Our Strategic Vision
We can become more Jesuit by centering our students and improving their outcomes. We can better embody a full university by investing in STEM, breaking down silos, and coming together across fields. And we can engage more fully with our hometown and the breathtaking opportunities it provides our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Fordham will be the first choice for students who want to matter to the world. Fordham stands in a category of one. In a nation of thousands of universities—and 27 Jesuit institutions of higher education—there is only one Jesuit university in New York City, the capital of the world.
Strategic Priorities
Our strategic vision is informed by three core priorities that drive our mission: centering students, advancing research and academic excellence, and forging community.

Centering Students
Where every student feels supported, empowered, and equipped to succeed, both academically and personally.
Learn More
Advancing Research and Academic Excellence
Ensuring that Fordham remains at the forefront of intellectual innovation.
Learn More
Forging Community
Nurturing a vibrant and diverse culture where relationships and shared values inspire meaningful connections.
Learn MoreStrategic Objective
Empower and Inspire First-Year Students
A reimagined First-Year Experience will guide new undergraduates to discover their purpose through understanding and action, empowering them to create meaningful change in their lives and the world.
- Empower purposeful decision-making to help students connect their abilities
with holistic goals and shape their personal and professional growth. - Promote self-discovery and intrinsic motivation through independent exploration of talents, passions, and interests.
- Cultivate connection and community through relational learning experiences that
promote meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and a shared sense of inclusion within a
diverse community. - Develop adaptability and practical application to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
We will leverage and expand existing initiatives and create new ones needed to fully deliver on the following programs:
- Navigators: A peer mentorship program pairing first-year students with mentors to provide
personalized guidance and foster connections through workshops and structured goal setting. - Beacon: Our dynamic advising platform upgraded with the latest advances in technology in
order to combine real-time personalized guidance with rapid connection to proactive inperson
support, helping students align their varying goals with advice and a clear road map
for a college career and beyond. - Haven: A cohort-based program across the student experience that provides continuous
support and guidance and builds lifelong connections among peers, advisors, faculty, staff,
and alumni through shared experiences. - Praxis: An alumni-driven mentorship initiative that bridges academics and real-world
application through tailored guidance, skill development, and professional networking.
- Empower purposeful decision-making to help students connect their abilities
Strategic Objective
Enhance Experiential Learning for All Students
High-impact learning experiences ignite students’ passions and actively engage students of all backgrounds, foster retention, and drive success. Across our undergraduate and graduate programs, we will improve and equalize access to transformative experiential-learning opportunities that they will carry with them long after they leave Fordham.
- Broaden our students’ engagement in faculty research, allowing them to apply their studies to real-world challenges and cultivate the confidence that comes with presenting and publishing scholarly work.
- Equip our faculty to create more opportunities in their courses for students to learn from each other through collaborative projects, exposing them to a wide range of perspectives and approaches to problem-solving.
- Leverage technology more effectively within teaching and learning environments to help students become ethical, discerning digital citizens.
- Develop new capstone experiences and industry-relevant competitions to energize students and prepare them for tomorrow’s workforce.
- Continue to develop innovative place-based initiatives, connecting students with partners in our local neighborhoods as well as throughout the country, where they can be engaged citizens, advocate for justice, and advance solutions to societal problems.
- Expand access to study abroad opportunities and international fellowships, sending students to learn from our global partners worldwide.
Strategic Objective
Leverage New York City as a Launchpad
There is no city like New York City—and there’s no better place for a Jesuit education. We will invest in new classes and career resources that connect students to New York City’s unparalleled opportunities while doubling down on what sets us apart: a warm, supportive, action-driven community in the heart of a bustling metropolis.
- Develop and expand innovative career programming that blends academic rigor with industry insights, offering year-round internships, externships, and experiential learning opportunities.
- Uphold the Fordham Internship Promise by establishing clear pathways that connect students to New York City’s leading industries and community organizations.
- Enhance community-engaged courses and service-learning opportunities to empower students to address contemporary challenges—from social equity to sustainability—while actively contributing to the city.
- Leverage our extensive alumni network and local partnerships to create robust mentorship and networking channels, ensuring that students receive direct access to professionals across diverse sectors.
- Integrate academic and co-curricular initiatives that combine career readiness with cultural immersion, enabling students to experience New York City’s unique arts, heritage, and innovative spirit firsthand.
- Immerse students in the city’s rich cultural experiences—from theater and museums to ethnic foods and faith celebrations.
Strategic Objective
Make a Fordham Education More Accessible
We know finances pose an obstacle to many talented students. In order to keep recruiting the best and brightest scholars and remain competitive in the complex higher ed landscape, we are committed to expanding our merit-based and need-based financial aid offerings with increasingly ambitious fundraising and skillful budgeting.
- Set scholarship funding as a primary goal of our fundraising efforts, including an ambitious new campaign. We will increase resources and staffing in our development department, strengthening its capacity to reach new levels of success.
- Make financial aid our top budget priority, strategically allocating resources, eliminating waste, and investing wisely.
- Do more to streamline the way we evaluate and award transfer credits, and implement changes to the core curriculum that make it easier and more economical for qualified students to transfer to Fordham.
Strategic Objective
Design Distinctive Academic Programs Across the Liberal Arts and Professions
Drawing on the values of a Jesuit education, we will create new and innovative undergraduate and graduate programs that empower our students to take meaningful actions not only to tackle today’s challenges but also to address the complex challenges of the future.
