The Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art will reopen in the Walsh Family Library after a renovation, once again displaying antiquities dating back to the 10th century B.C. On view in its new glass cases will be Greek ceramic jars from 400 B.C.E., Roman coins, amulets and jewelry from the 1st century B.C., and more.

The museum has offered the hands-on experience to Fordham classes over the years, with students curating exhibits on classical objects, including one last year dedicated to ancient glass.

Classes will once again be able to meet directly in the museum, a large conference table surrounded by exhibits.

“The important thing about teaching from the objects is that nothing makes students more excited about the ancient world than being able to handle something that is 2,500 years old,” said Jennifer Udell, Ph.D., the museum’s curator.

The renovation of the museum, which first opened in 2007, has improved its display cases, brightened the space significantly, and made possible the display of objects that had not previously been viewed by the public.

The original collection, which featured more than 260 antiquities dating from the 10th century B.C. through the 3rd century, was a gift from William D. Walsh, FCRH ’51, and his wife Jane. It grew over the years as the museum received several major gifts, including a 2014 gift of nine mosaics from the 5th century. In 2018, the museum received a collection of 118 objects comprised of small terracotta and bronze figurines and Roman glass.

Udell said that the items in the 2018 acquisition were an important addition to the museum’s holdings, but many were kept in storage because the museum lacked space to display them. But in 2021, Udell learned that she’d have a lot more space to spare.

Helping Resolve An Art Trafficking Case

In September 2021, Udell shared in a blog post that the museum had closed its doors on June 1. That day, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office seized 99 objects in the collection as evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation of a trafficker in ancient art.

Three months later, those objects and 61 more from other institutions, tied to Edoardo Almagià, a Rome-based antiquities dealer, were repatriated to the Italian Government.

Rethinking How to Show Objects

For Udell, the loss of the items was an opportunity for reinvention.

“Everybody said ‘Do you still have a museum? And I said, ‘Yes, we just have a different museum, with different types of material. The new install has given me a way to rethink how we show objects.”

Thanks to the generosity of Mark and Esther Villamar, she was able to purchase custom-made display cases that are brighter, more secure, and accessible from the back, for easier access. Carpeting has been replaced with polished concrete floors, and a large conference table has been installed in an alcove.

When it came to organizing the objects, Udell started with a description of Walsh’s original collection.

“Once you start putting objects in a case, then you have to see how things evolve. It’s difficult to plan from the get-go, and say ‘Ok, this is going to go here and that’s gonna go there.’ I kind of let it evolve organically,” she said.

That means pairing for the first time together the ram head drinking cup with an Askos (flask) with Nike figurines and Medusa heads in relief dating back to B.C.E. 300. An Etruscan Amphora (jar with two handles) from circa 650 B.C.E. is now the centerpiece of a case centering on Etruscan burial ceremonies.

In one of the cases, Udell grouped together never before displayed implements and tools, including spear blades, a cosmetic applicator, a neolithic spoon, and a flint hand axe dating back from 300,000 to 150,000 BCE.

Another new display features half a dozen pieces that are in fact forgeries.

“Were they specific forgeries or were they just tourist trinkets that then over time were viewed as deliberate fakes? Who knows?” she said.

“So this is fun to look at with students and to say, ‘Why aren’t they genuine?

This is the Real Thing

Linda LoSchiavo, director of Fordham Libraries, noted that the initial creation of the museum was the first major renovation to the Walsh Library, as the space was originally designed to be a periodical reading room. Many spaces in the building have been updated since then, so it made perfect sense to update this space now.

“This gave us entrée to rethink and reexamine everything that was in there, and go in the direction that it was inevitably destined to go—not just as a place to view beautiful things, but as an arm of teaching and learning,” she said.

“Whether you have a student who’s just inches away from an Etruscan vase as someone is turning it and showing it from every angle, or you have a medieval manuscript placed in front of them and you’re turning the pages, you’re allowing them to interact directly with history,” she said.

