“It has been, as we New Yorkers would say, ‘a hell of a year.’ And yet, we, Fordham, did not surrender,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, raising a glass from his office at the Rose Hill campus to his computer screen during the virtual event. “Against all odds, and thanks in no small measure to your great generosity, we were once again able to lean into the moment and to move forward with a sense of purpose and with defiant hope … On behalf of everyone at Fordham, especially our students, I thank you for your ongoing support—support that enabled us to prevail and to dream of a future filled with hope.”

The event offered an immediate way to celebrate the scholars, donors, and honorees this spring, when the Founder’s Dinner would normally take place. The in-person dinner has been rescheduled for Nov. 8, with plans for the usual Founder’s fanfare at a new Manhattan venue—the Glasshouse—pending guidance from city and state authorities.

More than 100 members of the Fordham community gathered on Zoom to salute the 2021 Fordham Founder’s Award recipients: Emanuel (Manny) Chirico, GABELLI ’79, PAR, chairman and former CEO of the global apparel company PVH Corp., and his wife, Joanne M. Chirico, PAR, and Joseph H. (Joe) Moglia, FCRH ’71, former CEO and chairman of TD Ameritrade, chairman of Fundamental Global Investors and Capital Wealth Advisors, chairman of FG New America Acquisition Corp., and chair of athletics and executive advisor to the president at Coastal Carolina University.

“Although we’re not together in person, we are thrilled to be together virtually to celebrate,” said Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, Fordham trustee and Founder’s Dinner co-chair. “We have, this evening, our Founder’s honorees, past and present, and all of you: our generous donors and our Fordham Founder’s scholars, representatives of the University’s most diverse scholarship fund.” 

This past year, the University raised $2,658,795 for the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund—the largest amount raised since the first Fordham Founder’s Dinner in 2002—and celebrated the close of Faith and Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. The newest fundraising campaign, which will focus on the student experience, will be launched at the rescheduled 2021 Founder’s Dinner, said Luccio, co-chair of the new campaign.

Then and Now: A Video Update from 17 Former Founder’s Scholars 

The virtual reception began with the screening of a pre-recorded video featuring former Founder’s Scholars who provided updates on their careers and growing families, from as near as the South Bronx and as far away as Belgium. Among them was an aspiring family medicine physician at University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, a director of strategy at The New York Times, a communications strategist who works with the European Commission, and a Harvard Law School graduate and current director on Barclays’ litigation team in New York, where she lives with her husband, a fellow Fordham alumnus, and their two-year-old daughter.

“As you can see and hear, not only are they all over the United States and the world, but they are having incredible experiences in making impacts on our society,” said Luccio, a Founder’s 2012 honoree, directly addressing the donors on the Zoom call. “And I know all of you are just as proud as I am to be a part of this incredible group in supporting these absolutely amazing young men and women.” 

An Aspiring Cosmologist, A Woman Leader in Global Business, and A Future Ambassador

Three of the current 48 Founder’s scholars shared their stories and gratitude in real time. They reflected on how their Fordham scholarships helped them pursue their career goals amid the pandemic and beyond. 

Benjamin Coco, FCRH ’23, said he is able to attend Fordham for a fifth year to finish his double degree in physics and English and double minor in math and philosophy, thanks to the Founder’s Scholarship. 

“I was inspired by former Founder’s Award recipient, Alex Trebek, to pursue as much knowledge as I can,” said Coco, who plans on pursuing a doctorate in astrophysics. “This universe is filled with countless mysteries, and I hope to discover many of them. I want to express my most sincere gratitude to all of you for making this happen for me.” 

For Kristen Harb, a senior at the Gabelli School of Business and a California native, the pandemic posed a series of challenges. Despite the distance and three-hour time zone difference, Harb worked with her classmates to create the first club at the Lincoln Center campus focused on empowering women in finance and economics, where she helped to mentor more than 120 students. 

“In May, I will receive much more than a degree in global business,” said Harb. “In the past year, I have learned so much about what I am capable of in times of hardship and how my Jesuit education has prepared me to thrive in the face of adversity—and for that, I am eternally grateful.” 

The third and final student speaker, Tauland Kaca, FCLC ’21, shared a personal anecdote. When he was 8 years old, his family immigrated to the U.S. from Albania, a former communist regime that limited his parents’ career paths. Kaca said his parents sacrificed their livelihoods and family ties at home to give him and his older brother access to greater opportunities abroad. But a lack of resources began to jeopardize their hopes for their two sons. 

“Since my parents endured many financial burdens to support my brother, who also went to Fordham and then to Columbia for his master’s, I decided to commute from Brooklyn to the Lincoln Center campus. Regardless, it didn’t take long for me to realize the financial strain my Fordham education was placing on my family … When I received the Fordham Founder’s scholarship last year, those worries faded away. This is especially true amid the pandemic, since my parents have been laid off for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, my dreams have yet to be derailed,” said Kaca, who is considering becoming a judge or a foreign ambassador. “I want to thank you for your support, but most importantly, I want to thank you for your willingness to help students like myself work towards their dreams, free of financial worry.” 

