ceremony.

“You are built very different. You respond not so much to things and situations as to people. You champion the human dignity of those who live at the edge of human society and the shadowy places of the world,” he said.

“You should really be hailed as masters of compassion, doctors of the human form. That is who you aspire to be, and to become ever more fully, as you begin your professional careers in the field. The field is those parts of the world where human dignity is affronted, and the human heart is tested.”

The graduates hailed from 14 countries, including Sudan, Germany, Australia, and Myanmar. They followed the 53rd IDHA class, whose courses took place in Geneva in October and November.

A Tight Camaraderie Forged

Oscar Lindow, a native of Jordan and programme officer at the World Food Programme, delivered the IDHA student address. He marveled at the friendships that he and his fellow graduates quickly established.

“Months ago, most of us had never met. We then confined ourselves to one building, and we’ve been living together, eating together, studying together. We’ve faced problems together; we’ve solved problems together. … That ties people together,” he said.

“We’ve helped each other and looked after each other. As much as I appreciated some great lectures on children in armed conflict and humanitarian principles, I would also take away with me those ties that were created with people.”

Fadiya Al-Shmailawi Mahadi, a classmate and native of Iraq who works in logistics for the International Committee of the Red Cross, echoed Lindow’s thoughts.

“When you do logistics, you sit in an office, you get orders, and you have to sort them out, so you’re not really into the action. You don’t see things. But when I came here, I listened to what other people are doing, even other students,” she said.

“The stories they told, like when they had to face something in the field, like terrorism, were heartbreaking. But I’m glad I got to know these stories.”

Enormous Challenges Ahead

In his farewell speech, IDHA course director Mark Little, M.D., did not sugarcoat the challenges the graduates face. According to a June 19 report from the United Nations, he noted, 70.8 million people around the world were displaced at the end of 2018.

“The numbers are staggering. When I sat in your seats in 2009, it was less than 30 million people who were displaced,” he said.

He noted that more than 800,000 cases of cholera occurred in three months in 2017 in Yemen; hospitals have been bombed in Syria; and the need for shelter, food, water, and sanitation has grown every year. This makes it even more important to remember the image of a displaced one of the first things students encountered when they were welcome to campus on June 2.

“We’ve heard that the world is losing compassion. I want you to remember the future of that child. As a child of that age, I was displaced by a natural disaster. I remember the fear of water swirling around my classroom,” he said, noting that his family moved to Australia in 1968 as a direct result of flood damage done to his home in Surrey, England.

“Standing on a desk, I remember the fear of the water rising and the policeman coming in, waist deep, and the fear in his eyes. I remember my anxiety being held in a police cell, not knowing anyone. And I remember the kindness of people who cared for me until I returned to my family.”

A Calling of the Highest Order

For reasons that are known to God alone, Father McShane said, these graduates’ hearts are attuned to the longing for creating the world spoken of in the Bible’s Book of Revelations 21:4.

“Then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away. There shall be no more mourning, nor crying out, nor pain, for the former things have passed away,” he said, referencing the scripture. “My friends, this is the vision for your lives. This is the vision to which you will give yourselves to from now until the day you are dead.

“Use your gifts and your mastery of the art of compassion to bring about the realization of this sacred, noble, and divine vision. Glory in being different from others, and realize the dream of a more just society, in which every tear will be wiped away and every heart will sing.”

Dear Members of the Fordham Family,

As you are likely aware, I and every other president of a Jesuit university in the United States, have vigorously opposed ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. I believe rescinding DACA is not only foolish, but unfathomably cruel. The decision throws the lives of 800,000 Dreamers into turmoil, damages our economy, and erodes our national security. For what? It is a naked appeal to the darkest side of human nature, and it is a stain on the promise of our country.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called the cancellation of the DACA program “reprehensible,” and goes on to say:

The Church has recognized and proclaimed the need to welcome young people: ‘Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me’ (Mark 9:37). Today, our nation has done the opposite of how Scripture calls us to respond.

The University has just updated its page, Resources for Undocumented Students (DACA), to reflect the administration’s decision to rescind DACA: www.fordham.edu/daca

Below is a message from Tom Dunne, vice president for administration, on some of the measures Fordham is taking to support Dreamers. I urge you to do whatever you can to help our immigrant brothers and sisters in their time of need.

Fordham has always been a home for immigrants, in a city of immigrants. We will remain true to our roots, and to the Jesuit, Catholic spirit that guides us.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

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Fordham University has been steadfast in support of the DACA Program in our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., and in Albany.  We will continue to actively and aggressively engage federal policy makers in an effort to either reverse the order or secure a legislative remedy. We are urging the White House and our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to support legislative proposals such as The Dream Act (Durbin-Graham).

Our advocacy efforts include, but are not limited to the following: internet letter writing campaigns, post card campaign, radio advertisement and podcasts, newspaper editorials, use of phone banks for call-in campaigns, involving university stakeholders and Congressional visits. To learn more about our advocacy efforts, and to be part of the campaign, please contact Ms. Lesley Massiah-Arthur, associate vice president for government relations and urban affairs, at [email protected].

