In Trevithick’s undergraduate courses, including Taboo: the Anthropology of the Forbidden and Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective, he often revealed how similar humans are in their attractions and aversions. 

“We exchanged ideas on which courses might appeal to students and what course names would be most appropriate,” said Anthropology Professor Allan S. Gilbert, Ph.D., the department chair at the time of Trevitheck’s hiring in 2007. Since many of Fordham’s anthropology courses were designed in the 1960s and 1970s, they needed to bring the content and terminology up to date in a way that would also attract students. “Alan was very good at that,” said Gilbert. “He was also an excellent teacher and influenced numerous students to major in anthropology over the years.”

Recent graduate Ellen Sweeney, FCRH ‘23, recalled the compelling discussions she had in two of Trevithick’s classes, even through Zoom during the 2020–2021 academic year. 

“I always walked out of his classrooms—virtual and in person—with a smile on my face, musing about all that we had discussed,” she said. “I practically re-taught his lectures to my friends because they were so interesting.”

It may have helped that he often taught his remote classes during the pandemic with his blue parrotlet Giuseppe Celestiano DiForpini—Pino for short—on his shoulder. “Seeing his love for the bird and care for teaching us helped me stay engaged during the semester, and I think it helped me stay on track through that whole difficult year,” said Sweeney. 

Born on November 11, 1952, in Washington, D.C., Trevithick was raised by parents who inspired his lifelong intellectual curiosity and wanderlust. His father, John Trevithick, worked for the U.S. mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, where Trevithick spent several of his childhood years. His mother taught high school and college level English.

Trevithick lived abroad again in his 30s, after earning a bachelor’s in history of religion from George Washington University, a master’s in South Asian studies from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Harvard University. His doctoral research brought him to India for two years as a Fulbright Scholar. It culminated in his research monograph about one of the world’s largest pilgrimage sites, Bodh Gaya. 

In the 1990s, Trevithick met his wife, Fordham Mathematics Professor Melkana Brakalova-Trevithick, Ph.D., while the two were teaching at the American University in Bulgaria. 

“He just fell in love with the country, and appreciated its complex, ancient history and culture. The Bulgarians are very appreciative of intellectual strengths … and of rich creative inner lives.” Trevithick could relate: he was a musician, an artist, and a writer—he later penned a weekly column for a local Connecticut paper he edited, The Voice, and before he died was hard at work on a comic sci-fi novel, Raise the City, which draws from his Cornish heritage that stretches back to the English inventor of the steam locomotive, Richard Trevithick.

“He was always bubbling with creativity and abilities—whether it was playing jazz on the keyboard, creating paper mâché inspired by mathematical fractals, or spending hours writing his book,” his wife said.

At Fordham, he was instrumental in the unionization efforts for adjunct and contingent faculty. He continued his activism through the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, where he served on their Social Justice Committee.

“His kindness, optimism, and intellect were unmatched,” said Brakalova-Trevithick. “Many people say he was one in a million. I am saying one in infinity.” 

Trevithick cherished time with his sons, Joe and Alex, sharing in their pursuits, whether fishing in Connecticut lakes or traveling to the Black Sea. In addition to his wife and sons, Trevithick is survived by his brother, John; daughter-in-law, Kelly; granddaughter, Molly; and many other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will be held on Nov. 24, at 2 p.m. at the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains, New York, with an option to attend via Zoom. For details, please email [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice or to support the publication of Raise the City.

Fordham rose to number 32 for study abroad among U.S. doctoral-level institutions, according to this year’s Open Doors report on undergraduate study abroad participation. Approximately 40% of Fordham undergraduate students participate in a study abroad program.

For Joseph Rienti, director of the university’s international and study abroad programs, it’s exciting to see the participation rate begin to recover after the pandemic. Before international travel paused, around 50% of Fordham undergraduates took part in a study abroad experience. 

Global diversity is a longstanding value in Jesuit education, Rienti said, and study abroad programs help fulfill the University’s mission. 

“Study abroad broadens student perspectives and deepens their knowledge. We do that in our classrooms in New York, but there’s no better way to do that than to leave your comfort zone and learn from professors and students in another country,” Rienti said. 