‘This Evening is Our Gift to You’ 

The hour-long evening reception included several other components, including an opening prayer from Fordham trustee Thomas J. Regan, S.J.; pre-recorded performances from Fordham’s Satin Dolls, Ramblers, and the University Choir; and a virtual wine tasting conducted by Gabriella Macari, GABELLI ’09, general manager of Macari Vineyards on the North Folk of Long Island. Two Founder’s scholars, Sydney Veazie, FCRH ’22, and Cameron Chiulli, GABELLI ’21, also livened up the night with several Fordham-related trivia questions, which guests participated in via Zoom’s poll feature.

“This evening is our gift to you. The 48 Founder’s scholars are so grateful that we are still learning, thriving, and dreaming at Fordham with your generous support,” said the evening’s emcee, Founder’s scholar Stevie Rosignol-Cortez, FCLC ’21, a political science student from Texas and an aspiring foreign correspondent.

At the end of the night, Father McShane and Bob Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of Fordham’s Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Founder’s Dinner, offered several toasts to the three Founder’s 2021 honorees; the previous Founder’s award recipients, many of whom joined the virtual reception; and Bill Baker, president emeritus of Thirteen-WNET and Fordham’s journalist-in-residence, who retired this year from his 12-year-long role as the Founder’s Dinner emcee. 

“My friends, let me end with a final toast to the evening,” said Father McShane. “To Fordham: may she always be what she was founded to be—a daring and dangerous school where character has been formed, talent has been nurtured, and hope has been borne for 180 years.” 

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.

I write to you this evening to inform you that Friday, June 19, will be a paid holiday for all Fordham employees this year, and every year thereafter, in observance of Juneteenth, the date upon which news of emancipation finally reached Galveston, Texas.

It was on June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger along with more than 1,800 federal troops arrived to take control of the state, nearly two months after the end of the Civil War, confirming the freedom of the last remaining enslaved persons in the deepest parts of the South. Gen. Granger actually read the Proclamation to the enslaved persons that day in Galveston. The 13th Amendment was ratified six months later, in December of 1865.

If you sense that we came to this decision suddenly, you are correct: in the wake of Governor Cuomo’s executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees this year, a number of you in the University community today asked about Fordham’s intentions to follow suit. We heard you, and we are. (The governor will push for legislation to establish June 19 as an official state holiday next year and thereafter, making New York the 48th state to do so.)

I have attached two documents as aids to our shared day of thought and prayer. Happily, there are also many new and excellent anti-racist resources now available, including a Black Lives Matter resource guide from Rafael Zapata, our chief diversity officer. In addition, Campus Ministry, the Center for Community Engaged Learning, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs will be sharing details tomorrow about a slate of virtual programming to be offered Friday.

In many ways this new Fordham holiday is a symbolic measure, and I will be announcing more concrete actions by the University soon. But symbols matter. Symbols inspire, symbols console, symbols define what—and whom—we care about. I hope you will take this holiday in that spirit.

Finally, know that I keep all of you, and especially our Black brothers and sisters, in my prayers during these troubled and troubling times. I will truly pray that what we are seeing now are the birthing pains of a nation that lives up to its promise of freedom and equality for all.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

Anti-Racism Resources

Emancipation Declaration2

It is with a heavy and (let me be honest here) angry heart that I write to you today. I suspect that your hearts are also angry and heavy with sorrow. And how could we not be angry, dismayed and sorrowful at this moment? In the course of the past few painful months, we have witnessed the savage and senseless killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, as well as many other instances of violence—lethal and not—against people of color in the United States. That is not to mention the longstanding economic violence against people of color and their communities in this country, and the widespread, systemic and shameful disregard for the value of their lives in the eyes of others. (We have seen this systemic disregard quite clearly during the COVID-19 pandemic: amid the suffering across the country, and especially in the Bronx, communities of color were and are more vulnerable and more harshly affected than are white communities.)

I do not think I have to convince any of you that these acts and this state of affairs are sinful and immoral, and that they go against everything that a Jesuit university stands for. I do, however, think that some of our fellow citizens need to be reminded that they are happening every day in our very midst—in our own communities. Although we don’t all like to admit it, people of color—and let’s be frank, especially Black people—live lives of relentlessly hostile scrutiny, and they have been telling us so since the ink on the Thirteenth Amendment was barely dry. Four years ago, when we were confronted with a sadly similar shameful moment, former President Obama wrote that, “When incidents like this occur, there’s a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if because of the color of their ‎skin, they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us. This is not just a black issue. It’s not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we should all care about. All fair-minded people should be concerned.” And he was and is right. The problems that we must confront belong to all of us. Therefore, we need to own up to them. We have to own them. All of us. Their solutions also need to be owned by everyone, but especially by our leaders and those in positions of authority and influence.

Yesterday, in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death former President Obama once again issued a statement that said, in part, “…we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”

As you might imagine, I found myself returning to President Obama’s haunting reflections over and over again in the course of the past few days. And I was made uneasy by them—in the best possible sense of that word. For you see, I heard in them the unmistakable ring of truth. And that truth pierced me to the heart. Therefore, I asked myself how the Fordham family can and should respond to the challenges that the events of past week have presented to us. Of course, as a community of faith, we will pray for the repose of the souls of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. We will also pray for their families as they wrestle with the losses they have suffered in and through the deaths of those whom they loved so dearly. That goes without saying, and I ask you to join me in those fervent prayers.