Tom Dunne, Vice President, Administration

The parade drew 250 members of the Fordham community, whose marching performance earned Fordham first place in the Universities category.

Accepting the award on the University’s behalf before the foundation’s quarterly meeting at the Lincoln Center campus were Tom Dunne, vice president for administration, and Shannon Hirrel, FCRH ‘10, assistant director of alumni relations, NYC programming.

Fordham’s deep ties to the parade will continue, as Michael J. Dowling, GSS ‘74, president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health, will serve as Grand Marshall for the parade in 2017.

A native of Limerick and a former professor of social policy and assistant dean at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Services, Dowling is believed to be the first head of a hospital to lead the 255-year-old parade.

In the brief, the groups identify climate change as an urgent issue that must be addressed and outline the moral obligations around reducing carbon pollution and protecting the most vulnerable from the dangerous consequences of climate change.

The brief was submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is currently reviewing industry challenges to the Clean Power Plan.

Tom Dunne, vice president for governmental affairs at Fordham, said when Fordham was approached by Catholic Climate Covenant to join the brief, it was an easy choice to make given the University’s involvement projects such as the New York City Carbon Challenge.

“Signing on to the amicus brief in support of the EPA regulations of electric power plants to cut emissions is the right thing to do.  We are poisoning our environment, our planet, our home,” he said.

“If as a society we can leave our children’s children fresh air and clean water, we will truly be remembered as men and women for others.”

Catholic Climate Covenant executive director Dan Misleh said that the Clean Power Plan, which was unveiled by President Obama in August and delayed by the Supreme Court in February until the Court of Appeals could rule on it, helps answer Pope Francis’ call to action in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si.

“The Clean Power Plan helps individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments alike to care for God’s creation and protect human life, especially the most vulnerable among us,” Misleh said.

“The EPA has issued compelling findings demonstrating that the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are a danger to public health and welfare. We must act with urgency. Last year—the warmest ever recorded—indicates that the climate continues to change at an accelerated pace. It is our moral responsibility to reduce the impacts of the climate change we have contributed to, and fulfill our duty to care for our common home.”

The list of signees to the brief includes several Jesuit colleges and universities, including Loyola University Maryland, The College of the Holy Cross, and LeMoyne College. The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case on June 2, 2016, with a decision expected later this year.

Fordham University has reorganized its administrative structure, naming Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., the University’s provost, and Thomas A. Dunne, Esq., as vice president for administration. Both promotions took effect in September.

The changes come as Fordham enters the final phase of Excelsior | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham, typically regarded as the most challenging portion of a capital campaign. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, has elected to streamline the University’s administrative structure so that he can devote more of his time and energy to fundraising.

Freedman, formerly senior vice president/chief academic officer, and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, came to Fordham in 2007 from Gonzaga University, where he was academic vice president.

“This promotion comes in recognition of both the strong record of achievement that Dr. Freedman has compiled in the course of his tenure at Fordham, and the centrality of academics in the life of the University,” Father McShane said. “In Stephen, the faculty find a warm colleague, very able administrator and staunch advocate.”

Dunne was named vice president for government relations and urban affairs at Fordham in 2008, when he came to the University from Verizon-New York, where he was the vice president of public policy and external affairs.

“Tom Dunne has proved himself again and again since his arrival at Fordham,” Father McShane said. “His steady hand and legal experience were pivotal in the approval for the development of the Lincoln Center campus, and his willingness to take on a greater administrative burden will be critical as I devote more of my time to the campaign.”

Fordham publicly launched its campaign in March 2009. Since that time, in spite of the economic downturn the University has raised $364.8 million toward the campaign’s $500 million goal.

As provost, Freedman will continue to oversee the operations of the University’s 10 schools as well as the University Library, Fordham University Press, WFUV, Institutional Research, Prestigious Fellows and Fordham’s efforts in international education and distance learning. He also will direct all strategic and curricular planning for all of the University’s academic units, and will take on expanded responsibility for the planning and disbursement of all academic budgets.

Dunne’s portfolio as vice president for administration will include the Office of the Vice President for Lincoln Center, and the Office of the Vice President for Facilities Management. Dunne will continue to direct the staff of the Office of Government and Urban Affairs.

In addition to Freedman and Dunne, the following vice presidents will serve in the president’s cabinet:

• John Lordan, senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. He will continue to oversee all of the financial operations of the University, and will continue to coordinate and direct the University’s budget planning process. The Office of the Vice President for Finance, and the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer will continue to report to Lordan.

• Peter Stace, Ph.D., vice president for enrollment. He will continue to coordinate and direct all of the efforts of the staffs of the Admissions Office, the Financial Aid Office, the Academic Records Office and the Student Accounts Office.

• Jeffrey Gray, vice president for student affairs. He will continue to supervise the offices of Student Affairs and Athletics, and in addition, will direct all of the planning and budgeting work within the Division of Student Affairs. His portfolio will include the Office of the Vice President for University Mission and Ministry.

