Fordham University
| Fordham University | |
|---|---|
 Fordham University seal | |
| Latin: Universitas Fordhamensis | |
| Motto | Latin: Sapientia et Doctrina |
| Motto in English | Wisdom and Learning |
| Established | 1841 |
| Type | Private, Independent, Coeducational |
| Religious affiliation | Catholic, Jesuit |
| Endowment | $396 million |
| President | Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. |
| Provost | Stephen Freedman, Ph.D |
| Academic staff | 1181 |
| Students | 14,544 |
| Undergraduates | 7,950 |
| Postgraduates | 6,594 |
| Other students | 48 |
| Location | New York City, New York, United States of America |
| Campus | Rose Hill (Bronx): Urban, 85 acres (340,000 m) Lincoln Center (Manhattan): Urban, 8 acres (32,000 m) Westchester (West Harrison): Suburban, 32 acres (130,000 m) |
| Former names | St. John's College (1841-1907) |
| Colors | Maroon and White |
| Sports | 22 NCAA Division I varsity teams. |
| Nickname | The Rams, Old Maroon |
| Mascot | Ram |
| Affiliations | A-10, MAISA, ECAC, IC4A |
| Website | http://www.fordham.edu |
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three main campuses located in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St. John's College, placed in the care of the Society of Jesus shortly thereafter, and has since become an independent institution under a lay Board of Trustees, which describes the University as "in the Jesuit tradition."
Enrollment at Fordham includes nearly 8,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students spread over three campuses in New York State: Rose Hill in the Bronx, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Westchester in West Harrison. In addition, the University operates two centers abroad, one in the People's Republic of China and one in the United Kingdom. Fordham awards bachelor's (BA, BFA, and BS), master's, and doctoral degrees.
Ranked among the top 60 national universities, Fordham is composed of four undergraduate schools and six graduate schools, including the Graduate School of Social Service, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Business, and the School of Law. It also offers a five-year BA/BS engineering program in cooperation with Case Western Reserve University and Columbia University and a BFA program in dance in partnership with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Fordham Preparatory School, a four-year, all-male college preparatory school, was once integrated with the University and shares its founding. Since legally separating from the University in 1972, "Fordham Prep" moved to its own facilities bordering the northwest corner of the Rose Hill campus.
History
1841–1900
Fordham University was originally founded as St. John's College in 1841 by the Irish-born coadjutor bishop (later archbishop) of the Diocese of New York, the Most Reverend John Joseph Hughes. The college was the first Catholic institution of higher education in the northeastern United States. Bishop Hughes purchased most of Rose Hill Manor and Estate in Fordham, the Bronx, at a little less than $30,000 for the purpose of establishing St. Joseph's Seminary in September of 1840. "Rose Hill" was the name originally given to the site in 1787 by its owner, Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home in Scotland. The seminary was paired with St. John's College, which opened at Rose Hill with a student body of six on June 21, 1841. The Reverend John McCloskey (later Archbishop of New York and eventually the first American Cardinal) was its first president, and the faculty were secular priests and lay instructors. The college went through a succession of four diocesan priests in five years as presidents, including Fr. James Roosevelt Bayley, a distant cousin of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and nephew of St. Elizabeth Seton. In 1845, the seminary church, Our Lady of Mercy, was built. The same year, Bishop Hughes convinced a group of Jesuits, including five from St. Mary's College in Kentucky, to staff the new school.
In 1846, St. John's College received its charter from the New York state legislature, and about three months later, the first Jesuits began to arrive. Bishop Hughes deeded the college over but retained title to the seminary property of about nine acres. In 1847, Fordham's first school in Manhattan opened. The school became the independently chartered College of St. Francis Xavier in 1861. It was also in 1847 that the American poet Edgar Allan Poe arrived in the village of Fordham and began a friendship with the Jesuits that would last throughout his lifetime. In 1849, he published "The Bells," to which some traditions credit the college's church bells as the inspiration.
The college's early curriculum consisted of a junior division (i.e. the prep school), requiring four years of study in Latin, Greek, grammar, literature, history, geography, mathematics, and religion, and a senior division (i.e. the college), requiring three years study in "poetry" (humanities), rhetoric, and philosophy. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, famed commander of the all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry American Civil War regiment, attended the junior division. An Artium Baccalaureus degree was earned for completion of both curricula, and an additional year of philosophy would earn a Magister Artium degree. There was also a "commercial" track similar to a modern college of business, which was an alternative to the Classical, Latin-based curriculum and resulted in a certificate instead of a degree. In 1855, the first student stage production, Henry IV, was presented. The seminary was closed in 1859, and the property was sold to the Jesuits in 1860 for $40,000.
A Congressional act creating instruction in military science and tactics at the college level resulted in St. John's College bringing a cadet corps to the campus. From 1885-1890, a veteran of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, Lt. Herbert C. Squires, built a cadet battalion to a strength of 200, which would provide the foundation for the modern ROTC unit at Fordham. The college built a science building in 1886, lending more legitimacy to science in the curriculum. In addition, a three-year Bachelor of Science degree was created. In 1897, academic regalia for students at Commencement was first adopted. The process of consolidating the Westchester towns that eventually comprised the borough of the Bronx began in 1874, bringing St. John's College within the official limits of New York City.