But, let’s be honest. That is not enough. We must do more. We are a university community. Therefore, we must also recommit ourselves to the work that is proper to us as an academic community. A university’s greatest strength is its intellectual capital—the research, teaching, and learning that occurs both in and outside of the classroom. It is our central mission, and the one on which we expend the great majority of our budget and most of our energy—intellectual and moral. Tapping into these strengths and assets, we must recommit ourselves to the work of educating for justice and to doing all we can to figure out how our beloved nation, to paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal, has allowed itself to stray from the ideals (and the promises those ideals hold out to all) upon which it was founded.

We are not, however, merely a university community. We are a Jesuit university community. And what does that mean for us and the work we must undertake? As I have told you before, I believe that the issues that divide and challenge our nation are moral issues. Therefore, I believe that precisely because we are a Jesuit institution, we have a special responsibility to reflect on the events of the past week and on the challenges that they have created for our nation in particularly moral terms. What do I mean? Just this: We can remind our students (and ourselves) that ‎the situation in which the nation now finds itself is one that requires us to engage in an honest examination of conscience and consciousness so that we can be what God wants us to be. If we are willing to engage in this examination of consciousness, we will be able to take the first step toward the conversion of heart that will free us from the bondage of anger, frustration, and suspicion that holds us back.

I will not lie to you. The work of conversion is hard. And frequently it takes time. A long time. But I assure you that it is worth the exertion that it requires. The death of innocents calls us to it. The Gospel that has always stood at the center of our life and mission calls us to it. Therefore, let us all look into our hearts and see what justice would look like for the communities of color that are languishing and being crushed under the weight of racism in our country. Let us take to heart the loving invitation contained in the message issued on Friday by the United States Catholic Conference: “Encounter the people who historically have been disenfranchised [and]continue to experience sadness and pain and more authentically accompany them, listen to their stories, and learn from them, finding substantive ways to enact systemic change. Such encounters will start to bring about the needed transformation of our understanding of true life, charity, and justice in the United States.”

As I said, the work of conversion is hard, but if we commit ourselves to its rigors, we will be able to redeem the promises of our founding ideals for all of our citizens, who are (in the eyes of God) our brothers and sisters. Our beloved brothers and sisters.

You are in my thoughts and prayers today and every day.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

Clark’s page-turners—filled with relatable, often female protagonists—sold more than 100 million copies in the U.S. alone. Her first successful novel, Where Are the Children? (Simon & Schuster, 1975), told the tale of a young mother who changes her identity after she’s accused of killing her son and daughter, only to have her second set of children disappear after she finds a new husband and builds another family. It was the first in a lifelong stream of best sellers—56 in total.

Clark’s own life was itself novel-worthy. The sudden death of her father at age 11 plunged her once-comfortable Bronx family into a precarious financial situation; they lost their house for lack of a few hundred dollars. Then tragedy struck again when her husband suffered a fatal heart attack in 1964, leaving her widowed, at age 37, with five young children. But she continued to try her hand at the suspense stories she’d started writing as a young woman.

Shortly after publishing Where Are the Children?, Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Fordham College at Lincoln Center after five years of night classes. The degree gave her a certain confidence that she had lacked.

“I had always missed the fact that I hadn’t matriculated,” she told FORDHAM magazine in 1989.

“I was hanging up the kids’ diplomas, and kept thinking that it wasn’t the same as having my own diploma in hand. I thought of Fordham. My husband had gone there, and I used to go to tea dances at Rose Hill.”

Overnight Success While at Lincoln Center

She attended Fordham College at Lincoln Center because of its proximity to her daytime job at a radio station. In 1978, while a student, she received a million-dollar-plus advance for the hardcover and paperback versions of her new suspense novel A Stranger is Watching (Simon & Schuster, 1977). She immediately replaced her old jalopy with a Cadillac—and she finished her degree.

A spring 1978 FORDHAM magazine piece featured Clark and her newfound success: “These days find her literally winging into her classes at Lincoln Center from all points of the U.S., where she is moving in and out of editorial rooms and television studios on interview and talk show tours to promote her latest piece of fiction. She has also moved in with the Beautiful People. Last week People Weekly chronicled her rise to literary fame and fortune in a two-page spread, and also quoted her ecstatic comment about her new apartment facing Central Park. (‘Every Irish-Catholic girl from the Bronx wants to have an apartment on Central Park South.’)”

Fordham Honors

Clark stayed close to her alma mater throughout her life. From 1990 to 1996, she served as a member of Fordham’s Board of Trustees. As a generous donor, she also became a member of the University’s Archbishop Hughes Society. She was presented with an honorary degree and served as Fordham’s commencement speaker in 1997. (“The plot is what you will do for the rest of your life, and you are the protagonist,’” she said.) She was feted with a Fordham Founder’s Award in 2004, was inducted into the University’s Hall of Honor in 2009, and was honored again in 2018 as a pioneering woman in philanthropy.

“It is very hard to say goodbye to Mary,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

“Though she lived a long and rich life, she left us too soon. To speak of Mary is to speak in superlatives: She was, of course, terrifically gifted and hardworking. She was funny, and kind, and generous with her time and talents. Her work touched the lives of millions, and in person she was a force of nature. There will never be another like her. I know the Fordham community joins me in sending her family and loved ones our deepest condolences.”

A Commitment to the Next Generation

Clark’s drive to tell stories was legendary; in her obituary in The New York Times, her daughter and sometimes writing partner Carol Higgins Clark confirmed that Clark was still writing up until very recently.

Her devotion to Fordham was just as strong. In 2013, she pledged $2 million to create the Mary Higgins Clark Chair in Creative Writing. At the time, she said she was adamant that it not be a “literary chair.”

“Frankly, I thought there would be scorn about that because a lot of people would say, ‘She’s just a popular writer,’” she said.

“But I thought, ‘A chair in creative writing?’ Yes, damn it! I’m a good storyteller.”

Mary Bly, Ph.D., a professor and chair of Fordham’s English Department, hosted Clark in her classes over the years. In a 2012 FORDHAM magazine article, Bly, who publishes under the pen name Eloisa James, wrote that like her, Clark possessed a split personality. How else could one explain how, as a young widow with five small children, Clark could transform feelings of love and protection into best-selling suspense?

Bly wrote that it was no surprise that Clark majored in philosophy at Fordham.

“Clark’s novels do not engage her readers merely as a matter of titillation and fear; hers are studies with high moral purpose, reflective of the importance of her Catholic faith.”

In an email just after Clark’s death, Bly said Clark would likely humbly reject the idea of having been a mentor to her, as they met at most once or twice a year.

“But every single time, she would listen with great interest to what was going on in my publishing life as Eloisa James, and invariably make a suggestion or comment that I would think of again and again. She probably played this role for many, many authors. She didn’t realize how kind she was, how giving, and how unusual,” she said.

“Her financial gift to Fordham when she established the Mary Higgins Clark Chair in Creative Writing, as well as a scholarship for young writers with financial need, will allow her legacy of generosity toward fellow writers to continue. We will deeply miss her.”

In addition to receiving awards, Clark also bestowed one particularly special one at Fordham, when her grandson Justin Louis Clark graduated from the Gabelli School of Business in 2014.

“My grandmother loved Fordham. I am proud to have worn the maroon and white alongside the person who inspired me to pursue my dream as she did hers. Receiving my diploma from her on Coffey Field is a memory I will cherish forever,” Justin said by email.

“She left Fordham a better school, the world a better place, and me a better person.”

Clark was generous with her time with fellow alumni as well. Lynn Neary, TMC ’71, who recently retired from National Public Radio, covered Clark’s 90th birthday celebration in 2017 and Veronica Dagher, GABELLI ’00, ’05, host of the Wall Street Journal podcast Secrets of Wealthy Women, interviewed her in 2018.

In her story, Neary quoted Clark on readers’ reactions to her stories: “That is the greatest compliment I can get,” Clark said, “when someone will say to me, ‘I read your darn book till 4 in the morning.’ I say, ‘Then you got your money’s worth.’”

For Susan Wabuda, Ph.D., a professor of history, Clark’s passing brought back memories of meeting her and Clark’s late husband John J. Conheeney, to whom she was married from 1996 to 2018, at a luncheon co-sponsored by Fordham’s Campion Institute.

“It was such an honor to meet Mary Higgins Clark at Fordham events. She was generous, enthusiastic, and an absolute delight. In addition to her suspense stories, her autobiography is riveting. She was a great lady, and the model of a successful writer,” she said.

“She and John enjoyed life, and they thought the world of Fordham.”

John Ryle Kezel, Ph.D., director of the Campion Institute, said Clark had a wonderful sense of humor. He recalled how she once arrived at a banquet for the Flax Trust, which promotes peace between Northern Irish Protestants and Catholics, sporting a cane that appeared to be made of swirled glass.

“When I commented on its uniqueness, Mary said with a glint in her eye that it had been a gift from the late Fred Astaire,” he said.

“As I admired it, Mary began to chuckle, and said ‘Oh John, it’s only plastic and I got it on the internet!’”

Leonard Cassuto, Ph.D., professor of English and American Studies, recalled a quote by another famous author that reminded him of Clark.

“E.B. White famously wrote that it is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer,” he said.

“Mary Higgins Clark was both, and her friendship to Fordham is something we’ll always be grateful for.”

Higgins Clark is survived by her children Marilyn Clark, Warren Clark, PAR ’14, and his wife Sharon Clark, PAR ’14, David Clark, Carol Higgins Clark, Patricia Clark, and her grandchildren Elizabeth Higgins Clark, Andrew Clark, a student at the Gabelli School of Business’ graduate division, David Clark, Courtney Clark, Justin Clark, GABELLI ’14, and Jerry Derenzo.

The event, the first of a series dedicated to the centennial, was held at the Times Square headquarters of PVH Corp., the parent company of brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. The firm, whose chairman and CEO is Manny Chirico, GABELLI ’79, made a gift of $1 million to the Gabelli School. It also established a partnership with the school to enhance corporate social responsibility through coursework, speakers, visiting scholars, and academic conferences that will convene global thought leaders.