• Roger Milici, interim vice president for development and University relations. He will continue to oversee the staffs in the offices of Development, Marketing and Communications and Alumni Relations, and will work closely with Father McShane to bring the capital campaign to a successful conclusion.

“I am deeply grateful to Dr. Freedman and Tom Dunne for their willingness to take on additional responsibilities,” Father McShane said in a letter to the University community. “I am also grateful to all of the vice presidents for the devotion, creativity and generosity of spirit that they have shown and continue to show in their service of the University and its students. I would ask all of the members of the University community to keep both the vice presidents and the success of the capital campaign in their thoughts and prayers.”

The event, held in the 12th Floor Lounge at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, was hosted by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Although the bishop was unable to attend, Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano was on hand to greet the archbishop and other guests.

The St. Francis Prep School orchestra provided background music at the reception, at which Archbishop Dolan met with several city heavyweights, such as New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scarpetta and Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY).

Fordham was represented by Brian Byrne, Ph.D., vice president of administration for Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus; and Thomas A. Dunne, vice president for government relations and urban affairs.

“It was not long ago that our schools were a dismal failure and no one wanted to be held accountable,” Dunne told legislators. “New York City public officials abdicated their responsibility and created 32 local school boards. No one person or authority took responsibility for our schools. There was political infighting, confusion, some school boards became patronage mills and as a result the children suffered.  Education was no longer a priority.”

The 2002 law that gives the mayor control over public schools in the city expires on June 30, 2009. Last week the Education Committee held a public hearing on whether to renew the law. Chancellor Joel I. Klein testified in favor of mayoral control before the same committee in February.

Among other issues, Dunne said that advocates for educational reform had no place to go to address some of the problems in city schools because the educational bureaucracy at 110 Livingston Street, former headquarters of the New York City Department of Education, was “monumental” and unresponsive. He added that by giving control of public schools to the city’s mayor, the State Assembly had put in place clear accountability and stable leadership.

Six years after mayoral control was put in place, test scores and graduation rates have improved (up by 22 percent since 2002); teacher salaries are higher; and schools are smaller with fewer in-school crimes.

“A key ingredient in improving school performance is accountability,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “Having the ultimate responsibility for the city’s public schools rest with the mayor insures that schools are judged according to a uniform standard, and that education receives the attention and resources it merits. We owe the schoolchildren of New York City at least that much.”

Community boards are advisory groups, and their resolutions are passed on to elected officials and city agencies. The next steps are a review of Fordham’s plan by Scott Stringer, Manhattan borough president; review by the New York City Planning Commission; and finally a review by the New York City Council. The reviews are part of New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP): Fordham’s master plan was “certified” into ULURP in November, and by statute the process must be completed by July 2009.

“The vote, while not unexpected, was a disappointment,” said Thomas A. Dunne, vice president for government relations and urban affairs at Fordham. “That said, this is a process. Fordham has been in negotiations with Community Board 7 over development of the Lincoln Center campus for some time, and we will continue negotiations with city officials. We are still hopeful that Fordham, the community and city officials will reach a resolution that satisfies the needs of the University and wider community.”

Thomas A. Dunne has been appointed Fordham’s new vice president for government relations and urban affairs.

Dunne, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., comes to Fordham from Verizon-New York, where he was the vice president of public policy and external affairs. He has more than 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors on legislative and policy issues. At Verizon, he was responsible for the corporation’s interaction with various government agencies and officials.

Dunne’s experience includes overseeing a multi-billion dollar franchise agreement between Verizon and New York City that will bring the company’s fiber-optic cable network to all five boroughs. The process involved negotiating with, and gaining multiple approvals from, numerous city and state agencies and officials.

“In light of his wide experience and the remarkable network of contacts that he has established with political leaders in New York City and New York state, I am confident that Tom will prove to be an extraordinarily effective advocate for the University,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

He noted that Dunne’s background will be especially helpful “as we continue our way through the complicated processes associated with securing approval for the master plan that we have developed for our Lincoln Center campus, and as we continue our effort to build bridges to the communities that we are honored to serve.”

Fordham plans to significantly renovate and expand its Manhattan campus. The project will add about 2.36 million feet of floor area, including roughly 1.08 million square feet of academic space, 539,000 square feet of new dormitory space and about 742,500 square feet of new non-Fordham residential space within the existing footprint of the Lincoln Center campus.

“It’s a very exciting project,” Dunne said. “It gives Fordham the opportunity to rebuild its Law School, which is one of the better law schools in the country right now, and which can be one of the best. I’m excited to work with Father McShane, the Board of Trustees and city officials to make this project a reality.”

Dunne has been active in civic affairs throughout his career, including service to the Citizens’ Crime Commission; New York City Police Foundation; New York City Parks Foundation; Mayor’s Mid-Town Task Force; Association of the Bar of the City of New York; Government Affairs Committee of the New York State Business Council; and the Harlem School of Music.

Dunne received his bachelor’s degree from Saint Francis College in Brooklyn and his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School. He began his career as head of the Middle School at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, a progressive school for intellectually gifted students.