1901–1950
With the addition of a law school and medical school in 1905, St. John's College became Fordham University in 1907. The name Fordham ("ford by the hamlet") refers to the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which the Rose Hill campus is located. This neighborhood was named either as a reference to its location near a shallow crossing of the Bronx River or as a reference to Rev. John Fordham, an Anglican priest.
In 1908, Fordham University Press was established.
In 1912, the University opened the College of Pharmacy, which offered a three-year program in pharmacy and did not require its students to obtain bachelor's degrees until the late 1930s. The college had a mainly Jewish student body, and in recognition of that, students were exempt from the then-required course in Catholic theology. The College's longtime dean, Jacob Diner, was also Jewish.
In 1913, the College of St. Francis Xavier was closed, and various Fordham colleges were opened at the Woolworth Building in Manhattan to fill the void. They were later moved to 302 Broadway.
The University closed its medical school in 1919, citing a lack of endowment for the school and reduced University funds overall due to the First World War.
The Gabelli School of Business began in 1920 in Manhattan as the School of Accounting.
1951–2000
In 1961, the Lincoln Center campus opened as part of the Lincoln Square Renewal Project. The campus originally housed only Fordham Law School, but the colleges at 302 Broadway were moved to the campus in 1969. At the Rose Hill campus, the all-female Thomas More College began instruction in 1964.
In 1967, Bensalem College, an experimental college with no set curriculum or requirements and no grades, was created by University president Leo McLaughlin, S.J. It was conceived of and led by poet Elizabeth Sewell. The college was studied by a wide array of educators and reported on by such large-circulation publications of the day as Look, Esquire, and the Saturday Review. The school closed in 1974.
In 1969, the board of trustees was reorganized to include a majority of non-clergy members, which officially made the University an independent institution. The College of Pharmacy closed due to declining enrollment in 1972. Fordham College at Rose Hill merged with Thomas More College in 1974, becoming coeducational.
In 1993, a twenty-story residence hall was added to the Lincoln Center campus to house 850 graduate and undergraduate students. In 1996, the undergraduate college at Lincoln Center changed its name to "Fordham College at Lincoln Center," having been called "The Liberal Arts College" and "The College at Lincoln Center" since its creation in 1968.
2001–present
Marymount College, an independent women's college founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (R.S.H.M.) in 1907, was consolidated into Fordham University in July of 2002. The college had been steeped in financial hardship since the 1970s. Located 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City in Tarrytown, New York, the school remained open, and its campus received a branch of Fordham College of Liberal Studies as well as extensions of the Graduate Schools of Education, Social Service, and Business Administration.
In 2005, Fordham announced that Marymount would be phased out; it awarded degrees to its final undergraduate class in May of 2007. University administrators announced that the campus would remain open for Fordham graduate programs in several disciplines.
In the autumn of 2007, however, the University announced its intention to seek buyers for the Marymount campus. Administrators stated that the expenses required to support the programs on the campus far exceeded their demand. University officials estimated that the revenue gained from the proposed sale would not be greater than the expenses Fordham incurred maintaining and improving the campus since its merger with Marymount. President Father McShane nonetheless stated that the University's decision was a "painful" one. Fordham then announced its intention to move the remaining programs from the Marymount campus to a new location in Harrison, New York by the autumn of 2008. On February 17, 2008, Fordham announced the sale of the campus for $27 million to EF Schools, a chain of private language-instruction schools.
In 2003, Fordham announced the creation of the Toward 2016 Integrated Strategic Plan, to be implemented by the University's sesquicentennial in 2016. The $500-million plan aims to enhance the University's profile, increase research among faculty members, make capital improvements to both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, increase the competitiveness of varsity athletic programs, and enlarge the University's endowment, among other things. As of November 2010, Fordham is expected to meet almost all of the plan's objectives on time.
In December 2007, the University established the Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art at its Rose Hill campus. The museum contains more than 200 relics from Classical antiquity, ranging from Greek terracotta vases to Roman marble heads and Etruscan urns. The museum was a gift from , a 1951 graduate and chairman of Sequoia Associates. The museum is located at the William D. Walsh Family Library and is the largest collection of its kind in the New York metropolitan area.
Academics
Fordham University's academic ideals are drawn from its Jesuit influences. The University promotes the Jesuit principles of cura personalis, which fosters a faculty and administrative respect for the individual student and his or her uniqueness; magis, which encourages students to strive for excellence in all aspects of life, not simply the academic; and "men and women for others," which intends to inspire service among members of the Fordham community.
Core Curriculum
All undergraduates at Fordham are required to complete the Core Curriculum, a distribution of 17–20 courses (depending on foreign language proficiency) in nine disciplines. The Core is intended to provide a sound liberal arts education. It is distributed as follows:
Most of these requirements can be fulfilled by a wide array of courses. In addition to these requirements, there are several distributive requirements that can be met in tandem with the requirements above. A student is expected to complete most of the Core by the end of his or her sophomore year. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree take a modified version of the Core.