“This is the real thing.”

For Udell, the renovation is everything she wanted to create when she first arrived in 2007. The display cases have room for more objects, and Udell has secured loans for objects from the Metropolitan Museum of Art that will arrive in September. She anticipates working with other institutions in the future as well.

“There are lots of exciting collaborative things happening with other New York City institutions, so I’m excited about that,” she said.

“And I’m just excited about being able to unveil this collection in its best aesthetic possibility.”

Fordham University mourns the passing of William D. Walsh, FCRH ’51, lawyer, philanthropist, venture capitalist, Fordham trustee, loyal Ram, and staunch supporter of University initiatives. Walsh died on Nov. 16 at age 83.

In his time as trustee, Walsh made many significant contributions, not least of which was a $10 million gift toward the construction of the William D. Walsh Family Library bearing his name.

“Fordham lost a giant this weekend. Bill Walsh was a dear friend, and my heart goes out to his loved ones,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “He and his late wife, Jane, were early partners in Fordham’s transformation, and left their mark on our campuses and our institutions. Bill was Fordham at its best: intellectually curious, generous at heart and in deed, gifted, unpretentious, and gentle. I will miss him. I know the Fordham family joins me in mourning his loss, and in keeping him and his family in our hearts and prayers.”

James McCabe, the head of University Libraries in 1997 when the Walsh Library was officially opened, said that without Walsh’s support, “the library would not be here.” In addition to helping build the library, the state’s fourth largest, Walsh also donated the collection that formed the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art. Walsh, together with his wife, donated more than 260 ancient artifacts that comprise the collection of Greek vases, coins, Etruscan pottery, and Roman sculpture, from the 10th century B.C. to third century A.D.


“If you are a classics major or minor, as I was, you can’t get a feel for classics in books alone,” Walsh said in 2007 at the museum’s opening. “Seeing [the objects]gives people a feel for it.”

The gift hinted at Walsh’s passion for a Jesuit education, which, in his time at Fairfield College Preparatory School and at Fordham, included required study of the classics in Greek and Latin. Walsh was known to credit his personal and professional success to his Jesuit training, with its emphasis on ethics and Catholic values.

After he attended Harvard Law School, those ethics would come into play in the field of law enforcement when he served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1955 to 1958. He oversaw narcotics investigations in the garment industry and on the New York waterfront, eventually winning the indictment of crime boss Vito Genovese. Later, as counsel to the New York State Commission on Investigation from 1956 to 1961, he targeted illegal gambling as a revenue source for organized crime.

Walsh left law for business in 1963 when he joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. Later, at Arcata Corporation, he helped build sales from $7 million to more than $800 million. He went on to found Sequoia Associates LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. His extensive experience over a 35-year period allowed him to complete more than 100 acquisitions, divestitures, and public offerings.

Walsh remained a lifelong Fordham football fan, despite having been cut from the freshman football team by Vince Lombardi with the reassurance that “there’s plenty of things you do well, but football is not one of them.”

He was a fervent believer in renewing Fordham’s football program. In 2002, he agreed to make an annual challenge grant of up to $150,000 for the next five years to support the team. He would go on to donate more than $1.5 million supporting recruitment, the baseball team, and the general athletic fund. In recognition of his support he was inducted into Fordham’s Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2002, he joined Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., and Wellington Mara, FCRH ’37, as one of the three inaugural recipients of the Fordham Founder’s Award. And in 2003, the University honored him with a Doctor of Lawshonoris causa.

Walsh hailed from solid Irish stock, his father having been born in County Mayo, Ireland. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Ireland Fund and also served on the advisory board of Trinity College’s Neuroscience Institute in Dublin, Ireland.

He resided in the Bay Area of California, where he and Jane had six children and eleven grandchildren.

“Getting to know Bill Walsh has been one of the great pleasures of my career,” said Roger A. Milici, Jr., vice president for development and University relations. “He was a warm, utterly decent man, devoted to his family and friends. He loved his alma mater and was unstinting in demonstrating it. Bill had a wonderful gift for bringing out the best in everyone with whom he came in contact, and I am a better person for having known him.”

