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 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. 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

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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With Intimate Ceremony, Fordham Community Celebrates First-Generation Graduates

A group of Fordham deans, alumni, and current seniors gathered in the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center on Wednesday afternoon in early May to celebrate an upcoming milestone: On May 21, those seniors will all become the first members of their families to graduate from college. Organized by Marisa Villani, senior assistant dean for [...]

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‘Like Repeating My History’: A Story of Scholarship Giving

One day in the mid-1960s, when he was a student in high school, James Flaherty walked in the door of his Brooklyn home and found an envelope from Fordham waiting. Inside was jubilation—“I opened it, and I probably yelled or shouted or something,” he said. To him, Fordham was “what a university was supposed to [...]

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Errol Pierre Is Promoting Health Equity Through Mentorship, Education

Errol Pierre hasn’t been a student at Fordham since 2005, but as the years go by, he feels more connected to the University—and more passionate about facilitating change in the Bronx—than ever. As the senior vice president of state programs for Healthfirst, the largest nonprofit health insurance company in New York, he works daily with [...]

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Fordham Alumni Recognized Among Top 50 Cybersecurity Leaders

The Consulting Report has named two Fordham graduates to its list of “The Top 50 Cybersecurity Leaders of 2021,” describing them and their fellow honorees as “some of the most experienced and forward-thinking” executives and consultants in the field. Rocco Grillo, FCRH ’89, is a managing director in the New York office of Alvarez & [...]

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‘It’s A Full-Time Job Getting A Job’: Successful Alumni Share Advice

Some of Fordham’s top alumni shared their secrets to success with senior students and recent graduates at the President’s Council Kickoff Reception and Executive Leadership Series Mentoring Event at the Lincoln Center campus on Oct. 21. The annual event is an opportunity for seasoned alumni to mentor their younger counterparts—both recent grads and students. The [...]

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