Colleges and schools
Fordham University consists of four undergraduate schools and six graduate schools, which are as follows:
Undergraduate schools
In addition to its undergraduate schools, Fordham offers a number of special academic programs for its undergraduate students, some of which are listed below:
Graduate schools
Libraries
The Fordham University Library System contains over 2.4 million volumes, subscribes to over 15,000 periodicals and 19,000 electronic journals, and is a depository for United States Government documents. In addition, the Interlibrary Loan office provides students and faculty with virtually unlimited access to the over 20 million volumes in the New York Public Library System as well as access to media from libraries around the world. The system consists of the William D. Walsh Family Library and the Science Library at the Rose Hill campus, the Gerald M. Quinn Library and the Leo T. Kissam Memorial Law Library at the Lincoln Center campus, and the Reading Room at the Westchester campus. In its 2004 edition of the Best 351 Colleges, the Princeton Review ranked the Walsh Library as the fifth best collegiate library in the country.
Honor societies and programs
Fordham College at Rose Hill offers an honors program for its students. The program’s curriculum, a modified version of the regular Fordham Core, is a Great Books curriculum similar to that of St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. Most honors students are selected to join the program at the beginning of their freshman year, though some are selected at the beginning of their sophomore year. Alpha House, a 24-hour study lounge, is reserved for use by honors students. In addition, participants in the program receive the designation of in cursu honorum on their diploma and transcripts. Fordham's other undergraduate schools also offer honors programs.
In addition to its honors programs, Fordham has chapters of the following honor societies on campus:
The Campion Institute is Fordham's office for academic fellowships and scholarships. Its function is to raise awareness about fellowships among the student body, provide resources for students to discover appropriate opportunities, counsel students about their eligibility for various programs, and advise students through the application process.
The Matteo Ricci Society is an honor society for Fordham students who are likely candidates for academic fellowships. Students are invited to join based on academic success and other factors. Faculty assist members in preparing applications for fellowships. The society coordinates internships and provides funding for certain research opportunities. The Rev. William E. Boyle, S.J. Society is similar to the Matteo Ricci Society, but it is exclusively for business students.
Rankings
| USNWR National University | 56th |
|---|---|
| WM National University | 31st |
In February 2010, U.S. News & World Report ranked Fordham's undergraduate program 56th among national universities, on the same level as Boston University, Purdue University, and the University of Maryland at College Park. In 2010, the Washington Monthly rankings, created as a public-interest alternative to the U.S. News rankings, placed Fordham 31st in the nation, ahead of Yale, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania and a significant gain from the previous year. The 2010 edition of the Forbes College Rankings ranked Fordham 203rd in the nation. In 2010, BusinessWeek ranked Fordham's Gabelli School of Business 52nd nationally, a drop of 11 spots from the previous year. U.S. News & World Report, however, ranked the Gabelli School of Business 71st nationally, up nine spots from 2007.
Fordham's School of Law was ranked 30th in the nation in 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News also ranked the Graduate School of Social Service 17th and the Graduate School of Education 58th nationally. Fordham's BiMBA (Beijing International MBA) program, the first foreign MBA program to be approved by the Chinese government, was ranked #1 in China by Fortune Magazine.
The most recent ranking by the École des Mines de Paris placed Fordham 63rd in the world. The ranking measures the ability of universities to place their students in leading professional positions. Similarly, in 2011, Fordham ranked 6th in US News & World Report's ranking of "Universities Producing the Most Interns."
Kaplan/Newsweek's 2008 edition of the How to Get Into College Guide included Fordham as one of the "25 Hottest Schools in America," designating it the "Hottest Catholic School." In 1962, Time Magazine recognized Fordham as a "Catholic Ivy."
Fordham also participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)'s University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).
Campuses
Fordham University has three main campuses in and around New York City: Rose Hill in the Bronx, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Westchester in West Harrison. In addition, it maintains facilities throughout New York State and around the world.
Rose Hill
The Rose Hill campus, established in 1841, is home to Fordham College at Rose Hill, the Gabelli School of Business, and a division of the Fordham College of Liberal Studies, as well as the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education. Situated on 85 acres (340,000 m2) in the north Bronx, the campus is among the largest privately owned green spaces in New York City. It is located next to the New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, and the Arthur Avenue Market, also known as "Little Italy of the Bronx." Rose Hill's Collegiate Gothic architecture and expansive lawns were featured in MSNBC's 2008 edition of America's Prettiest College Campuses. In addition, the campus has been the setting of a number of films throughout the years.