William D. Walsh was one of the inaugural recipients of the Fordham Founder’s Award.

Fordham University mourns the passing of William D. Walsh, FCRH ’51, lawyer, philanthropist, venture capitalist, Fordham trustee, loyal Ram, and staunch supporter of University initiatives. Walsh died on Nov. 16 at age 83.

In his time as trustee, Walsh made many significant contributions, not least of which was a $10 million gift that helped build the Rose Hill library and museum bearing his name.

“Fordham lost a giant this weekend. Bill Walsh was a dear friend, and my heart goes out to his loved ones,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “He and his late wife Jane were early partners in Fordham’s transformation, and left their mark on our campuses and our institutions. Bill was Fordham at its best: intellectually curious, generous at heart and in deed, gifted, unpretentious, and gentle. I will miss him. I know the Fordham family joins me in mourning his loss, and in keeping him and his family in our hearts and prayers.”

James McCabe, the head of University Libraries in 1997 when the Walsh Library was officially opened, said that without Walsh’s support, “the library would not be here.” In addition to helping build the library, the state’s fourth largest, Walsh also donated the collection that formed the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art. Walsh, together with his wife, donated more than 260 ancient artifacts that comprise the collection of Greek vases, coins, Etruscan pottery, and Roman sculpture, from 10th century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. 


“If you are a classics major or minor, as I was, you can’t get a feel for classics in books alone,” Walsh said in 2007, at the museum’s opening. “Seeing [the objects]gives people a feel for it.”

The gift hinted at Walsh’s passion for a Jesuit education, which, in his time at Fairfield College Preparatory School and at Fordham, included required study of the classics in Greek and Latin. Walsh was known to credit his personal and professional success to his Jesuit training, with its emphasis on ethics and Catholic values.

Walsh, at left, helped dedicate the library that bears his name in 1997.

After attending Harvard Law School, those ethics would come into play in the field of law enforcement when he served as assistant U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York from 1955 to 1958. He oversaw narcotics investigations in the garment industry and on the New York waterfront, eventually winning the indictment of crime boss Vito Genovese. Later, as counsel to the New York State Commission on Investigation from 1956 to 1961, he targeted illegal gambling as a revenue source for organized crime.

Walsh left law for business in 1963 when he joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. Later, at Arcata Corporation, he helped build sales from $7 million to more than $800 million. He went on to found Sequoia Associates LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in leverage buyouts. His extensive experience over a 35-year period allowed him to complete more than 100 acquisitions, divestitures, and public offerings.

Walsh remained a lifelong Fordham football fan, despite having been cut from the freshman football team by Vince Lombardi with the reassurance that, “There’s plenty of things you do well, but football is not one of them.”

He was a fervent believer in renewing Fordham’s football program. In 2002, he agreed to make an annual “challenge” grant of up to $150,000 for the next five years to support the team. He would go on to donate more than $1.5 million supporting recruiting, the baseball team, and the general athletic fund. In recognition of his support he was inducted into Fordham’s Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2002, he joined Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., and Wellington Mara, FCRH ’37 as one of the three inaugural recipients of the Fordham Founder’s Award. And in 2003, the University honored him with a degree of Doctor of Laws,honoris causa.

Walsh cut the ribbon at the museum opening in 2007.

Walsh hailed from solid Irish stock, his father having been born in County Mayo, Ireland. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Ireland Fund and also served on the advisory board of Trinity College’s Neuroscience Institute in Dublin, Ireland.

He resided in the Bay Area of California with Jane, where they had six children and eleven grandchildren.

“Getting to know Bill Walsh has been one of the great pleasures of my career,” said Roger A. Milici, Jr., vice president for development and University relations. “He was a warm, utterly decent man, devoted to his family and friends. He loved his alma mater and was unstinting in demonstrating it. Bill had a wonderful gift for bringing out the best in everyone with whom he came in contact, and I am a better person for having known him.”