A Study Abroad Option for Every Student

The wide variety of study abroad programs available to Fordham students makes it easier to participate, Rienti said. 

Fordham has major study abroad outposts in London, U.K., and Granada, Spain, and offers access to study abroad programs in over 50 countries on six continents. In the 2024-25 academic year, over 1,000 undergraduate students are studying abroad in 30 different countries.

Students can choose immersive “direct enroll” programs, where they learn alongside locals at esteemed universities across the globe, or “island programs” with classes designed to cater to American study abroad students. The university also offers short-term study abroad opportunities, typically ranging from one to four weeks, and special focus programs that integrate a central theme or academic topic, such as the 14-week theater intensive at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts, or the CNN Academy journalism intensive at University College Dublin. 

Now that federal, state, and University financial aid dollars can be applied to study abroad expenses, participation is more accessible than ever for students of all backgrounds. Students who qualify for financial aid such as a Pell grant, student loan, or tuition remission can use that aid to fund a study abroad experience. For those who do not receive financial aid, there are study abroad-specific scholarships available. 

The Open Doors Report includes data from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and the Institute of International Education.

The Lincoln Center Learning & Innovative Technology Environment, located on the fourth floor of Lowenstein in room 416, was operating at full tilt as of last Thursday. A miniature, plastic model of the Eiffel Tower was coming to life in the belly of a 3D printer. Students with virtual reality goggles practiced hurling imaginary objects across a giant flat-screen. And inside the brand-new video/podcasting studio, a pair of LITE’s work-study students demonstrated how to record a video while jotting notes on a screen, weatherman-style.

“People say when they walk into the space, they feel more creative—that LITE lets them think outside the box and be able to apply these technologies in their classes,” said Nicole Zeidan, Ed.D., assistant director of emerging educational technologies and learning space design. She helps connect LITE’s resources to students and faculty, such as Assistant Professor of Art History Nushelle de Silva, Ph.D.

Virtual Reality for Museum Studies

Earlier this fall, de Silva wanted her Museum Architecture students to see how a museum experience changes when you “visit” it virtually. Using VR headsets at Rose HIll’s LITE, students were able to view the “Mona Lisa” up close without the hordes of tourists in the Louvre. 

With this technology now available at Lincoln Center, said de Silva, “ I could turn this into homework. And then we would have the whole of the class time to talk about that experience.”

Printing Sturdy Replicas of Fragile Artifacts 

The tools at the LITE Center in Lowenstein and its counterpart at Rose Hill are designed to make classes experiential and creative work more accessible. Students can fashion theater costumes with LITE’s sewing machines or repair objects with its soldering equipment. A too-fragile-to-touch artifact can be 3D scanned, then 3D printed to create a durable facsimile, like the medieval seals the LITE Center recreated for Center for Medieval Studies Director Nicholas Paul. “The originals … are made out of wax and, obviously, extremely old, so having copies that we can pass around and look at closely is really useful in classes,” he said.

Fleur Eshghi, Ed.D., associate vice president of educational technology research computing, said she thinks many academic departments will make good use of the center. 

“We have been looking for space for Lincoln Center to build the same facilities [as Rose Hill],” she said. “And we have finally succeeded … I’m extremely excited.” 

Letting the Light in

Nicola Terzulli, learning space design lead for the Office of Technology, made the most of Lincoln Center’s light-filled space when designing the different stations.

“Lowenstein has those iconic windows for each floor,” said Terzulli, so he found a manufacturer who could soundproof a podcasting room but keep the glass walls. When the studio is not in use, you can see through it. But should you need privacy—or want to use the room to record a media-rich lesson for Panopto, Fordham’s platform for video classes—you just draw the room’s thick black curtains to enclose it.

Terzulli even used all-glass cabinets to make the tools at Lincoln Center’s LITE easy to see. 

“We wanted as much glass as possible … so people when they walk in, they see [these tools]and they’re like, ‘Hey, what’s that? Can I do that? Can I use that?’”

For details on the features and hours of the Lincoln Center and the Rose Hill LITE Centers, visit their site.

Hoffman was widely respected at Fordham for her interdisciplinary expertise and collaborative spirit. 

Elizabeth Stone, Ph.D., a professor of English, said that despite their different fields of study, they grew to be fast friends.