Rose Hill is home to the University Church, which was built in 1845 as a seminary chapel and parish church for the surrounding community. The Gothic-style church is an official New York City landmark; it contains the original altar from the old St. Patrick's Cathedral and stained glass windows intended for the cathedral from King Louis-Philippe of France. The windows are also notable for their connection to a workshop in Sèvres, France, where the earliest stages of the Gothic Revival took place. There are 10 dormitories on campus, including two residential colleges and six Integrated Learning Communities. In addition, the campus contains three Jesuit residences and Murray-Weigel Hall, the Jesuit infirmary for the northeastern United States. The William Spain Seismic Observatory, located at Rose Hill, was the first seismic station in the United States to record ground waves from the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is part of a national network of seismic stations that reports data to the U.S. Geological Survey in Boulder, Colorado.
The campus is served by the Fordham station of the Metro-North Railroad (the tracks run along the boundary fence), which ends at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Public transit buses stop adjacent to campus exits, and New York City Subway stations are within walking distance. The University also provides a shuttle service between the three main campuses, which is known as the "Ram Van." About 6,000 undergraduates and graduates take classes at Rose Hill.
As part of the Toward 2016 Integrated Strategic Plan, Fordham recently added two new dormitories to the Rose Hill campus. In addition, it is currently working on renovations to the Gabelli School of Business, and it intends to add a new student union, recreation center, and science building to Rose Hill in the coming years.
Lincoln Center
The Lincoln Center campus, created as part of the Lincoln Square Renewal Project in 1961, is home to Fordham College at Lincoln Center and a division of Fordham College of Liberal Studies, as well as the School of Law, the Graduate School of Business Administration, the Graduate School of Education, and the Graduate School of Social Service. The 8-acre (32,000 m) campus occupies the area from West 60th Street to West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, placing it in the cultural heart of Manhattan. Across the street from the campus is one of the world's great cultural centers, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; nearby are Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and Columbus Circle. The campus is served by public transit buses; the A,B,C,D, and 1 trains of the New York City Subway; and the University's "Ram Van" shuttle.
Approximately 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students take classes at the Lincoln Center campus, of which about 900 live in University housing either on campus or in Midtown, Manhattan. The campus currently consists of the Leon Lowenstein Building, McMahon Hall, the Gerald M. Quinn Library, and the Law School Building and has two outdoor basketball and tennis courts. University offices are also located at 33 W. 60th St.
The Lincoln Center campus has two grassy plazas, built one level up from the street over the Quinn Library. The larger plaza was once a barren cement landscape known as "Robert Moses Plaza;" the smaller plaza is known as "St. Peter's Garden." A memorial to Fordham students and alumni who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks stands in St. Peter's Garden.
The Toward 2016 Strategic Plan calls for the complete reconfiguration of the Lincoln Center campus in order to make room for additional dormitories, classrooms, and offices. Ground was broken on the project at the beginning of the Spring 2011 academic semester.
Westchester
The Westchester campus is home to divisions of Fordham College of Liberal Studies and the Graduate Schools of Business, Education, and Social Service. It consists of a three-story, 62,500-square-foot (5,810 m) building on 32 acres (130,000 m) landscaped with a stream and pond. Fordham signed a 20-year lease for the facility, which includes 26 "smart" classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, a reading room, a food service facility, and indoor and outdoor meeting areas. In 2008, the University spent over $8 million renovating the building to increase its sustainability.
The campus is served by the White Plains station of the Metro-North Railroad, approximately 4 miles (6 km) away in White Plains. The White Plains station and the campus are both served by the Westchester County Bus System ("The Bee-Line"). The University's "Ram Van" shuttle also stops on campus.
Other facilities
Fordham maintains a biological field station 30 miles (50 km) north of New York City in Armonk, NY. The Louis Calder Center consists of 114 acres (0.46 km) forested, a 10-acre (40,000 m) lake, and 19 buildings, which house laboratories and offices, educational programs, equipment storage, a research library, and residences. The station is the middle site along a 130-kilometre (81 mi) urban-forest transect, the Urban-Rural Gradient Experiment (URGE), and supports the longest running ecological field study of Lyme Disease in the country.
The Fordham University London Centre is located on the campus of Heythrop College, the Jesuit philosophy and theology school of the University of London. It is home to several Gabelli School of Business programs as well as Fordham College at Lincoln Center's London Dramatic Academy.
The Beijing International MBA Program (BiMBA) is a joint venture between the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and Peking University's China Center for Economic Research (CCER). It is administered by Fordham's Graduate School of Business Administration, and its degrees are granted by the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium. The program is housed on Peking University's campus in Beijing, People's Republic of China, and it enrolls over 400 students a year in traditional full-time and part-time MBA programs and in Executive MBA (EMBA) programs.
Fordham administers study abroad programs in Granada, Spain and Pretoria, South Africa. Participants in the programs take classes toward their majors and are taught by professors from Fordham and the programs' host universities. In addition to these programs, Fordham offers over 130 study abroad opportunities around the world, including exchange programs in Brazil, South Korea, and Mexico and direct enroll programs at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Several of Fordham's graduate schools maintain satellite facilities for easy access by commuting students and faculty.
