Rising applications and enrollments, new partnerships both within Fordham and across the globe, and new programs ranging from cybersecurity to fashion studies were among many developments at the University in 2014-2015.
Fordham College at Rose Hill: Enrollment 3,949 (fall 2014)
Enrollment continued to rise at Fordham College at Rose Hill, which now comprises more than 42 percent of all the University’s undergraduates. The college continues to successfully compete for academically strong students because of its focus on its Jesuit mission and signature programs like honors, pre-health, pre-law, and undergraduate research.
The college identified new goals: advancing its core curriculum advising plan, enhancing digital liberal arts programs, and promoting students’ information literacy, all of which require collaboration with faculty and with University divisions including information technology.
After an extensive search process, the college hired Maura Mast, PhD, who is both the college’s first female dean and its first from a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) background.
The college introduced minors in cybersecurity and in peace and justice studies, and a joint major in math and computer science. In addition, FCRH fully implemented its programs in integrated neuroscience and new media and digital design.
The fall 2014 entering freshman class had an average SAT of 1245, its percentage of minority students was 22.6, and its international enrollment was 4.8 percent.
Gabelli School of Business: Enrollment 2,237 (fall 2014)
The Gabelli School of Business completed its undergraduate and graduate unification and took action in four areas—academic excellence, globalization, personal and professional development, and pedagogical innovation—in pursuit of becoming a “top 25” business school.
The school surveyed other schools’ methods of promoting faculty excellence, won state approval for a PhD program, and refined its integrated business core to give students more options for applied or serving learning. The first cohort of student entered the new full-time MBA program, which provides a team-based, ethics-driven curriculum.
Research centers gained more exposure through various events like the lecture on patient-centered cancer care organized by the Global Healthcare Management Innovation Center and Mount Sinai. The school hired a senior director of personal and professional development who began to reassess career advising and other functions.
The school pursued cross-disciplinary programs like a revitalized JD/MBA, and the faculty approved a secondary concentration in entrepreneurship for students with majors other than business administration. The Gabelli program in London gained traction at other universities, with 14 non-Fordham students signing up.
The fall 2014 entering freshman class saw an average SAT of 1279, its percentage of minority students was 23.9, and its international enrollment was 7.6 percent.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center: Enrollment 1,887 (fall 2014)
The college welcomed 475 freshmen, the largest incoming class in its history, drawn from the largest-ever applicant pool. New programs include a major in humanitarian affairs and a minor in fashion studies; the college also set up a committee to consider joint efforts with the Gabelli School of Business, newly located on the same campus.
The campus was transformed by the opening of the new building housing Fordham Law School and McKeon Hall, an undergraduate residence hall. The college’s music program was strengthened by a $100,000 gift from Jim Dineen, GABELLI’56, and a number of FCLC alumni received national recognition in theatre, film, and television. The college newspaper, The Observer, placed third out of 200 in the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
The FCLC fall 2014 entering freshman class had an average SAT of 1239, its percentage of minority students was 41.5, and its international enrollment was 8.2 percent.
Fordham School of Professional and Continuing Studies: Enrollment 1,226* (fall 2014)
The school kicked off its first graduate program, focused on cybersecurity, and made progress in drafting a master’s of health care administration—for launch in fall 2016—in partnership with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
In its first international collaboration, PCS joined with the Graduate School of Social Service to host nine social work students from China Youth University.
In 2014-2015, the school landed its first corporate training contract—in collaboration with the Institute of American Language and Culture—to offer English classes to Ernst & Young employees whose first language is Chinese.
*includes both credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing students.
