In mid-January, Vanessa G. Rotondo, PhD, received word that she had won the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Moira O’Donnell Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes young social justice leaders making an impact in their community.
“My initial reaction was one of deep gratitude, particularly for the Ignatian Solidarity Network and its enduring commitment to faith that does justice,” said the deputy chief of staff in the Office of the President.
Rotondo said her many roles at Fordham paved the way for the honor.
“I’ve lived nine lives so far at Fordham,” said Rotondo. A triple Ram, she received her bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s degree in Catholic educational leadership, and her doctorate in religious education from the University. Her dissertation, “The Ignatian Immersion: Seeking Authenticity, Purpose, and Value in Liquid Modernity,” focused on how to adapt Ignatian-based global community-engaged learning programs for today’s AI-fluent students. (A paper based on her doctoral research titled “Beyond the Prompt: Coding the Magis in the Age of AI” is set to appear soon in the journal Jesuit Higher Education.)
She began working at Fordham in 2017 for Campus Ministry, first as the grad assistant for Ignatian programs, then as part of the inaugural staff of the Center for Community Engaged Learning, where she served as director of Global Outreach for four years. Now, as deputy chief of staff in the President’s office, she is privy to the full scope of the University’s work.
“It’s been a little bit like Disneyland,” she said, “getting to spend time with such a wonderful team and seeing everything from the fun events to the nitty-gritty of the strategic plan.”
Even in her leadership role, Rotondo carves out time for teaching. She developed a course in observation of Pope Francis’s Synod on Synodality, which included a trip to Rome where students observed the Synod as well as Ignatian leadership development at the Jesuit Curia, the worldwide headquarters of the Jesuits. When the Synod was convened again the following year, 31 other schools around the world followed in Fordham’s footsteps with a course similar to the one Rotondo designed.
Today she regularly teaches Faith and Critical Reason once a semester. Being in the classroom, she said, allows her to connect with Fordham’s student body, “understand the temperature, check on our mission, and see how we can serve our students better.”
Rotondo works often with the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She has presented at their Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice multiple times, including most recently on AI and Ignatian pedagogy. Through the organization, she commissioned female merchants in El Salvador to create the large cross in the lobby of the McShane Campus Center to honor the Jesuit martyrs 35 years after their assassination. She also helped bring sustainably sourced clothing to the Fordham bookstore with the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance.
“The Ignatian Solidarity Network has been a key partner in the way the University honors its social justice mission,” said Rotondo, who has attended their emerging leaders ceremony in the past as a guest. In April, she’ll head to the reception as an honoree along with two other award recipients.
“I’m grateful for the recognition and accept it in the spirit of Ignatian humility, mindful that it points beyond me to the good work of the Fordham community.”
