President's Council

Making Magis a Living Ideal

President's Council members sharing guidance and exchanging ideas with students and young alumni at the Executive Leadership Series

Established in 2004, the Fordham University President’s Council is a group of successful professionals and philanthropists who are committed to mentoring Fordham’s future leaders, funding key initiatives, and raising the University’s profile.

Through leadership giving and deep engagement with the University’s students and young alumni, President’s Council members have a remarkable impact on the life and mission of the University.

By supporting the Fordham Founder’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, they renew and strengthen Fordham’s historic commitment to making a Jesuit education more affordable and accessible to students with world-changing potential, particularly first-generation college students and those from underrepresented groups.

Today, the fund is one of the largest financial aid funds at the University. It supports a diverse group of scholars, including those who are the first in their family to attend college.

Beyond philanthropic support, council members share their time and expertise with the Fordham community, opening doors in the corporate sector for University leadership and serving as a sounding board for the president. Their mentorship helps students and young alumni become principled leaders in their own careers. And it inspires them to pass on the gifts they receive, as mentors to the next generation of Fordham Rams.

I think of you as Fordham’s Knights of the Round Table: You bring your wisdom, your contribution, your expertise—so much—to Fordham and our students.

- Tania Tetlow, President

President's Council News

Fordham LGBTQ+ Student Wellness Fund Attracts Strong Support

In April, when Fordham hosted the Ignatian Q conference, attended by students from Fordham and 13 other Jesuit colleges and universities, it was a joyous occasion for the University’s LGBTQ+ community. With its focus on activism, spirituality, and justice, it “breathed life into the conversation around LGBT life on campus,” said one student organizer, Ben [...]

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Ignatian Q Conference Advances LGBTQ Inclusion and Equality

It was an event that fostered connection and hope—and moved some student to tears. On the weekend of April 21 to 23, students from 14 Jesuit colleges and universities came to Fordham for Ignatian Q, a conference emphasizing community, spirituality, and ways of achieving full inclusion and belonging for LGBTQ+ students on their campuses. The [...]

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Ancient and Fragile: The Rare Beauty of Southeast Asia’s Rainforests

Inspired by the memory of a Jesuit’s decades-old photo albums—and Pope Francis’ call to “care for our common home”—wildlife photographer and conservationist Michael Patrick Davidson spent a month amid the biodiverse, endangered forests of Southeast Asia. He returned with a commitment to share what he learned. Enter the lowland rainforests of Malaysian Borneo, and you [...]

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‘I Had a World-Class Education’: Ahead of the Class of 1973’s Golden Jubilee, Mary Anne Sullivan Reflects on a Groundbreaking Era

Taking a walk down Fifth Avenue with her husband after Fordham’s annual Founder’s Dinner last month, Mary Anne Sullivan thought back to her days as a student at Thomas More College, when she’d taken so many similar walks, relishing the city as much as the Rose Hill campus. Now, as she helps plan this year’s [...]

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Businesses Value Liberal Arts Majors, Alumni Tell Students

Despite recent talk about “the end of the English major” and declining interest in the humanities, studies have shown that the hallmarks of a liberal arts education—like breadth of knowledge and the ability to think critically and communicate clearly—translate to the qualities that employers value. “That richness of thought and perspectives really helps our work,” [...]

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Marcella Barry Is Passionate About Helping Students Succeed

A New Jersey native, Marcella Barry, FCRH ’92, GSE ’96, knew she wanted to stay in the tri-state area for college, but it was Fordham’s strong Jesuit tradition, its New York City location, and its expansive network that really pulled her in. It’s a decision she’s never regretted making. To this day, she thanks the University for [...]

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Cycle of Scholarship Giving Continues, Advancing Diversity in Business

As a high school senior in Garden Grove, California, Cindy Vojtech, Ph.D., was leaning toward Fordham because it checked all the boxes—a Catholic university, small classes, a strong business program, NCAA Division I status, and the opportunity to go away for college. And then came the news of the full scholarship she had been awarded. [...]

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‘Find Your Passion and Dive In, But Don’t Be Afraid to Pivot’: President’s Council Members Share Career Advice at Annual Mentoring Event

More than 100 Fordham alumni and students gathered at the Lincoln Center campus on Nov. 16 for the annual President’s Council Executive Leadership Series Mentoring Event—an opportunity for young alumni and members of the council to share insights and advice with seniors and recent graduates from across Fordham’s undergraduate colleges. The event included a reception [...]

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Fighting Poverty and Hunger in the Bronx: POTS Honors Fordham as Longtime Partner in Community

For four decades and counting, the Fordham community has joined POTS—Part of the Solution—in the social service provider’s mission to help Bronxites in crisis move toward stability and self-sufficiency. At its annual benefit, held at Bryant Park Grill in Manhattan on October 20, POTS honored Fordham for “its longstanding partnership and unwavering support for our [...]

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Gabelli Graduate Jason Caldwell Wants Students to Take Risks, and He’s Here to Help

Growing up in Baltimore, Jason Caldwell had what he calls the stereotypical “African American in an inner city” experience—until his athletic prowess earned him a scholarship and a chance at a different life. Today, he’s a three-time Fordham graduate and vice president of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs. “I stand on the shoulders of [...]

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Students in HEOP Take Part in Global Outreach, With Help from President’s Council Members

Over spring break, New York City native Raffy Grullon, FCRH ’22, took his first-ever trip to another state—one that felt “like a different country entirely,” he said. The state was North Carolina, and many of the people he met there were immigrants who had suffered greatly before coming to work at the cooperatives that he [...]

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