“I always knew we spoke the same language. Decade after decade, our conversations about one another’s work were immensely gratifying,” she said.

Magda Teter, Ph.D., the Shvidler Chair in Judaic Studies at Fordham, called Hoffman “a beloved member of Fordham’s Jewish Studies community” and said her work was marked by “great erudition and disciplinary depth.” 

“In her 1991 work on the Hebrew writer and Nobel Prize laureate S.Y. Agnon, she deployed a wide range of theoretical tools, ranging from psychoanalysis to feminist theory,” Teter said.

“She placed Agnon in conversation with other writers, such as James Joyce, Kafka, and Thomas Mann. … She was able to handle, with equal care and knowledge, traditional Jewish text and modern philosophy.

Hoffman was born on June 19, 1946, in New York City and grew up, along with her younger brother, David, in Brooklyn. She earned a bachelor’s in English and Comparative Literature from Cornell University and a master’s and Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. She was a special member of Columbia’s Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine.

She joined Fordham in 1979 and taught courses in Israeli literature and film as part of Fordham’s Middle East Studies program. In 1992, she created the annual Nostra Aetate Dialogue series, which brought together Jewish and Christian scholars to address questions pertinent to Jewish-Catholic reconciliation. In 2002, she also helped found Fordham’s Jewish Texts Reading Group, which still meets today. 

Hoffman was an accomplished painter. In 2015, she opened up about her creative process in a lecture at the Walsh Library. Last November, her art was displayed at Fordham’s Butler Gallery. 

Hoffman was known at Fordham as a skilled instructor and generous mentor. Fordham professor of biology Jason Morris, Ph.D., said she taught him how to be a better teacher.

“I learned so much from teaching with Anne. She appreciated nuance: she had a deep mistrust of facile answers and sharply drawn lines,” he wrote in an email.

“Her integrity and her empathy (and despite what she said, her expertise) came across in everything she said and did.”

In 2003, she was honored with Fordham’s Outstanding Teaching in the Humanities Award, and in 2019, she was recognized for 40 years of service at Fordham. She retired in 2023 and was named professor emerita.

Nikolas Oktaba, a 2015 graduate, took a class with Hoffman, and like many students, he kept in touch with her after graduation. He called her a “fount of tranquil wisdom.” 

“Not only did she put her students first, but she did so in a way that allowed them to see the perseverance, resilience, and strength that they already held within them,” he said. 

At the time of her death, in addition to her painting, she was teaching writing skills at the Fortune Society, teaching Freud at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, and conducting friendship-focused writing groups at the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh via Zoom.

Leon Hoffman, M.D., Anne’s husband of 57 years, said that he would forever hold onto a memory of the two of them walking together when she was an undergraduate and he was attending medical school.

“We had one of those adolescent discussions of the time: would we marry someone who was not Jewish? I responded very quickly, ‘That is an academic discussion because I am going to marry you.’ She was shocked, but the rest is history,” he said.

“We were not tied at the hip, but we were tied with our brains and our love.”

In an interview last year, Hoffman recalled what her late father-in-law said when she received her first summer grant to travel to Israel to explore Agnon’s archive. 

“He observed that it truly is the ‘goldeneh medineh’ (a Yiddish term referring to the U.S. as the golden land) when a Catholic university gives a Jewish girl money to go to Israel to work on Agnon,” she said. 

“Even more than the material support, his remark captures something of the openness and generosity that have been my experience of this university, my academic home for over 40 years.” 

Hoffman is survived by her husband, Leon Hoffman, M.D.; her children, Miriam Hoffman, M.D. (Steven Kleiner, M.D.) and Liora Hoffman, Ph.D. (Rob Yalen); her brother, David Golomb; her niece, Danielle Golomb, M.D.; her nephew, Jesse Golomb; and her grandchildren Shoshana, Elisheva, and Hillel Hoffman Kleiner and Greta and Max Yalen.

A memorial service open to the University community will be announced at a later date.

Hosted by the Archdiocese of New York’s Office of Black Ministry, led by Br. Tyrone A. Davis, C.F.C., the awards dinner recognized President Tania Tetlow and two Fordham scholars for their leadership and commitment to their communities.

