Father McShane Discusses Fordham's Admissions, Rankings in Annual State of the University Address

Fordham is on track to continue on its course toward preeminence among Jesuit schools, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, assured students at the State of the University Address held in Togino Hall on March 24.

"Despite what's going on in the world, the state of the University is strong," McShane said. "Moreover, the future is very bright."

McShane, the University's 32nd president, acknowledged the many difficulties presented by the recent economic downturn, one of the worst this country has seen, especially to privately funded institutions. Despite such financial barriers, McShane trumpeted Fordham's commitment to investing in the quality of each entering class as one reason for continued success.

McShane focused on admissions, development and athletics as the main criteria for evaluating the state of the University.

Fordham's shift from being primarily a commuter school to an institution rich in geographic diversity, according to McShane, serves as a major area of pride for him in terms of the University's progress. Additionally, he addressed Fordham's surge in applications to over 27,000 this year.

"We are one of only 12 universities in the United States that received more than 25,000 applications for admission," McShane said. 

 Each year, the SAT scores, number of National Merit Scholars and geographic diversity of the incoming class has increased, McShane said. 

Increased quality of incoming classes leads to increased success in the area of prestigious fellowships and scholarships. 

"Last year, Fordham had 14 Fulbright scholarships that were awarded to graduating students," McShane said. "That put us in the top 20 Fulbright producing schools of the over 4,000 universities in the United States."

Regarding rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranks Fordham College at Rose Hill 61st among research universities, 40th among private schools, and high school guidance counselors rank Fordham 34th. Many other Jesuit schools experienced a drop in rankings.

"For us to hold steady at 61 was somewhat of a relief for us," McShane said. "At the same time, we are not satisfied; we are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve our rankings."

Inevitably, the seven-point drop to No. 48 in the BusinessWeek rankings for the College of Business Administration was a hot topic. 

"The facilities have not been equal to the quality of the student body, the faculty and the programs," McShane said. 

This shortcoming led McShane to his next topic of development. The Hughes Hall renovation, set to take place over the course of two years and cost $30 million, will provide CBA with a much-needed space that will, by extension, increase the facilities score for the rankings. 

This renovation will take place as part of a larger capital campaign, of which Fordham is currently in the middle. Once the new dorms are completed, the Hughes Hall renovation will go forward. The next step will be projects at the Lincoln Center campus, currently one of the most crowded campuses in the city, followed by improvements to or replacement of McGinley Center. 

"Fordham began the most ambitious capital campaign at the beginning of the worst recession," McShane said. "In spite of that, we've had really surprising success. We're $316 million toward the goal, so about 60 percent."

In the wake of a historically poor season for Fordham men's basketball, McShane prepared the audience for the next day's announcement of the team's new head coach, though he was careful not to confirm or deny rumors of who that coach might be. On March 25, the University announced Tom Pecora as the new head coach, in a move McShane said he hopes will provide some new momentum to the basketball program.

"It's been a disappointing couple of years," McShane said.

The report is not all bad on the athletics front, though.

"The biggest news this year are women athletes," McShane said. "They're consistent and consistently excellent."

In the time allotted for questions, John Tully Gordon, FCRH '10, executive president of USG, asked about plans to expand Fordham's campus, here at Rose Hill, at Lincoln Center and in Westchester.

McShane replied that the University will continue to develop what is its own, complete expansions near Westchester and go forward with improvements on the Rose Hill campus, such as McGinley Center.

"The future of New York City depends on its educational institutions," McShane said.