William D. Walsh, Fordham College Rose Hill, 1951

Almost immediately after Gregory Waldrop, S.J., was appointed executive director of the University art collections, he began a comprehensive inventory of Fordham’s art holdings.

Now, 10 months later, the inventory is nearing completion and a few long-overlooked treasures have been revealed. With the significant pieces from the collection now identified, the University, under Father Waldrop’s direction, is mapping out a strategic approach for the future of the collection.

“We have very fine faculty teaching in studio art and in art history, but compared to the performing arts—theater or dance, for example—the visual arts at Fordham still lag in terms of their public face: collections and exhibitions,” said Father Waldrop.

“When you look at top-tier universities, most of them have significant art collections and impressive gallery spaces, and they see an institutional value there that drives their commitment. We want to move in that direction.”

Indeed, many universities take art collections seriously. The Yale University Art Gallery will be wrapping up a $135 million, 10-year expansion this month that will more than double the size of its gallery space. The core of that collection was launched with a gift of more than 100 paintings from artist John Trumbull in 1832 (Fordham also holds a collection of Trumbull drawings). Rutgers University’s Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum has one of the largest university collections in the nation.

“I think the president’s initiative in creating my new position makes clear that Fordham fully appreciates the importance of the arts,” he said. “Jesuit education has always been centered on the humanities.”

Father Waldrop arrived at Fordham in 2009 by way of Berkeley and Rome, having earned his doctorate specializing in Italian Renaissance painting. Though his area of expertise is the 15th and 16th centuries, he has a keen eye for 20th-century art as well.

In an effort to highlight newly acquired or neglected works from Fordham’s collection, he has hung pieces by 20th-century painters on campus.

A pair of paintings by muralist Hildreth Meiére hangs in the lobby of the Walsh Library, while in the McGinley Center, work by abstract expressionist Paul Jenkins is now on view. Though Meiére and Jenkins share the same century, they sit on opposite ends of the stylistic spectrum, providing a glimpse of the collection’s diversity.

Meiére was one of the early American proponents of art deco. Her most prominent use of the style is in designs for the façade of Radio City Music Hall. But her passion for liturgical art brought her to Fordham, where she designed and painted the altar screens for the University Church.

Jenkins, who died this past summer, was affiliated with the abstract expressionists of the New York School. His two pieces in the McGinley Center recall artist Helen Frankenthaler’s stain paintings, with lush gestures and happenstance compositions.

Both artists represent categories where Fordham’s collections have some depth, said Father Waldrop. Meiére’s work contributes to the University’s holdings in religious art, and Jenkins’ canvases belong to a small group of mid-century paintings and sculptures.

Categorizing and grouping will eventually suggest how the University should proceed with future acquisitions, said Father Waldrop. As is common practice with museum collections, identifying the strong categories helps define areas where a collection should grow.

“Fordham never collected systematically, so we have a disparate set of objects,” said Father Waldrop. “The Walsh collection [housed in the Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art]is really the one coherent collection.”

Father Waldrop said that building on the Walsh gift to Fordham—which includes more than 260 ancient objects donated by William D. Walsh, FCRH ’51, and his wife, Jane—is an obvious place to grow Fordham’s collection.

Museum director Jennifer Udell, Ph.D., has already begun that process with a modest purchase of Roman glass.

And the recent publication by Fordham University Press of the catalog Ancient Mediterranean Art: The William D. and Jane Walsh Collection at Fordham, not only highlights what has been done, but shows that Fordham’s antiquities museum is poised to grow.

But there are other collections that few outside the University know about. In the 1970s and ’80s, under the direction of former art history department chair Irma Jaffe, Ph.D., The President’s Print Collection was formed. With a dual focus on the religious and the secular, some 19 prints from the 19th and 20th centuries include numerous New York subjects. It’s one area Father Waldrop would like to expand.