The annual event supports the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Fund, named for the once-enslaved Haitian-American entrepreneur who devoted his life to charitable work. Hundreds of attendees gathered in the landmarked Manhattan restaurant Guastavino’s to honor the scholarship recipients and this year’s Pierre Toussaint Medallion awardees, Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum and President Tetlow. 

Tetlow spoke about the inspirational life of Toussaint, who was emancipated in 1800s New York. 

“As we think about leadership and how to lead with love, we remember the example of a man who escaped such profound pain and injustice and oppression. It would’ve been very human of him to lean into hatred and resentment,” she said. “And instead … he came to this city and was so incredibly generous …  if we can, any of us, have a fraction of what he achieved every day, the world will be a better place.”

‘Service Is Love’

Two of the three Pierre Toussaint Scholars featured at the event were Fordham students: Angel Madera Santana, a Fordham junior studying English and pre-law (and the executive vice president of communications and marketing for Rose Hill’s United Student Government), and Fordham senior Joseph Giraldi, who plans to apply his engineering physics degree toward designing medical devices for patients in need.

Emcee Rev. Kareem R. Smith, a pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in the Bronx and the senior chaplain for the scholars program, asked the students about its impact on their education. 

For Giraldi, it “helped us become leaders in the sense that we view everyone with worth and we understand that we have a duty to serve,” he said.

Madera Santana said the program inspired him to serve others: “Service is love, and if we all share just a little bit of what we have, of our gifts and our talents, we would see the greater impact that love has on our community.” 

Established in 1983, the Pierre Toussaint fund provides mentorship as well as spiritual and financial support to students of diverse backgrounds from public, private, and parochial schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York. Of the 88 current Pierre Toussaint Scholars across 45 universities, five of them attend Fordham, including sophomores Erika Grullon and Carol Riaz, first-year student Sofia Morales, and Madera Santana and Giraldi. 

Pierre Toussaint is considered by many to be the father of Catholic Charities in New York. A hairdresser to well-heeled clients like Eliza Hamilton, he donated and raised money to open the first Catholic orphanage in New York and the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral, began the city’s first school for Black children, and cared for the sick. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him “venerable” in 1997, moving him further along the path to sainthood. 

A University Worthy of Toussaint Scholars

Archbishop of New York Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan awarded Tetlow the Pierre Toussaint Medallion, recognizing her commitment to academic excellence, social justice, and service to young leaders.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of Fordham University,” she said, “which has for 183 years brought together brilliant faculty, like Bryan Massingale, and an incredible staff and administration, to create a university worthy of the student scholars that you got to hear speak tonight.”

In her remarks, Tetlow celebrated Fordham’s strides in increasing diversity against steep odds. “In this year when the Supreme Court banned us from considering race in admissions, our students of color went up to 50%,” she said to applause.

Cardinal Dolan then awarded the second Medallion to Kirk Whalum, who punctuated his thanks with a performance of the Whitney Houston song he famously soloed on, “I Will Always Love You.”  

As the evening came to an end, Cardinal Dolan told attendees that more and more students come up to him now and say they are former Toussaint scholars. “And that brings such satisfaction and joy and gratitude to my heart … We couldn’t do it without folks like you.”

For prospective students, sustainability is a significant concern. Of the nearly 8,000 high school students surveyed by The Princeton Review in 2024, 61% said their college decision would be swayed by information about the school’s commitment to the environment. “We are seeing substantive interest among college applicants in attending green colleges,” said Rob Franek, the publication’s editor-in-chief.

What Makes a ‘Green College?’

The list cited a few sustainability highlights at Fordham, including its sustainability committee and dedicated sustainability officer as well as its process for tracking and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions. Fordham has made substantial investments in reducing its emissions. As of December 2023, the university had nearly 3,000 solar panels generating renewable energy. 

Fordham’s investments in updating its dining options also has an eye on sustainability. The dining halls offer plant-based options, and feature water-saving, food-waste reducing hydroponic gardens where workers snip fresh herbs for use in meals.

Fordham students can gain valuable experience in sustainable practices through internships, including one internship geared toward lowering Fordham’s carbon footprint, as well as through their coursework. Students can earn degrees in sustainable fields like environmental science, or pursue other academic paths with an environmental focus. For example, the Gabelli School of Business offers a sustainable business minor, and Fordham students can work directly with the community on environmental issues through the Center for Community Engaged Learning. 