Mario J. Gabelli, a 1965 graduate of the school that bears his name, kicked off the evening with welcome remarks. His wife, Regina Pitaro, FCRH ’76, joined him at the podium, using the opportunity to play a clip of Frank Sinatra’s “The Best is Yet to Come” over her phone for the audience.

“What made America great? Manny is a good example. PVH is a good example. Same thing with Fordham. It was the rule of law and the meritocracy with all its flaws,” said Gabelli, who made a $25 million gift to the Gabelli School in 2010.

“But meritocracy requires education, and education requires facilities, students, faculty, and leadership.”

A New Capital Campaign

To that end, Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School, announced that the school is embarking on a $75 million capital campaign. Among the goals of the campaign are funding scholarships for students, enhancing the school’s MBA and Ph.D. programs, and providing faculty support in recognition of outstanding research and innovative teaching.

“The campaign will support faculty as they engage in research with impact and ensure our curriculum is industry-relevant, with a focus on technology, ethics, and leadership,” she said.

“It will support leadership and career development and programs that help our students prepare for an ever-changing world.”

Rapaccioli reflected on the school’s past and noted how much has changed since its founding in 1920. The subway cost five cents to ride, and tuition to Fordham’s business programs was $175 for day students and $100 for evening students per semester. Women also won the right to vote that year when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed.

“1920 was also the year prohibition started—thank goodness that changed,” she joked.

Looking to the future, she said the school’s success will depend on relationships like the one with PVH, noting that the partnership is “a unique one for us because it touches so many different stakeholders.”

She noted that the school also has relationships with academic institutions like Peking University and Bocconi University and with organizations like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and UN PRME Principles for Responsible Management Education.

In introducing Chirico, Rapaccioli praised him for his leadership in business and fashion.

“We educate compassionate, global leaders who are forward-thinking and making positive change. Leaders who change the way the world does business. Manny Chirico is a true example of a leader who is changing the way the fashion industry operates.”

A Partnership Focused on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Chirico said he was excited to join forces with his alma mater to establish an academic hub dedicated to the study of corporate responsibility and sustainability. PVH is also celebrating an anniversary this year, as one of only 29 companies to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange for 100 years.

“Our two organizations have survived and prospered through two world wars, one Great Depression, 14 financial recessions, and 27 New York Yankee world championships. I believe our track records are a testament to both Fordham’s and PVH’s resiliency and ability to adapt to change,” he said.

The partnership with the Gabelli School, he said, will help PVH pursue “Forward Fashion CR Strategy,” a five-year plan it launched last year that aims to reduce the firm’s negative impacts on the environment, ensure all its products are ethically resourced, and improve the lives of an estimated one million people connected to the firm’s value chain. In March, the two organizations and EY will explore these issues in a conference, Work 2040: Future of Work in a Sustainable World Conference.

“This partnership builds on both our organizations’ shared belief that businesses are accountable for contributing to a sustainable and responsible future for all,” he said.

Inspired by Social Entrepreneurship

Natalie Dowd, a senior majoring in marketing, shared how transformative an education at the Gabelli School can be. Although she found it difficult to find her place when she enrolled in 2016, something clicked when she discovered Social Impact 360, a social entrepreneurship fellowship for freshmen.

“When I showed up at the meetings and got to brainstorm socially innovative venture ideas alongside other freshmen, I felt as though I had found both my place and my friends. I found myself so excited by SWOT analyses, writing out business plans, and creating slide decks,” she said.

“Social Impact 360 taught me that my passion for social justice could not only co-exist with my interest in business, it could also help shape the future of business itself.”

In closing remarks, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, compared the gathering to the Jesuit tradition of reciting a prayer at the end of the day known as the “litanies,” where the good deeds of Catholic saints are recalled.

Standing before an estimated 400 members of the Gabelli School community and employees of PVH, he said the centennial was the proper occasion to celebrate the saints of the school. Those include Gabelli and Pitaro, Chirico, and Rapaccioli, as well as all those in attendance.

“You’re men and women with a difference, who show the world what true business leadership is about. You are for me, saints in the world,” he said.

“People come up to me and ‘Oh Father, I’m no saint.’ I’ll have nothing of that. I won’t hear that. Through you, the Gabelli name gets stronger by the day. People look at Gabelli and they say, ‘This is the school with a difference, turning out men and women with a difference, men and women whose lives are marked by competence, conscience, compassion, commitment to the cause of the human family, and character.”

“This is a way for Fordham to celebrate the theme of this year’s National Catholic Schools Week, Catholic Schools: Learn, Serve, Lead, Succeed, encompassing the core values that can be found in the schools of the Archdiocese,” said Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D., director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education. 

For many of the approximately 800 children from 19 different Catholic schools across New York City, it was also an opportunity to see a college campus for the first time. 

“By giving them the opportunity to visit classrooms, see college students in classes, and walk the same paths as college students, we hope to inspire these visiting students to reach higher in their academic choices and study habits,” said Virginia Roach, Ed.D., dean of GSE. “We want to show children, especially those who could be first-generation college-bound students, that there are pathways to realize their dreams of a college education.”

Shortly before 10 a.m. last Monday, students started to arrive at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, located across the street from Fordham College at Lincoln Center. For the next hour, they sat in the wooden pews and attended morning Mass. They sang hymns like “Here I Am, Lord” and “City of God,” led by choir singer t’Jacques Guillot, a Fordham College at Rose Hill senior, and Timothy Perron, a Fordham Jesuit scholastic and pianist. At the beginning of Mass, they were reminded of one of Fordham’s guiding tenets: 

“At Fordham, we’re committed to the idea of cura personalis. That’s Latin for caring for the individual. We really care deeply about you and supporting you today, tomorrow, and after you graduate,” Anthony P. Cavanna, Ed.D., associate dean for academic affairs at GSE, said to the students. “No matter what college or high school or university you finally choose, you map out cura personalis. Take care of yourself, take care of others, and God bless you.”

Presiding over Mass was Joseph M. O’Keefe, S.J., a scholar in residence at GSE and the first provincial of the newly created USA East Province of the Society of Jesus. He urged the students and teachers to continue to care for one another in “one family of faith and goodness and hope.” 

Today, he said, they were celebrating the feast of Saint Angela Merici—a religious educator who was dedicated to the education of girls. 

“When Catholic schools only taught boys, she said Catholic schools should educate girls, too. Girls, you think that’s a good idea?” he said to applause. “Absolutely … so we gather to celebrate Catholic schools and remember the heroes of Catholic schools like Angela Merici.” 

After Mass, the students split into two groups. Half of them toured the Lincoln Center campus; the other dined on pizza in Pope Auditorium with Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. 

For Isabella Marina Martinez, an eighth-grader at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Washington Heights, it was her first time at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. This past spring, she visited her cousin, Xienna Dejesus, a student at Fordham College at Rose Hill, at the Bronx campus.

“I’ve seen it in pictures, and I wanted to see it [in person], so she took me one day,” said Martinez, who said she’s considering a future as a lawyer—and keeping an eye on the Fordham School of Law.  “It would be cool to come here.” 

For half an hour, Martinez and her classmates explored the Lincoln Center campus, including Hughes Hall. It was Matthew Capellan’s first time seeing a trading room with Bloomberg terminals. It was also a special experience for his classmate, Manuel Ramirez. 

“The part that I found most interesting about the tour today was the business room—how they had all the stocks going around on the screens and how every computer is updated to the most recent stocks,” said Ramirez, who lives in Morris Heights and wants to become a biologist. 

Nisha Reyes, an eighth-grader who wants to study business or law, said she was struck by the number of student clubs and overall diversity. 

“Everyone’s so different, but they come together in such a special way at Fordham,” Reyes said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. You can still come together; everyone can be part of a family at Fordham.” 

More than 1,000 alumni and friends of Fordham attended the black-tie affair at the New York Hilton Midtown—a new venue for the dinner and a hotel that has hosted every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy.

The 2019 celebration lauded six longtime supporters of Fordham—Solon P. Patterson and Marianna R. Patterson; Joel I. Picket and Joan Picket; and Dennis G. Ruppel, FCRH ’68 and Patricia Ann Ruppel—and honored 44 Founder’s Scholars, whose Fordham education was largely made possible by the Founder’s Scholarship.

This year’s gala also celebrated and supported Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid. Over the past two years, the campaign has reached more than 90 percent of its $175 million goal.

But at its heart, the dinner was more than a meal among those who love the University. It was a toast to the people—every person connected to Fordham’s 178 years of life.

In addressing the crowd, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, recounted the day he met a few friendly locals in a Florida fishing shop. They complimented the Fordham baseball cap atop his head—but they mistook his gear for a Florida State hat. They had no idea what Fordham was. But the innate issue was their question: “What is Fordham?”  

“Fordham is not a ‘what,’” Father McShane said. “Fordham is a ‘who.’”

“Now, I know that sounds like a bad new Dr. Seuss book,” Father McShane said, to the audience’s laughter. “But I truly believe it’s the truth.”

“Fordham is a world-class faculty, a hardworking staff, talented and devoted administrators, students, trustees, donors, alumni—all of whom are men and women for others.”

A Bittersweet Thank-You

Beneath the dimmed lights of the Grand Ballroom, Amie Ko, GABELLI ’19, spoke on behalf of the Founder’s Scholars.

“On this night, standing before you, I can’t help but think that in 54 days I will no longer be an undergraduate student at Fordham,” said Ko, an aspiring tax accountant who will intern at PricewaterhouseCoopers this summer. “From the start of the semester, I have been asked countless times: ‘How does that make you feel?’ And to be very honest, I am scared. I am nervous. I am sad,” she said.

“But most of all, I am incredibly thankful.”

Ko, a Division I athlete for Fordham’s swimming and diving team who recently led her team to its first undefeated season in almost a decade, spoke about her gratitude for her teammates, her four years of Fordham memories, and the donors who made her current reality possible.