Student activities
Fordham University sponsors over 135 clubs and organizations for its undergraduate and graduate students, some of which are described below:
Athletics
The University supports 22 men's and women's varsity teams and various club teams and has an extensive intramural sports program. Fordham athletic teams are known as the "Rams," and their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams compete in the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports except football, in which they are an associate member of the Patriot League.
The Rams football program boasts a National Championship title (1929), two bowl game appearances (1941 and 1942), two divisional championships (2002 and 2007), two FCS playoff appearances (2002 and 2007), and the 15th most wins of all college football programs. It is probably most known, however, for the "Seven Blocks of Granite," a name given to the team's 1928 and 1936 offensive lines. The 1936 team was coached by "Sleepy" Jim Crowley, one of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen," and included Vince Lombardi, arguably the most famous professional football coach in history. This team is credited with inspiring the term "Ivy League" after New York Tribune sportswriter Caswell Adams compared it to the Princeton and Columbia University football teams, the powerhouses of the day. Adams remarked disparagingly of Princeton and Columbia, saying that they were "only Ivy League." There are currently three Rams in the National Football League.
Fordham's men's basketball program also has an impressive heritage, boasting four NCAA tournament and 16 NIT appearances. During the 1970 season, the team was coached by Digger Phelps, who subsequently rose to national prominence as the head coach of the University of Notre Dame's men's basketball program. Fordham basketball plays in the Rose Hill Gymnasium (also known as "the Prairie"), the oldest on-campus venue currently in use by an NCAA Division I basketball team. The team has fared poorly of late, with just two wins in the 2009 season, but it defeated St. John's University and the University of Massachusetts along with five other teams this past season.
The Rams have had great success in other sports as well. They have launched the careers of dozens of professional baseball players, including Hall of Fame inductee Frankie Frisch (also known as "The Fordham Flash"). They also claim among their ranks Tom Courtney, an Olympic gold medalist in the 800m and a member of Fordham's world record-setting two-mile relay team. Fordham Crew has won several national championships during its almost 100 years in existence. Rowing out of the Peter Jay Sharp boathouse on the Harlem River, it makes regular appearances at such prestigious regattas as the Henley Royal Regatta in the United Kingdom and the San Diego Crew Classic. The Fordham sailing team, headquartered at the Morris Yacht and Beach Club on City Island, and the Fordham golf team, which plays out of the Winged Foot Golf Club in Marmoneck, NY, also have notable successes.
Most of Fordham's athletic programs are housed at the Rose Hill campus; however, some maintain additional facilities elsewhere, including, in addition to those previously mentioned, the hockey, tennis, and track and field teams. Furthermore, several programs own residences in the neighborhood surrounding Fordham for use by their members.
Athletic booster clubs
Student publications
The Ram
The Ram is the weekly newspaper for the Rose Hill campus. It serves as the University’s “official journal of record" and is published and edited by Fordham students through University funding.
First published in 1918, The Ram’s mission states that it is devoted to serving both campus and community, acting as a means of club networking and cooperation, and “providing a forum for the free and open exchange of ideas in service to the community.”
Staff of The Ram have gone on to achieve great success in the news and media industry. Famous Ram alumni include former Associated Press President & CEO Louis Boccardi; New York Times sportswriter Arthur Daley ('26), who was the first sportswriter to win a Pulitzer Prize; sports announcer Vin Scully ('49); author Robert Daley ('51); Emmy Award-winning news anchor Shiela Stainback ('72); and author and New York Times writer and columnist Jim Dwyer ('79), a Pulitzer Prize winner.
The Observer
The Observer is the student newspaper for the Lincoln Center campus, with distribution to the Rose Hill campus as well. First published in 1981, it is the fourth in a lineage of newspapers at Lincoln Center, after The Curved Horn, The Review, and Evex.
The Observer has received multiple accolades, including the following:
In addition, four Observer staff received the Mark of Excellence Award for Sports Photography from the Society of Professional Journalists (Region 1) in 2008.
Other publications
Broadcasting
Performance arts
Rhetoric and debate
The Fordham Debate Society (FDS) is based at the Rose Hill campus and is the oldest existing club in the University, having been founded in 1854. The club competes in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), which was founded at Fordham's annual tournament in 1982. FDS regularly places among the top teams in the country and ranks well in the World Universities Debating Championship standings. It holds practice debates on Monday and Thursday nights, in which any student can participate.
Campus Ministry
The purpose of Campus Ministry at Fordham is to provide “opportunities and resources for spiritual growth to members of [the University] community.” It currently offers programming for more than 15 faith traditions in such areas as worship, music ministry, and social ministry. Specific activities include Christian Life Communities, faith-based social fraternities that meet weekly to discuss spirituality, build friendships, and “put the Gospel values into action,” and retreats held at the Philip H. McGrath House of Prayer, Fordham’s retreat center located in Goshen, NY. Several students are currently petitioning the student government for permission to form a council of the Knights of Columbus, the national Catholic service fraternity for men.