One such opportunity came last year when the city’s Department of Transportation awarded the center a $25,000 grant to gather community input on how best to fix the Cross Bronx Expressway. Emissions from the busy roadway have long been blamed for poor health outcomes in the Bronx. Julie Gafney, the center’s director, said she envisions multiple opportunities for students to get involved with the project, from city planning to architecture to visual arts.  

Fordham also received a $50 million grant from the EPA in 2023 to partner with community groups serving people disproportionately impacted by pollution, climate change, and other environmental stressors. 

The Green Colleges List 

The Princeton Review chose the colleges on its Green Colleges List based on surveys of administrators about sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs, and student surveys about “green” campus experiences. 

As a group, the colleges on the list derived 28% of their energy from clean or renewable sources and diverted 46% of their waste from incinerators or landfills. 

In addition, Fordham leaped to No. 57 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best colleges for veterans, released earlier this fall.

The two rankings reflect Fordham’s many efforts to meet all student veterans’ needs—from career development to health and wellness to help with the transition to college life, said Matthew Butler, PCS ’16, senior director of the Office of Military and Veterans’ Services at Fordham.

“We’re engaged on multiple fronts,” he said. “We’re not just offering an education but supporting the full student veteran life cycle.”

The recognition coincides with rising enrollment numbers for veterans: The number of new student veterans who enrolled at Fordham this fall is up 131% over fall 2023, and the 470 student veterans and veterans’ dependents now enrolled marks the highest total in at least five years, noted Andrea Marais, Fordham’s director of military and veteran higher education, engagement, and transition.

Free Tuition for Student Vets: No Cap

Likely important for the rankings, Butler said, was Fordham’s decision last year to eliminate its cap on tuition benefits under the federal government’s Yellow Ribbon Program/Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The University covers 100% of tuition and fees for eligible student veterans or their dependents

He said the Military Times ranking was particularly welcome because of the publication’s presence on military bases and stations around the world. In its ranking, Military Times cited other things like Fordham’s Veterans Promise program, which guarantees undergraduate admission to the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) for students who graduated from New York high schools with a 3.0 and meet other standards.

Butler also noted Fordham’s career-focused events for student veterans such as the Veterans on Wall Street symposium that Fordham will host on Nov. 7. “Veterans make great hires,” said Butler. “They can make good decisions under pressure, they know how to build a team, and they are not afraid of hard work.”

Commander’s Cup

The Military Times ranking closely follows an event that highlighted the University’s tightly knit military-connected community. On Saturday, Oct. 26, Fordham hosted nearly 700 students in Junior ROTC programs from 17 area high schools for the annual Commander’s Cup competition.

The event included drill competitions, physical fitness tests, and tours of Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, as well as opportunities to learn about the ROTC program at Fordham and its scholarship opportunities, said Lt. Col. Rob Parsons, professor of military science at Fordham.

Students at the event were able to see that there’s “an affordable way to go to school and continue to serve,” he said.

“I don’t think it can be overstated how robust and integrated the veterans community in New York is, and how many ties exist to Fordham and Fordham grads,” he said.

Student Veterans of America Build Community

Members of Fordham’s Student Veterans of America chapter volunteered at the event, fielding questions from JROTC members, said Rico Lucenti, a student in PCS and chapter member.

“A lot of kids came up to the booth asking about the veteran presence and military-connected families on Fordham’s campus and what Fordham is doing for those families and students,” he said.

Jorge Ferrara, a PCS student and SVA chapter president, said the chapter arranges service and social events that help student veterans transition to college.

“What we’re doing is trying to establish a sense of community and bring everybody together so everybody knows we’re all going through the same thing,” he said.

A Veterans Day Mass will be celebrated at the Rose Hill campus on Sunday, Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day. Other upcoming events for Fordham’s student-veteran community include the RamVets Fall Social on Friday, Nov. 8.

The editors of Commonweal, an acclaimed journal of religion, politics, and culture, said they chose to honor Tetlow because of her trailblazing lay leadership and commitment to justice.