She also took a moment to remember one Founder’s scholar who couldn’t make it: Rachel Ragone, GABELLI ’18, who died last January after a long battle with bone cancer. As Ko recounted Ragone’s four years at Fordham—her studies in applied accounting and finance, her semester spent at Fordham’s London Centre, her passion for raising funds and awareness for children’s cancer—a photo collage of Ragone appeared in the background.

“As Rachel’s mom Kim Ragone has shared with us,” said Ko, “‘Fordham gave Rachel the best time of her life.’”

Honoring Three Couples

During the festivities, Father McShane presented the Fordham Founder’s Award to each of the three couples honored this year.

The Pattersons, natives of Atlanta, have been married for nearly 60 years. Solon Patterson worked for 48 years in investment management; he retired in 2007 as CEO of the investment firm Montag and Caldwell. Marianna Patterson worked in the banking industry before becoming a full-time mother.

The couple has been instrumental in helping Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center to prosper over the past decade. In the early 2000s, they created an endowment to establish the Patterson Triennial Conference on Orthodox/Catholic Relations.

“In the process, they have enabled Fordham to become the only Catholic university in the world that offers degree programs in Eastern Orthodox studies,” said Father McShane.

They also established the Father John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies, now held by Professor George Demacopoulos. 

“Solon is Greek Orthodox, and I am Roman Catholic, and we have long prayed for the end of the separation of these oldest and largest Christian bodies. Their reunion would be a positive event for all Christians the world over,” Marianna Patterson said.

The Pickets are longtime New York philanthropists. Joel Picket, a Manhattan native, is the chairman and CEO of Gotham Organization—the real estate development firm that was key to constructing several buildings on campus, including the Law School/McKeon Hall complex at Lincoln Center and the William D. Walsh Family Library at Rose Hill. He is a two-term member of the Board of Trustees and a current trustee fellow who helped make the master plan for the Lincoln Center campus redevelopment a reality. Joan Picket, who has worked as an advertising copywriter and real estate broker, has served in multiple service organizations.

Together, the couple’s generosity spans several initiatives at Fordham, from scholarship support for Jewish studies to the funding of new campus facilities.

“Neither of us have a Fordham education,” Joel Picket said. “[But] from my first introduction to Father O’Hare to what we consider a special relationship with Father McShane, I have seen what strong and dedicated leadership means and grasped the greatness of the Jesuit education.”

The last couple includes a Fordham alumnus—Dennis Ruppel. Today, Ruppel is chairman of Freedom Bank, chairman of AmCap Insurance, and co-owner of the Press Hotel in Portland, Maine. He is a current trustee fellow who has served multiple terms on Fordham’s board of trustees. Dennis and his wife, Patricia Ann, champion multiple organizations, particularly those devoted to early childhood education.

“In her own words, Pat has ‘adopted Fordham,’ and carries the University in her heart,” said Robert D. Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of Fordham’s board of trustees and a Founder’s 2019 co-chair.  

At Fordham, the couple created the Dennis and Patricia Ruppel Endowed Scholarship. They have also supported athletics, WFUV, career services and experiential education, the sailing program, and other University endeavors.

“Fordham had few students from Florida when I arrived in 1964, never having been in New York City. I was the virtual stranger in a strange land,” Dennis Ruppel said.

“Within weeks, I realized how special Fordham is: classmates who were bright, questioning, and welcoming; professors whose love and mastery of their subject was infectious; an atmosphere filled with the Ignatian care for the whole person; and, in the Jesuit tradition, the expectation that we live our lives in the service of others.”

The 2019 awardees join 47 other Founder’s Award recipients, the first of whom were honored in 2002.

Examples of a Life Well Lived

“I praise God for what you have become and who you have become and how you have become, first of all, examples of a life well-lived with a strong moral compass,” Father McShane said, gazing at the hundreds of faces across the ballroom. “Tonight, it is my great honor to look at all of you and say to you, ‘You, my friends, are our treasure.’”

To make a gift to the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, please visit fordham.edu/foundersgiving.

Jacobs comes to Fordham from Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in California, where he has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2011. From 2004 to 2011, he was associate provost and vice president for undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. Jacobs will replace Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., who died suddenly on July 2.

“In Dr. Jacobs we have gained an innovative and thoughtful leader, and one who is well prepared to lead the faculty during what promises to be a period of great change in academia,” said Father McShane.

“I am deeply impressed by his experience, intellect, and humanity, and am proud to call him a colleague.”

Jacobs said he was drawn to Fordham because the University understands that liberal arts education is about more than transferring knowledge and honing skills. Rather, he said, Fordham aims to develop persons of character and integrity who aspire to lead ethical lives of meaning and purpose.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be joining the Fordham community. I am excited to help the University adapt and innovate its program offerings, explore mutually beneficial partnerships, and launch strategic initiatives aligned with Fordham’s distinctive Jesuit mission,” Jacobs said.

A native of California, Jacobs earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University in 1988, and his bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and physics from the University of California, Irvine, in 1981 and 1982, respectively.

He first joined the University of Notre Dame in 1988 as an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; he became a full professor in 2000. His research focused on reactions relevant to semiconductor processing in the microelectronics industry. Among his most notable projects was a yearlong experiment in 2008 that he designed to take place on the International Space Station. The experiment, which recorded how polymeric materials (plastics) degrade under continuous attack by energetic particles in low Earth orbit, was part of an effort to develop inexpensive, lightweight materials for use in next-generation satellites.

In 2002, Jacobs was named U.S. Professor of the Year for Doctoral and Research Universities by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

At Santa Clara, he has led the university’s strategic planning process; helped secure many major fundraising gifts; assisted faculty in launching the school’s first three online degree programs; and provided leadership throughout the design process of several new academic facilities, including a new STEM complex.

He also created Santa Clara’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, which supports deans and department chairs in the recruitment of underrepresented faculty and fosters diversity and inclusion in the university’s community and curriculum.

Jacobs’ hiring was the result of an intensive search spearheaded by a 13-member committee that sought input from the University community on who should replace Freedman.

Father McShane also announced that Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D., who assumed the role of interim provost after Freedman’s death, will be promoted to the newly created position of vice provost, the senior member of Jacobs’ staff.

After the exhibit closed in February, the reproduction was carefully taken down and packed away. In November, it was given a new home in Fordham’s Butler Commons on the Rose Hill campus.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, called the gift a welcome addition to the University’s collection, one that will “touch our hearts, engage our minds, and lift our spirits.”

“It is an honor to once again partner with the Met, one of New York City’s preeminent cultural institutions, and to provide a permanent home to a reproduction of Michelangelo’s most ambitious and stirring masterpiece,” he said.

“Such a work embodies the divine grace of God. Its presence will remind us of our own Catholic heritage.”

The fresco, which Michelangelo painted between 1508 and 1512 at the behest of Pope Julius II, is one of the most famous pieces of art in the world. Among its features are narrative scenes from the Book of Genesis, the Book of Maccabees, and the Gospel of Matthew. One of its most iconic images is the artist’s rendition of The Creation of Adam.

The gift is emblematic of both the Met’s and Fordham’s extensive roots in New York City. Father McShane first saw the fresco during an early morning tour of the exhibit arranged by Fordham Trustee Fellow Edward M. Stroz, GABELLI ’79, and his wife Sally Spooner. They were joined by Erin Pick, then a senior administrator at the Met, and Maria Ruvoldt, Ph.D., chair of the department of art history at Fordham.

He said he knew from the moment he entered the room that it would be a magnificent addition to Fordham’s campus. As chance would have it, the group crossed paths with Carmen Bambach, Ph.D., a curator at the Met who specializes in Italian Renaissance art. From 1989 to 1995, Bambach was also an assistant professor of art and music history at Fordham when Father McShane was dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill.

 “She looked at me and said, ‘You hired me at Fordham.’ I smiled and said that I had indeed hired her,” Father McShane said.

“After the tour was over, Erin, Carmen, and Maria worked on a proposal that we could place before the Met leadership to see if we could secure the piece for Fordham. Much to my surprise, we were informed a few weeks later that the Met approved our proposal.”

Quincy Houghton, deputy director for exhibitions at the Met, echoed the bond between the museum and Fordham.

“We are pleased that this painting will have a future life at Fordham, as another manifestation of the many scholarly connections between our two institutions, and that it will be widely used as a teaching tool,” he said.

“We look forward to seeing it in its new home.”

Ruvoldt said that although the fresco is among the most famous paintings in the world, it’s often seen in piecemeal fashion, such as the well-known section featuring the nearly touching hands in The Creation of Adam.

“Typically, when students learn about this in an art history classroom, they’re seeing a projection on the wall. They don’t have the experience of the entirety of the composition, and the experience, frankly, of just looking up at it, which sounds a little simple, but was key to the way the painting was meant to be understood,” she said.

“Michelangelo really got that the people who would be looking at it would be looking at it from below. So, it’s a unique experience for students to see it.”

Among the details one can observe in the full reproduction is evidence that Michelangelo actually realized, halfway through the production, that he’d have to rethink his approach. Ruvoldt said the latter sections feature visible changes in the scale of the figures, and compositions become simpler, so they’re more discernible from below.

Watch Ruvoldt give a guided explanation of the fresco reproduction.

Butler Commons, which is named for the founder of Marymount College and is just one floor above the University’s theology department, is an ideal location for it, she said, because it’s open to all. The University will open it to members of the campus community in January, and members of the public can arrange visits in the same manner they currently use to visit the University’s Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art.

“I picture it as something that not only art history professors can bring students in to look at it, but the theology department as well. The subject matter is the entire story of Genesis, the prophets, and the ancestors of Christ—it could be interesting as well for interdisciplinary investigation.”

The gift is only the latest collaboration between the two institutions. Last year, Fordham lent the Met Cristóbal de Villalpando’s Adoration of the Magi; the museum restored it and included its July exhibition Cristóbal de Villalpando: Mexican Painter of the Baroque.

Update: While Butler Commons will remain secured, any member of the Fordham community who wishes to view the reproduction can contact the reception desk at Tognino Hall during business hours to have them open the room. During the weekends and after business hours, Public Safety will respond and open the room for any requested viewing. Members of the public can also make arrangements to view the artwork during business hours. No food or beverages are permitted in Butler Commons.