- Emphasize the critical educational outcomes of a Jesuit-infused liberal arts education through a renewed undergraduate core curriculum that builds critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and global citizenship.
- Draw on our prestigious humanities and social science programs to develop distinctive interdisciplinary programs that prepare students for next-generation careers.
- Deepen our commitment to embedding ethics throughout the curriculum of our professional school programs to prepare students to advance the common good and drive research that matters to the world.
- Offer programs in flexible modalities—whether in-person, online, or hybrid—to meet the evolving needs of prospective students and serve our pedagogical goals.
Strategic Objective
Launch Cutting-Edge STEM Programs
Building on and extending Fordham’s strengths in the liberal arts and professions, we will launch distinctive STEM programs that ignite discovery, drive innovation, and ethically address complex global challenges.
- Create forward-looking, industry-relevant programs in the natural and applied sciences that leverage Fordham’s strengths in the humanities, social sciences, business, and law.
- Launch select, high-demand degree programs in the health sciences.
- Construct an integrated science complex with state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, instrumentation, and collaborative spaces designed to foster scientific exploration, promote interdisciplinary study, and facilitate pioneering research.
- Recruit world-class science faculty who are committed to outstanding teaching that is animated by their path-breaking research.
- Launch a STEM Honors program on the Rose Hill campus to attract intellectually curious students who aspire to engage in faculty-mentored research at the frontiers of science and technology.
- Develop capacity for expanded computer science offerings on the Lincoln Center campus to take advantage of this burgeoning area of study in the heart of the city.
- Build strategic partnerships with innovative technology companies, health care systems, biotech firms, national research labs, and higher education institutions to expand opportunities for Fordham students and faculty and extend our impact.
Strategic Objective
Cultivate Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research
We will nurture a research ecosystem that unlocks the puzzle of interdisciplinarity, supporting inquiry in areas of faculty and student interest while seeding transdisciplinary research that matters to the world.
- Help faculty reach beyond their own offices, labs, and studios to connect with colleagues across the University and tap into the vast resources within New York City, forging new partnerships and increasing our visible impact on the world.
- Create opportunities for students and faculty from different disciplines and schools to convene to share ideas, challenge assumptions, and develop innovative solutions to real-world problems.
- Assist in assembling cross-cutting teams of faculty, students, and external partners to tackle pressing issues such as those related to climate change, artificial intelligence, democracy, and migration.
- Support research teams with methodological advice, information resources, data analytics and computing, project management, mentoring, and media presence.
- Provide guidance to help teams access the funding they need to achieve their research goals through internal research grants as well as external funding sources.
Strategic Objective
Build Trust Through Transparency and Integrity
Drawing on our Jesuit values, Fordham will strengthen its community by prioritizing openness, integrity, and accountability in all communications and actions concerning students, faculty, and staff.
- Maintain our commitment to transparency, especially during times of crisis, ensuring timely and accurate communication with all stakeholders.
- Develop and implement a robust internal communications program that creates new, diverse avenues for soliciting regular feedback from all constituents—students, faculty, and staff—including holding regular town hall meetings with senior leadership, conducting surveys and focus groups to gather input on key issues, and establishing online platforms for submitting questions and suggestions.
- Streamline communication channels and other systems to reduce inefficiency and enhance clarity.
- Break down silos across the University by providing new and innovative ways for faculty and staff to connect with each other regarding research, academic priorities, and personal interests.
- Continue to develop and expand programs that encourage civic responsibility, respectful dialogue, and civility, especially in discussions involving diverse viewpoints.
- Celebrate our successes and cultivate a culture of gratitude by publicly recognizing faculty, staff, and student achievements, milestones, and contributions to the Fordham community.
Strategic Objective
Embody Our Jesuit Values And Identity
With training and support, faculty and staff will lean further into our Jesuit values and identity, modeling for our students the drive to find purpose and meaning in our work and hope for the future.
- Provide seminars, retreats, and workshops—such as one-day off-campus retreats, biannual Ignatian silent retreats, and dedicated lunch-and-learn sessions—that focus on Jesuit values and Ignatian spirituality.
- Host specialized programs (e.g., Ignatian Primer workshops, Arrupe Seminars, Why Mission Matters sessions) to deepen understanding among new and existing faculty and staff.
- Offer service opportunities that connect our community with local neighborhoods and reinforce the Jesuit commitment to social justice and good citizenship.
- Celebrate our diversity by hosting religious and cultural events that honor the rich traditions of our campus community.
Strategic Objective
Become One Fordham
We strive to become one Fordham community, increasing opportunities for collaboration and overcoming the divisions that separate our campuses and departments.
- Create more opportunities for students from each of our campuses to benefit from the resources available across all our campuses, whether through in-person or online engagement. This includes access to classes, academic lectures, athletic events, holiday Masses and celebrations, performances, lunch-and-learns, and more.
- Offer opportunities for our undergraduates to learn more about our graduate programs, exposing them to research and a variety of disciplines and career paths, and enhancing opportunities for accelerated dual-degree programs.
- Collaborate more in our research and teaching across disciplines, fostering innovative programs that create meaningful impact.
- Create a robust Center for Educational Innovation to offer pedagogical resources and professional development training opportunities for all instructors.
- Improve Fordham’s administration through the power of shared governance.
- Conduct periodic assessments of policies and practices across the University to promote consistency, fairness, and efficiency.
- Enhance offerings at the Fordham London campus to provide greater opportunity for students to take advantage of the city’s resources as well as its proximity to other European locations.