“Her attention to forming and informing the next generation of Catholics and all people of goodwill, and her spirit of knowledge-seeking and creativity exemplify the values Commonweal continues to embody,” they said. 

For Tetlow, receiving an award from the renowned publication was an honor. “Commonweal embodies the best of the Catholic intellectual tradition, asking the critical questions, pushing on assumptions, seeking truth for a century,” she said. It “continues to lovingly push our church to read the signs of the times and to keep striving towards the truth of the Gospel.” 

Tetlow is the first woman and the first layperson to lead Fordham, and according to Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi, that’s part of what made her an ideal candidate for the Centennial Award.

“She’s an inspiring example who really aligns with Commonweal’s mission, and our belief in the importance of laypeople in matters of faith and leadership,” said Preziosi, a Fordham alumnus. He said Tetlow, who recently appeared on the Commonweal podcast, is “the perfect expression of the kind of community we’re building around as we launch into our second century.”

Fordham Board Chair Armando Nuñez and Kim Bepler, a Fordham trustee, were co-chairs of the dinner. “Tania is a gifted and charismatic leader who is both entrepreneurial and a fierce advocate for Fordham and Jesuit traditions,” said Nuñez. “As president, she is a faith-first leader, called to the service of the University community every day.”

Several other friends of Fordham were on hand for the ceremony. Timothy Shriver, the disability rights activist, presented Tetlow with the award. Shriver received an honorary degree from Fordham in 2019 and delivered the keynote address at that year’s commencement.

Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J, professor emerita of theology at Fordham and an award-winning author, delivered the invocation and touched on Tetlow’s unique role as a layperson leading a Jesuit institution. 

“Thank God for the laity,” she said. “Thank God that in an era when the expected lay role was to pay, pray, and obey, some few decided to raise their distinct lay voices to explore how Catholic faith could intersect with culture and politics—critically and fruitfully.”

Commonweal, which was recently profiled in the New York Times on the occasion of its centennial, produces a print magazine, podcasts, live and virtual events, and local community gatherings centered on reflective discussions of faith, public affairs, the arts, and the common good. Its past contributors include Dorothy Day, W.H. Auden, Hannah Arendt, John Updike, and Graham Greene. 

The College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, convened by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, will focus on three civic commitments: educating for democracy; preparing students for a vibrant, diverse, and contentious society; and protecting and defending free inquiry. 

Tetlow said the coalition’s work dovetails with the values of Jesuit universities like Fordham.

“For 500 years, Jesuit universities have taught not just knowledge but wisdom. We teach our values—empathy and openness, and our skills—critical thinking and active listening,” said Tetlow, who signed on to the initiative earlier this month.

“We encourage students to question assumptions, both ours and their own. We model for students how to argue with passion and logic, without attacking the motives of those with whom we disagree.”

The coalition’s civic commitments are woven into the work of Fordham’s FitzSimons Presidential Initiative on Civics and Civility—a yearlong project of education and engagement, offering a model for genuine, respectful dialogue among Americans and fruitful avenues for cooperation in creating solutions to common problems. 

Institute for Citizens & Scholars president Rajiv Vinnakota said that higher education has a responsibility to provide students with critical civic skills and knowledge to participate effectively in our constitutional democracy.

“College campuses are among the most diverse spaces in our country, and college is an important time for students to develop the habits, practices, and norms to live in a multicultural and interconnected democracy,” he said. 

“Doing so can create a ripple effect, making young people more optimistic and increasingly committed about their future and our nation.”

But according to New York Times-bestselling author and Fordham President’s Council member Adriana Trigiani, author of 18 books with numerous producing and directing credits to her name, our only limitations are the ones we place on ourselves. That’s the message she delivered to a room of approximately 200 women — many who identified themselves as aspiring writers — at the eighth annual Fordham Women’s Summit on Oct. 16. 

‘Find Out What the Men Are Making’

During the summit’s keynote session, Trigiani took part in an inspiring and often hysterical conversation with Fordham’s Mary Bly, chair of the English department and author of bestselling romance novels under the pen name Eloisa James. Trigiani offered advice on topics spanning from how to keep to a writing schedule, how to handle the naysayers, and most of all, how to get paid what you deserve. 