His focus is not just limited to the University’s collections. Temporary exhibitions, both on- and off-campus, could help raise the University’s profile in the visual arts, too.

“It’s New York City, after all!” Father Waldrop noted. “Fordham’s got the talent and the will, but we need space to make it happen.”

Two small galleries already exist on the Lincoln Center campus, but Father Waldrop said their size and off-street location are obstacles to mounting the kind of shows that draw attention in the competitive art scene.

Elsewhere, Boston College’s McMullen Museum is getting attention for its current exhibition, Paul Klee: Philosophical Vision from Nature to Art. At the College of William & Mary, a spring 2013 exhibition, Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane Masterpiece Drawings From the Casa Buonarroti, is already generating buzz. Both colleges worked closely with outside institutions to pull off the exhibits.

“We are eager to form alliances with other galleries and museums and to find spaces for pop-up exhibitions,” said Father Waldrop. “Lincoln Center is a cultural hub, but there’s a relatively vibrant arts scene in the Bronx, too.”

While he acknowledged that building on the art collection has potential to foster a new set of benefactors and friends, Father Waldrop said the main thrust of the effort is to teach. Whether the project is an exhibition of contemporary art, or cataloging 19th-century prints of New York City, students will be involved and experience the real-world hands-on effort.

“All the projects we’re proposing now have a pedagogical dimension, so including students is what it’s all about,” he said.

On hand to preside over the ribbon-cutting ceremony was alumnus William D. Walsh (FCRH ’51) who, along with his wife Jane Walsh, donated the 260-plus ancient artifacts that comprise the new collection. In addition to this latest gift of rare antiquities, it was Walsh’s gift of $10 million more than a decade ago that helped build the library that bears his name.

“Today we gather in this magnificent library, the center of university life, to celebrate yet another gift that Bill and Jane Walsh give to us,” Joseph M. McShane, president of Fordham, told a gathering that included University trustees, representatives from the city’s cultural and political institutions, faculty, staff, students and members of the Walsh family. “I want them to know that whenever a student comes into the Walsh Family Library and the Museum, their lives will be enriched beyond measure by art that touches our hearts, engages our minds and consoles our spirits—all because of the generosity and great love that that Bill and Jane Walsh have for Fordham.”

Walsh, a longtime benefactor of the University and the founder and general partner of Sequoia Associates, began collecting ancient art based on a lifelong interest in the classics that took root during his youth when he studied both Greek and Latin. He said that he wanted to leave the collection to Fordham to be used as a teaching tool for students and to be available for public display.

“Here we honor a collection of art done by people long since gone but who tried to express themselves in their painting not on walls, but on vases on jars and in statuaries,” Walsh said. “I hope it will be very inspirational and energizing.

“If you are a classics major or minor, as I was, you can’t get a feel for classics in books alone,” Walsh said. “Seeing [the objects]gives people a feel for it.”

Following a ceremonial ribbon cutting, Father McShane welcomed those in attendance into the 4000-square-foot space, the Library’s former periodical reading room. Objects in the collection range from 10th century B.C. to 3rd century A.D., and include ancient Greek vases, coins, Etruscan pottery, and a selection of Roman sculpture, among others.

John N. Tognino, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees, and Jennifer Udell, curator of University art, also spoke at the dedication.

“Students have been asking for 24/7 service for several years,” said James P. McCabe, Ph.D., the University’s librarian. “Most nights, we get between 10 and 30 students. During midterms and finals we get a lot more.”

A library employee is available in the reading room until 2 a.m. and two security guards are on duty throughout the night. In the past, the late-night access to the library has been available only during midterm and final exams, McCabe said.

The Walsh Library, built in 1997, contains more than 1 million volumes and 380,000 government documents and is considered among the best university libraries in the country. In its 2004 edition of The Best 351 Colleges, the Princeton Review ranked the library fifth in the nation. It is named after William D. Walsh, a 1951 graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill.