Donna M. Carroll

Doctor of Humane Letters

Donna M. Carroll, a trailblazing president, mentor, and a champion of mission-centered leadership, has devoted her life to advancing Catholic higher education with imagination, strategic insight, and unfailing warmth. From her early service as secretary to Fordham’s Board of Trustees, to her long and transformative presidency at Dominican University, and her current leadership of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, she has opened doors of opportunity, fostered equity, and empowered generations of students to thrive.

Described as a leader of intellectual brilliance who balances strategic vision with compassionate humor, Doctor Carroll has modeled leadership that unites faith and justice. Her bold advocacy for undocumented students, her mentorship of emerging leaders, and her work with Interfaith America to build inclusive communities all bear witness to a Gospel-rooted commitment to service.

Through every initiative, she advances the Catholic ideals of wisdom, relationship, and common good, showing our graduates how moral courage and thoughtful action can shape a more just world.

For her steadfast dedication to Catholic higher education; her exemplary servant leadership that nurtures dignity, inclusion, and hope; and her lifelong commitment to forming compassionate citizens, we, the President and Trustees of Fordham University, in solemn convocation assembled and in accord with the chartered authority bestowed on us by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, declare Donna M. Carroll Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. That she may enjoy all rights and privileges of this, our highest honor, we have issued these letters patent under our hand and the corporate seal of the University on this, the 17th day of May in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Five.