Global Outreach! (¡GO!) is a student-run organization that leads service projects to various locations around the country and the world, with the goal of promoting social justice and fostering a sense of individual responsibility among the student body. ¡GO! currently sponsors 27 annual projects over the winter, spring, and summer breaks that deal with such issues as HIV/AIDS, affordable housing, migrant labor, and environmental justice.
Military science
The Military Science program is available to all Fordham undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of their chosen course of study. It is also available to students at over 50 other New York area colleges and universities. The program consists of the Ram Battalion of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and a sequence of military science classes. It also includes such extracurricular organizations as Company D-8, Fordham’s chapter of the national military fraternity known as Pershing Rifles.
The Military Science program has several notable alumni, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, four-star General John M. Keane, and at least four recipients of the Medal of Honor. The program has been distinguished as being in the top fifteen percent of military science programs in the country.
Fordham students are also eligible to participate in the Air Force ROTC program at Manhattan College and the Navy ROTC program at State University of New York Maritime College.
Traditions
Fordham University has many traditions, some of which are listed below:
The President's Ball
The President's Ball takes place every autumn on the night before the Homecoming football game. It is a black tie event held underneath a tent at the Rose Hill campus on Edward's Parade Ground, the University's largest quadrangle. The master of ceremonies for the event is the President of the University, which is from where the event gets its name.
Spring Weekend
Spring Weekend is an annual event that occurs the weekend before final exams. During Spring Weekend, there are a number of activities in which Fordham students participate. The weekend begins on Friday with the Rose Hill Rush, a marathon run in which students race around Fordham's Rose Hill campus. That night, the weekend continues with a DJ concert. Previous guests include DJ Earworm and The White Panda. On Saturday, a concert takes place on Martyrs Lawn, the University's second-largest quadrangle. The event features food as well as an ice cream truck and face painting. Previous performers include Guster, MGMT, and Third Eye Blind. On Saturday night, students dress up in semi-formal attire for the Under the Tent Dance, which takes place underneath a large tent (hence the name) on Martyr's Lawn. The dance features a cover band and has a theme that changes from year to year. Past themes include "Pure Imagination" and "Ice Palace." On Sunday night, students gather in the Leonard Theater at Fordham Preparatory School for a comedy show. Previous guests include Mike Birbiglia and Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney.
The Festival of Lessons and Carols
The Fordham University Choir presents a concert of Lessons and Carols every year during the Christmas season. The choir performs one afternoon concert at the University Church on the Rose Hill campus and one evening concert at the Church of Saint Paul the Apostle next to the Lincoln Center campus.
Dagger John Day and the Jubilee Festival
Every June, the Fordham community celebrates Dagger John Day, which commemorates the University's founding. The event is named in honor of Fordham founder Archbishop John Hughes, who was nicknamed "Dagger John." Dagger John Day immediately follows the Jubilee Festival, an event in which alumni return to campus for a reunion similar to Homecoming.
Midnight Breakfast
Each semester, the official beginning of the final exam period is marked by a "midnight breakfast," in which professors cook students their favorite breakfast items so as to prepare them for the long night of studying ahead.
The Liberty Cup
The Liberty Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the football game between Fordham and Columbia, the only two NCAA Division I football teams in New York City. The tradition began in 2002, a year after the Fordham-Columbia game was postponed due to the September 11th attacks (hence its name).
Encaenia
Fordham College at Rose Hill hosts an Encaenia in early May each year. Faculty, administrators, and students process in academic regalia, and candidates for degrees at the current year's Commencement receive various awards and honors. The ceremony includes a sentimental speech by the year's valedictorian as well as a generally more humorous yet equally endearing speech by the honorary Lord or Lady of the Manor selected for the evening.
Symbols
There are several symbols associated with Fordham University, some of which are listed below:
Maroon
Fordham's official color was originally magenta, but magenta was also used by Fordham's archrival, Harvard University. Since it was improper for the two schools to be wearing the same color, the matter was to be settled by a series of baseball games. The winning team could lay claim to magenta; the losing team would have to find a new color. Fordham won, but Harvard reneged on its promise. Later, in 1874, at a meeting of the student body, one of the matters dicussed was that of choosing an official college color that would belong to Fordham and Fordham alone. Stephen Wall ('75), suggested maroon, a color not widely used at the time. He explained that it looked "something like claret wine with the sun shining through it." The committee charged with determining the official color unanimously agreed, and maroon has been the official color ever since. Ironically, Harvard also stopped using magenta in favor of crimson.
The Ram
The Ram became Fordham's mascot as a result of a slightly vulgar cheer that Fordham fans sang during an 1893 football game against the United States Military Academy at West Point. The students began cheering "One-damn, two-damn, three-damn ... Fordham!" It was an instant hit, but "damn" was later sanitized to "ram" to conform to the University's image.
The Victory Bell
Presented to Fordham by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, LL.D. ('44), the Victory Bell was the ship's bell of the Japanese warship Junyo. It currently stands in front of the gymnasium at the Rose Hill campus. On May 11, 1946, the Charter Centenary of the University, President Harry S. Truman became the first to ring the Victory Bell on campus. Today, it peals following Ram athletic victories, and its ringing signals the beginning of Commencement each year.