“The number-one job of getting paid properly is finding out what the men are making,” said Trigiani, who is also a Fordham parent. “It doesn’t take much. Sometimes just half a cocktail and I can get the numbers out.”

Her tell-it-like-it-is delivery sent one wave of laughter after another through the crowd of career and philanthropy-focused women, many of whom were Fordham alumni or current students. She also offered words of encouragement and reassurance that touched on the real obstacles writers are facing today. 

‘You Cannot Create Without Engaging the Soul’

One such moment came when Trigiani addressed the looming specter of the new AI text generators that threaten the craft with occasionally convincing imitation. 

“Everybody’s worried about AI, but something’s missing there. That’s our secret — they don’t know, but the Jesuits would know. It’s that you cannot create without engaging the soul. It can look like it. It can walk like it. But it’s like one of them handbags in the street. It looks like a Birkin, but if you put two things in it the handles fall off,” said Trigiani. 

Giving with a Purpose

The attendees were encouraged to join Fordham Giving Circles, a form of collective philanthropy where groups of individuals donate to a pooled fund. Emmy Award-winning content creator Isabel Rivera, FCRH ’90, who served as the summit’s emcee, highlighted the Fordham Women’s Summit Scholarship Giving Circle, created to make a Fordham education accessible to students of all backgrounds. Since 2017, more than 100 Giving Circle members in 20 circles have joined forces to give more than one million to Fordham, Rivera said. 

For Trigiani, who along with Bly pledged to join a Giving Circle during the keynote session, it’s a worthy cause. 

“I like that I’m looking at the world at Fordham,” said Trigiani. “It’s not just privileged people … Every country in the world is represented. Every religion. Those Jesuits are sharp, because they know the meaning of the word Catholic. It means everybody.”

The Calder Center is a 113-acre property in Armonk, New York, where Fordham faculty and students conduct ecological research in a relatively undisturbed area of wilderness, just 25 miles north of New York City. Chomri Khayi arrived at the center in February, and ever since she’s been hard at work mentoring students, forging partnerships with local conservation groups, and developing a land management plan for the property.

Before joining Fordham, Khayi worked in land management and conservation at Yale. There, she conducted field research on the ecological recovery of dry tropical forests, developed a plant identification resource for a national park in Ecuador, and helped to manage the health and resilience of over 8,000 acres of forest in Connecticut and New Hampshire.  

Khayi sat down with Fordham Now to discuss her new role. 

What does a typical workday look like for you? 

I usually have volunteers or interns come in. Right now we’re doing an inventory of the forest. We have a brief meeting, gear up, then we head out into the woods. 

What does it mean to do an inventory of the forest? 

In order to manage a particular woodland, you need to know what’s there in terms of the plants and the wildlife, as well as the stressors in that environment.

We have around 37 plots all across the property, and in each plot, we collect data on the mature trees, the smaller trees, the understory vegetation, and also invasive species. We also check the light availability to see if there’s a big canopy opening.

Then we extrapolate data from those small plots to the whole property to understand species diversity and distribution, and use that knowledge to develop management strategies. 

What are some of the challenges related to conservation at Calder? 

The biggest challenge ecologically is the non-native invasive species. 

Not all non-native species are invasive, but the ones that are can get really aggressive, and they can out-compete the native plants since they don’t have natural predators. 

You can’t eradicate all non-native species, and some of them have benefits, but the challenge is managing them. And that’s difficult, considering we’re about 25 miles away from New York City, a big hub of international trade. We have a lot of things coming into the ports, outdoor recreationists that may inadvertently aid seed dispersal, and residential areas where they may bring in seeds and ornamentals (decorative garden plants) that may prove to be aggressive.  

What impact will your work have beyond the Calder Center?

We’re part of several regional partnerships, like PRISM, EMMA, the New York Botanical Garden, Vassar College, and others. We’re not just looking at our own land. We’re collaborating with other sites in the lower Hudson Valley to exchange knowledge and create a network for early detection and monitoring. 

Calder also creates a good opportunity for students to try out different interests and see what they like, or simply provides a green space for students to enjoy. If they really commit and spend a summer or a year at Calder, they would have a very unique, boots-on-the-ground experience. In his role, I really want to continue building this community of students that nurtures their relationships with natural areas and with each other.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.