Michael R. Trerotola

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Michael R. Trerotola joined Fordham in 2011 and currently serves as vice president and chief of staff to President Tania Tetlow. As a member of the president’s senior leadership team, he provides strategic counsel and manages initiatives, policies, and programs that advance the University’s mission and priorities. He also oversees the Office of the President, coordinates the work of the cabinet, manages executive searches, and partners closely across the University on strategic projects.

From 2015 to 2022, Trerotola served as the assistant University secretary and special assistant to then President Joseph M. McShane, S.J. He also spent four years in the Division of Development and University Relations, as an event planner in alumni relations and special events, and representing Fordham nationally as a member of the Jesuit Advancement Administrators Executive Committee. Before joining Fordham as an administrator, he began his career at the Walt Disney World Resort.

In addition to his administrative leadership, Trerotola is an adjunct professor in Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. Nationally, he founded and chairs the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Chief of Staff Consortium, and is a member of the Chief of Staff Association, engaging in global conversations on higher education leadership and strategy. He has presented widely on higher education leadership, diversity, advancement, and the evolving role of the chief of staff.

Trerotola earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership, administration, and policy from Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, where his research examined the role of diversity officers in Catholic higher education. He also holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in marketing from Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business. He is a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the international Jesuit honor society, and Phi Kappa Phi, and served for eight years as faculty advisor to Fordham’s Alpha Sigma Nu chapter.