A longtime locksmith. An education changemaker. A health care innovator. These were just a few of the 66 staff and faculty members honored across Fordham’s campuses, schools, and departments on Wednesday, March 4, at the 2026 University Convocation.
The annual event bestows awards upon Fordham employees for their decades of service—20, 40, or 60—to the University. For the first time in recent history, the ceremony was held on a weekday to make it easier for colleagues to attend.
President Tania Tetlow stressed the importance of taking this moment to honor everyone’s contributions. “We remember the sacredness of our work, of how precious it is, not just to us, but to every student whose lives we transform. And we could not do it without each and every one of the people honored tonight. Congratulations.”
Many of the honorees reflected on how the event reminds them of the bonds they’ve made at Fordham. Falguni Sen, PhD, one of five faculty members who received a 40-year Bene Merenti award, presented to faculty, reflected on the close friendships he’s forged over the years.
“The friends I have made, they’ve become like surrogate family members,” said the Gabelli School professor of strategy and statistics, who founded Fordham’s Global Healthcare Innovation Management Center and helped launch the University’s MS program in Health Administration.
“We socialize, we help each other out,” he said. And even when he and his colleagues may have disagreed with a policy or new direction, it came from an understanding “that you’re part of this family, we’re all in this together—and that’s a tremendous feeling.”
The event also gave honorees a chance to reflect on their careers over time.
“What you put into it, you get back,” said Freddy Signore, director of facilities operations, who received the Archbishop Hughes award, given to administrators, for 20 years of service. “The time goes fast,” he said, as much for him as for his fellow 20-year honorees: Rob Martinez, a plumber at Fordham, and Scott Hacker, a locksmith. “It’s nice to see that they have been here 20 years, too,” he said, given that he hired them both when he first arrived at Fordham in 2006.
Hacker, a locksmith, handles move-ins and lock changes across the Rose Hill campus—upwards of 10 lock changes a week and hundreds in the summer due to students losing or forgetting to turn in their keys. He has two Rams in his family, both of whom walked at commencement in 2023. His wife, Carmen, earned a bachelor’s in organizational leadership from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and his daughter, Marisa, graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology. “It was a great moment,” said Hacker, who received the 1841 award, presented to staff.
For Anita Batisti, PhD, the recognition “renews my pride and commitment to the work I do at Fordham,” she said. Batisti earned her doctorate from the Graduate School of Education and then taught for 20 years as an adjunct professor—for which she earned her first 20-year service award—a Bene Merenti medal. She then became associate dean of GSE and the founding executive director of its Center for Educational Partnerships, for which she secured $150 million in grant funding to provide professional development to educators, aid bilingual education, and support other initiatives. (“Retirement isn’t in my vocabulary,” she said.) At this year’s Convocation she received her second 20-year honor—an Archbishop Hughes award.
“It’s kind of a full circle thing for me—student to faculty to administrator. And I’m just proud to be part of our wonderful community.”
2026 University Convocation Honorees and Slideshow
Click the right arrow to scroll through the images.
Bob Dineen, assistant vice president for public safety at Lincoln Center and 20-year Archbishop Hughes honoree, is on the far right with family. From the left: his son-in-law Paolo; his son, Brendan; daughter Kerry (Paolo’s wife), holding her baby Vincent; daughter Colleen; and wife, Siobhan, who is holding Colleen’s baby Maeve. (Dineen is holding his grandson Jack, Colleen’s 21-month-old son). All three of Dineen’s children are Fordham alumni. 
Bene Merenti honoree Carey Kasten, Spanish language professor and director of Fordham’s Initiative on Migrants, Migration and Human Dignity, with her sons Felix (left) and Tobias (right). Photo by Nicole Davis 
Archbishop Hughes honoree Freddy Signore with 1841 honorees Scott Hacker (left) and Rob Martinez (right). Photo by Nicole Davis 
Scott Hacker with his wife, Carmen, and son, Anthony. 
Falguni Sen, center, a 40-year Bene Merenti honoree, with Gabelli School colleagues Dawn Lerman, left, and Hooman Estelami, right. 
Anita Batisti, Archbishop Hughes honoree, with her husband. 
Dora Galacatos, Archbishop Hughes honoree, with her husband. The Fordham Law alumna returned to work at the Feerick Center for Social Justice, where she was executive director for many years. Photo by Nicole Davis 
Michelle Tomlinson, director of finance at WFUV and Archbishop Hughes honoree. Photo by Nicole Davis 
Second from left: 1841 honoree Caroline Luceno, senior department associate, student accounts, with colleagues Debbra Browning to the left and Sharon Meaney, Christina McGrath, and Janine Felice-DiFonzo on her right 
Archbishop Hughes honoree Abdoul Kane, web application architect and DBA in the Law School Office of Information Technology, with his wife.
Below are the names of faculty and staff who were honored. Congratulations to all!
Bene Merenti Medal | 40 Years
Denny Chin, Merle Keitel, Shahrokh Saba, Falguni Sen, and John Wehr
Bene Merenti Medal | 20 Years
Amy Aronson, Christine “Tina” Benko, Marilyn Bisberg, Nusret Cakici, Mark Costello, Keith Cruise, Keith Cunniffe, Edward Dubrovsky, Jon Friedrich, Lawrence Gerzog, Sean Griffith, Samir Haddad, Glenn Hendler, Ralf Hepp, Christine Firer Hinze, Carey Kasten, Michael Latour, Ellen Lauter, David Marcotte, SJ, Brian McCarthy, Chi Adanna Mgbako, Kamilla Nowicka, Nicholas Paul, Marciana Popescu, Eugenia Ribeiro-Hurley, Paul Soden, Richard Squire, Ebru Turan, Matthew Weinshenker, Sarah Jinhui Wu, and Meng Yan
Archbishop Hughes Medal | 20 Years
Anita Batisti, Ariel Cofresi, Kieran Croke, Katherine Cunningham, Miguel de la Cruz, Robert Dineen, Theodora “Dora” Galacatos, Diane Howitt, Toni Jaeger-Fine, Abdoul Kane, Charles McSherry, John Shea, SJ, Frederick Signore, Thomas Stoffa, and Michelle Tomlinson
1841 Award | 40 Years
Patricia Allinger
1841 Award | 20 Years
Michelle Ballas, Jaime Brillon Jr., Scott Hacker, Yanet Hernandez, Nrece “Andre” Laski, Thomas Clayton Lay, Caroline Luceno, Mario Lucero, Robert Martinez, Emma Mercer, Franklin Pichardo, Saskia Pickering, Carline Timmer, and Madeline Wirsing