The Great Seal
The Great Seal of Fordham University was designed to acknowledge the presence of the members of the Society of Jesus, hence the Coat of Arms of the Society in the center of the seal. Around this central fact is grouped the name of the University, the date of its founding, its motto, and its various schools. The Coat of Arms of the Society of Jesus bears the Greek letters of the lapidary form of the name of Jesus (IHS) with the cross resting on the crossed line of the H, the three nails beneath, all in gold in a field framed in maroon, the color of the University, with silver fleur-de-lis on the edge of the maroon frame, in remembrance of the French Jesuits who arrived in 1846. Immediately above the central shield rests the laurel crown enclosing the tiles of the areas of learning of the college when it was first granted University status in 1907: arts, science, philosophy, medicine, and law. Below the central shield is a blue scroll with the motto of the University, Sapientia et Doctrina. The scroll rests on a gold field emblematic of learning (doctrina); scattered over the field are fiery tongues emblematic of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom (sapientia), as evinced on the first Pentecost. In a circular maroon field edged with laurel-colored beads is the title of the University, Universitas Fordhamensis. At the lower edge of the circular field is the date of the founding of the University, 1841. Finally, surrounding the entire seal, is a heraldic belt. The belt is used as a stylistic decoration to the seal; however, Oxford University, one of the few schools that uses the belt in its seal, maintains that without the belt, the seal is not official. Two large floor murals of the Great Seal can be found at Fordham, one in the Keating Hall Rotunda and one in the Administration Building. Tradition holds that a prospective student who steps on the Seal won't be admitted, an enrolled student who does so won't graduate, and a professor who does so won't be tenured. This tradition, however, has faded in recent years.
The mace
The mace of Fordham University is traditionally carried at Commencement by the President of the Faculty Senate, who serves as the Grand Marshal of the academic procession. The device, four feet in length, bears a regal crown at the summit to denote the delegated sovereignty of the University of the State of New York to grant academic degrees. Above the crown is a cross composed of four windmill sails to signify the faith and the Dutch founding fathers of New Amsterdam. The center of the cross displays a heraldic rose for Rose Hill. Immediately beneath the crown is a support with the Fordham seal emblazoned. The upper node of the staff is decorated with three heraldic roses, the Fordham seal, the ram's head, and a silhouette of Fordham's Lincoln Center campus. The names of Fordham's schools are engraved above the node, and the names of Fordham's presidents from 1841 to 1966 are engraved below the node. The mace was a gift to the University from the Fordham University Alumni Federation.
The verges
The University commissioned the fashioning of 15 verges to be carried by the marshals of its academic processions to mark the inauguration of Joseph M. McShane, S.J., as the 32nd president of Fordham. The verges each stand 48 inches tall and measure one inch in diameter. They are cast in aluminum with brass fittings. Each verge is a perfectly balanced staff designed to be carried by the marshals over their right shoulders. The verges' top center medallions are etched with the Great Seal of the University on one side and an historic version of the Fordham Ram on the other. Under the ram's head are two scrolls similar to the scroll found on the Great Seal of the University. The upper, larger scroll bears the name of one of the ten schools of the University; the lower, smaller scroll bears the year of the school's founding. Four of the fifteen verges are carried by representatives of the major groups within the Fordham family who serve the University and its students: the Board of Trustees, the faculty, the administration, and the alumni.
The Terrace of Presidents
Robert Gannon, S.J., president of Fordham University from 1936 to 1949, initiated the custom of engraving the granite steps leading up to Keating Hall with the names of heads of state who have received honorary doctorates from Fordham. Among the first names included were President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1940) and President Harry S. Truman (1946). More recently, the names of President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines (1986), President Mary Robinson of Ireland (1995), and President Mary McAleese of Ireland (2010) have been added to the Terrace.
School songs
Fordham's official school song is "Alma Mater Fordham," and its fight song is "Fordham Ram" by J. Ignatius Coveney. "The Marching Song" is typically played during parades and after athletic games (particularly after a Fordham victory).
People
Notable alumni
Geraldine Ferraro, the first female Vice Presidential candidate of a major political party in the United States, attended Fordham, as did three current members of the United States House of Representatives and numerous past members of Congress, including at least two United States Senators. Current New York State Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is an alumnus. A number of Fordham graduates have served at the highest levels of the U.S. Executive Branch, including John E. Potter, former Postmaster General of the United States; William J. Casey, U.S. Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987; John N. Mitchell, former U.S. Attorney General; and Bernard M. Shanley, Deputy Chief of Staff and White House Counsel to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Fordham claims a number of distinguished military honorees, including three Medal of Honor recipients and a number of notable generals, including General John "Jack" Keane, retired four-star general and former Vice Chief of Staff for the United States Army, and Major General Martin Thomas McMahon, decorated American Civil War officer. Fordham has produced college and University presidents for at least 10 institutions around the United States, including two for Georgetown University and one each for Columbia University and New York University.
