On Oct. 22, the University celebrated the four newest inductees to the Fordham University Hall of Honor.
The new inductees were honored at a black tie reception held at the New York Botanical Garden across from Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. They are: the late Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., former Laurence J. McGinley Chair in Religion and Society; Alan Alda, FCRH ’56; E. Gerald Corrigan, Ph.D. GSAS ’65, ’71; and Denzel Washington FCLC ’77.
Alan Alda and Denzel Washington could not attend the evening’s festivities, but family members of Cardinal Dulles were on hand.
On presenting Corrigan with his framed citation, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, called his support for the University “magnanimous.”
The Hall of Honor recognizes the accomplishments of alumni whose lives have exemplified and brought recognition to the ideals to which the University is devoted.
Avery Cardinal Dulles was a professor at Fordham from 1988 until his death in 2008. In his capacity as the McGinley Chair, he delivered a total of 39 lectures on subjects that ranged from the death penalty, to human rights, and church reform. He was the first American theologian who was not bishop to be appointed to the College of Cardinals.
Bronx-born actor Alan Alda is a six-time Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner who has also been has been nominated for an Oscar, and a Tony. Generations of Americans remember him for his portrayal of Captain Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H, and he is consistently rated one of the greatest television actors of all time.
E. Gerald Corrigan, Ph.D., has built a career in finance that spans the public and private sectors, where he is equally respected for his deep knowledge and skill in assessing risk and establishing stability. Corrigan served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1985 to 1993, where his swift action following the 1987 Black Monday market collapse is widely credited with preventing further catastrophe.
One of America’s greatest actors, Denzel Washington has been a champion of theater education at Fordham. The two-time Oscar winner served on the on the University’s Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000, and returns occasionally to the Lincoln Center campus to inspire theater students with his advice and success. In 2011, he endowed the Denzel Washington Chair in Theater with a $2 million gift to Fordham, and made a $250,000 give to establish a scholarship fund for theater students.
The new honorees’ names were inscribed in the hall located in the main corridor of the administration building on the Rose Hill campus.
The University also inducted 21 new members into its Archbishop Hughes Society, recognizing them as men and women whose spiritual, financial, and intellectual gifts have helped the University realize its mission. The new inductees brings the society’s total membership to 128. Several inductees were at the reception to accept certificates from Father McShane. They were: John and Barbara Costantino, Robert and Linda Daleo,Emil A. and Madeline E. Dominianni, Honora Ahern Grose and Madison F. Grose, John and Patricia Heller, Judy P. and Dennis Kenny, Thomas M. and Eileen Lamberti, Katy and Jim Quinn, Dennis and Patricia Ruppel, Bill and Linda Stavropoulos, Debra and Bill Toppeta. John A. Zaccaro Sr. accepted the certificate for himself and his late wife, the Honorable Geraldine A. Ferraro. The late Robert McKeon and his widow Clare were also honored. Also inducted, but unable to attend, were: John McCrane, Henry and Barbara Miller, James and Lorraine Murray, Valerie and Michael Puglisi, Peter and Dorette Sacripanti, Edward M. Stroz and Sally Spooner, Denzel and Pauletta Washington, and representatives from ExxonMobil.