As part of its initiative to become the preeminent Catholic institution of higher education in the United States by 2016 - its 175th anniversary - Fordham University is considering revising the core curriculum, expanding the Honors program and adding a new year-long freshman "Magis" program, among several dozen such initiatives.
In determining its path to preeminence, Fordham has identified five schools whose rank it desires to join and five schools it now feels are its peers. The "aspirant" universities include New York University, Columbia University, Georgetown University, the University of Notre Dame and Boston College. The "peer" schools include Villanova University, George Washington University, Santa Clara University, Boston University and Syracuse University.
While none of these schools are a "perfect match" for Fordham, according to Dean of Students for Lincoln Center Christopher Rodgers, who is also involved with the Division of Student Affairs' planning aspect of the university's Strategic Plan, they serve as a way to establish an excel/comparison grid.
"The 'aspirants' are institutions that have been successful in specific ways that are consonant with our own goals," Rodgers said. The "peer" schools, he said, are institutions that Fordham can compare to right now.
Fordham's strategic planners have been looking into different aspects of each institution, such as fiscal health, academic reputation and profile, and endowment, according to Rodgers.
In the year 2016, Fordham will celebrate its 175th anniversary. The planners are thus looking toward 2016 as the year when Fordham will step up and accomplish several goals related to academics, student body demographics and university rankings.
"Fordham alumni will become notorious and tiresome for beginning conversations by identifying themselves as graduates of Fordham," McShane said at the Sept. 22 Strategic Planning Open Forum. "We want to build a level of pride in the university that leaves alumni and donors to identify with us."
In some cases, Fordham is aspiring to be peers with schools that have several hundred million dollars more in endowed funds than Fordham.
Fordham's endowment is lower than all of its "aspirant" schools and some of its "peer" schools as well. As of June 2004, Fordham's endowment was $271,435,000. This is compared to other schools' endowments, including Villanova ($207,198,000), Boston University ($694,051,000), Georgetown ($680,611,000), NYU ($1,449,500,000), Notre Dame ($3,095,703), and Columbia ($4,493,085,000).
Fordham's wish to be peer with certain colleges seems to depend entirely on McShane's ability to make Fordham the financial peer of these institutions. "Money is what will make our dreams come true, for students and for the university," McShane said at the Forum.
While Fordham moves aggressively to catch up with or surpass its "aspirant" schools, these schools are hardly standing still themselves.
Notre Dame has gone through at least four strategic plans, spaced about 10 years apart, Matthew Storin, associate vice president for news and information at Notre Dame, told The Observer. "These plans have been enormously successful, helping us to develop, first, a strong undergraduate curriculum and then to become a national research university," he said.
As part of Notre Dame's newly adopted plan, "Notre Dame 2010: Fulfilling the Promise," the university hopes to "take its place as the leading Catholic university in the world," according to the school's Web site.
Storin told The Observer that Notre Dame has, in the past, identified schools it wants to consider itself equal to, but the university, currently ranked number 18, is "more concentrated on emphasizing our distinctiveness as the only top 20 university in the U.S. that has a religious character as well. ... If you look at the schools above us, you could assume that clearly we would like to move up and pass some of them, but not at the expense of sacrificing our distinctive character."
When asked what advice he would give Fordham in its endeavors, Storin said, "The one thing we would probably mention is the need to take a good, long time in the planning process - ours lasts years - and to be sure that all parts of the community have input." Storin also said that the university was "flattered" about being an aspirant school for Fordham.
Georgetown University, another aspirant school, "constantly strives to improve its own experience for students, faculty resources, research opportunities and academic facilities as part of our own ongoing efforts," according to Erik Smulson, assistant vice president for communications at Georgetown.
"Georgetown University is very proud of the rich tradition that we share with Fordham University and other Jesuit, Catholic universities around the nation," Smulson told The Observer. "It is obviously an honor [for Georgetown] to be considered an aspirant school as part of Fordham's strategic plan."
According to Rodgers, the next step for Fordham will take the form of a Dec. 5 Board of Trustees meeting in which more specific proposed initiatives and budget requests will be presented to the Board, who will, in turn, offer feedback.
Rodgers also finds it important to receive student input as well. "A lot of our ideas have to do with challenging students to step up directly and effectively in managing the university," he said.
2016: Destination Year for Fordham University
Strategic Planning goals, as identified by Fordham President the Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., at the Strategic Planning Open Forum on Sept. 22:
National rankings:
-Undergraduate programs in top 25 in U.S. News and World Report and other ranking systems
-Law School: top 15
-Graduate School of Business: full-time in top 50 (already achieved); part-time in top 10
"Intellectual hub":
-Fordham will be a "hub" for intellectual exchange and discussion in the metropolitan area
-"Fordham will become the new 92nd Street Y - a place where New York does its thinking," McShane said.
Faculty:
-Faculty compensation will be level with peer/aspirant schools
-More grants for faculty
-Reduced course load for faculty
Student body:
-Average SAT: 1350-1400
-80 percent in top 20 percent of high school graduating class
-Geographical profile: 25 percent from NYC, 50 percent from Northeast, large portion of national and international students
-Underrepresented groups will make up 30 percent of entering class
-75 prestigious scholarships/fellowships awarded each year
2 comments
GO RAMS!