Business and finance magnates that have attended Fordham include Anne M. Mulcahy, retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox and named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" in 2006 by Fortune Magazine; Rose Marie Bravo, Vice Chairman and former CEO of Burberry and named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business Outside the United States" in 2004 and 2005 by Fortune Magazine; E. Gerald Corrigan, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Maria Elena Lagomasino, CEO of JP Morgan Private Bank from 2001 to 2005 and currently on the board of directors of Coca-Cola; Joe Moglia, Chairman and former CEO of TD Ameritrade; John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer of Airbus; Stephen J. Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealth Group; Wellington Mara, former owner of the New York Giants; Mario Gabelli, billionaire and founder and CEO of GAMCO Investors; Lorenzo Mendoza, billionaire and CEO of Empresas Polar; Eugene Shvidler, billionaire and international oil tycoon; and billionaire Donald Trump (attended, no degree).
In the media and communications field, Fordham has produced Charles Osgood, three-time Emmy Award and two-time Peabody Award-winning journalist for CBS and Radio Hall of Fame inductee; Louis Boccardi, retired President of the Associated Press; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Loretta Tofani; G. Gordon Liddy, political operative for President Richard Nixon, leader of the White House Plumbers, political pundit, and radio show host; and Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster and Radio Hall of Famer Vin Scully.
Fordham's list of contributions to the arts and entertainment industry is long and includes Alan Alda, six-time Emmy Award and six-time Golden Globe Award-winning actor; Mary Higgins Clark, best-selling suspense novelist; Bob Keeshan, television's multiple award-winning "Captain Kangaroo;" John LaFarge, painter, muralist, and designer of stained-glass windows; Virginia O'Hanlon, who, as a child, wrote a letter to the New York Sun that prompted the famous response "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus;" Tony Reali, Host of ESPN's Around The Horn; J-14 Magazine editor Rachel Sheehan; and Denzel Washington, two-time Academy Award and two-time Golden Globe Award-winning actor.
Among the giants of sports who attended Fordham are Frankie Frisch (known as the "Fordham Flash"), Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; Vince Lombardi, football coaching legend; Bill Chadwick, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee; Tom Courtney, two-time Olympic gold medalist and holder of the world record in the 880-yard run; and Steve Bellán, the first Latin American to play Major League Baseball.
Notable faculty
In the arts
The Rose Hill campus has been used as a filming location for a number of films, including Awake, A Beautiful Mind, A Bronx Tale, Center Stage, Cheerleaders Beach Party, The Exorcist, The Gambler, , Kinsey, Love Story, Quiz Show, The Verdict, Solitary Man, The Adjustment Bureau, and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. Rev. William O'Malley, a Jesuit intructor at Fordham Prep School, played Father Dyer in The Exorcist. The film's language lab scene was filmed in Keating Hall, and the bedroom scene was filmed in Hughes Hall.
Television shows filmed at Fordham include Shattered Vows, a 1984 made-for-TV film starring Valerie Bertinelli, which portrays the true story of a young nun in the 1960s who goes to Fordham for her master's degree and falls in love with a priest; White Collar, a crime show on USA Network; Naked City; Saturday Night Live; And-1 Mixtape, a skit performed by Dave Chappelle for his sketch-comedy show, Chappelle's Show; the 2009 U2 performance on Good Morning America; and the music video What's Luv? by Ashanti and Fat Joe.
Fictional alumni of Fordham include the title character of Michael Clayton, Ray Brocco of The Good Shepherd, Michael Patrick Flaherty of Spin City, Jacob Moore of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Annie Norris of Life on Mars, Vinnie Terranova of Wiseguy, ADA Nick Rice of Law Abiding Citizen, Bruno Tattaglia of The Godfather, and Dave Norris of The Adjustment Bureau.
Sustainability
Fordham has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2017. It has also committed to certifying all new buildings as LEED Silver. In addition, Fordham is pledging to recycle up to 90% of its construction debris, to use low flow faucets and shower heads, and to use sustainable materials such as recycled flooring. The school's Grounds Department has also pledged to make half of its vehicle fleet electric, while the Security Department has pledged to make its entire fleet hybrid.
Affiliations
Fordham University is affiliated with the following organizations:
In addition, the University is an accredited member of the following:
Notes
References
- Fred C. Feddeck. Hale Men of Fordham: Hail!. Trafford Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-55212-577-7
- Fordham University Staff, Office of the Sesquicentennial. As I Remember Fordham: Selections from the Sesquicentennial Oral History Project. Fordham University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8232-1338-2
- Robert Ignatius Gannon, S.J. Up to the Present: the story of Fordham. Doubleday, 1967. ISBN not available
- Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. Fordham: A History and Memoir, Revised Edition. Fordham University Press, New York. September, 2008. ISBN 0-8232-2977-7
- Thomas Gaffney Taaffe. A History of St. John's College, Fordham, N.Y. The Catholic Publication Society Co., 1891. ISBN not available
External links
Coordinates: 40°51′39″N 73°53′4″W / 40.86083°N 73.88444°W
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordham_University#Heritage_and_traditions
