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This article is about the University. See also Fordham, Norfolk.

Fordham University
Motto	sapientia et doctrina (Wisdom and Learning)
Established	1841 (as St. John's College)
School type	Private
President	Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
Location	New York, NY, USA
Campus	Urban
Enrollment	~8,270 undergraduate, ~7,579 graduate ~1,652 law
Faculty	? full time 475 adjunct
Mascot	Ram
Athletics	NCAA Division I
Website	www.fordham.edu

Fordham University is a private, co-educational university located in New York City (three campuses: one in The Bronx (Rose Hill, the main campus), one in Manhattan (at Lincoln Center with a law school), and one all-female undergraduate school located at the Marymount campus in Tarrytown (Marymount College will be phased out in 2007, however the campus will remain active supporting numerous programs and graduate schools). Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1841, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. While officially an independent institution, it strongly embraces its Jesuit heritage. "For most students, the Roman Catholic influence is positive," one reads in The Fiske Guide to Colleges 1998, "and many students say that the Jesuit tradition is the school's best attribute." Fordham is listed as one of the top one hundred universities in the United States by U.S. News Magazine. Fordham University School of Law started in 1905 in downtown manhattan and moved eventually to Lincoln Center in the 1960s, thanks to Robert Moses.

In 2003, Fordham's enrollment included more than 8,000 undergraduate students and more than 7,000 graduate students. Fordham awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

Fordham University Libraries own more than 13,000,000 volumes and subscribe to over 15,500 periodicals and 19,000 electronic journals and is a depository for United States Government documents. Fordham University Libraries own many special collections of rare books and manuscripts covering a variety of subjects including Americana, Jesuitica, the French Revolution, and Criminology. The library also provides access to over 60,000 electronic books.

Contents 1 History 2 Sports 3 Notable alumni 4 Trivia 5 Movies (at least partially) filmed at Fordham 6 External links

History

Fordham University was founded by the Irish-born, Most Reverend John Joseph Hughes (nicknamed "Dagger John"), Archbishop of New York, as Saint John’s College in 1841, and was the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the northeastern United States. The Most Reverend Hughes purchased the old Rose Hill manor for $30,000 for the purpose of establishing the school. St. John's College was opened with six students on June 24, 1841. The Reverend John McCluskey (afterward the first American cardinal) was its president, and its faculty was secular priests and lay instructors. The ecclesiastical part or seminary was called St. Joseph's and was in charge of Italian Lazarists, with the Reverend Dr. Felix Villanis at its head.

The school was granted its charter to give degrees in theology, arts, law, and medicine, April 10, 1846, by the New York state legislature. In 1907 the name was changed to Fordham University. (The name Fordham ("village by the ford") refers to the area of the Bronx, named as a reference to the original settlement that was located near a shallow crossing of the Harlem River; this crossing was the only entry to Manhattan from the north until 1693.) The school's motto - sapientia et doctrina - translates to "wisdom and learning."

Sports

The Fordham varsity sports teams all use the nickname "Rams." Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic Ten Conference in all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA Division I-AA, and were champions of that league in 2003.

Notable alumni

• Alan Alda, actor, most notably as Hawkeye in M*A*S*H
• William J. Casey, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (former)
• Mary Higgins Clark, author
• Patricia Clarkson, actress
• Don DeLillo, author
• Geraldine Ferraro, U.S. Representative and first woman to run as a Vice Presidential candidate from a major American political party (from Fordham Law)
• Michael N. Gianaris, NYS Assemblyman & Candidate for NYS Attorney General
• Michael Kay, announcer on the YES Network
• John Keane, Four-star U.S. General (retired)
• Bob Keeshan, children's television host (Captain Kangaroo)
• John LaFarge, muralist, stained glass maker
• G. Gordon Liddy, conservative radio broadcaster, and Watergate conspirator (from Fordham Law)
• Vince Lombardi, football coaching legend
• Wellington Mara, owner of New York Giants football team
• Dylan McDermott, actor, most famous for his role as the defense attorney Bobby Donnell on The Practice
• Lara Jill Miller, actress (from Fordham Law)
• John N. Mitchell, United States Attorney General under President Nixon
• Charles Osgood, journalist for CBS
• Vin Scully, sports broadcaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers (originally the Brooklyn Dodgers, he moved with the team to Los Angeles and is one of the most famous sports broadcasters alive today)
• Donald Trump, businessman (attended, no degree)
• Denzel Washington, actor (and Oscar-winner)
• Smush Parker, Guard, Los Angeles Lakers (attended, no degree)

Trivia

• Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Bells was inspired by the ringing of the bells of the University Church.

• A priest in the movie The Exorcist was played by a Jesuit from Fordham University, Rev. William O'Malley, SJ.

• The the bell from the Japanese aircraft carrier Junyo was given to Fordham and is called "The Victory Bell" which is rung by each Fordham player after victorious home football games.

• One of Fordham's dormitory buildings, Walsh Hall, was built facing the street as a condition of the loan Fordham recieved from New York City. If Fordham had defaulted on the loan, the city would have converted it into a housing project, however this did not occur and the building's entrance still confusingly faces the street on the edge of the Rose Hill campus instead of the interior of the campus.

• The Lincoln Center Campus was built on the site of a neighborhood torn down using eminent domain for slum clearing. Just prior to that neighborhood being torn down to build Fordham's Lincoln Center Campus, it was used to film West Side Story.

Movies (at least partially) filmed at Fordham

• A Beautiful Mind
• A Bronx Tale
• The Exorcist
• Love Story
• The Gambler
• The Iron Major
• Kinsey
• Quiz Show
• The Verdict
• Awake

External links

• Fordham University web site
• Fordham University's Library web site
• Fordhamensis, Fordham-centered online community.
• The Paper, Rose Hill Campus's journal of news analysis, comment, and review

The Atlantic 10:    Charlotte | Dayton | Duquesne | Fordham | George Washington | La Salle | UMass Rhode Island | Richmond | St. Bonaventure | Saint Joseph's | Saint Louis | Temple | Xavier

Patriot League   Bucknell | Colgate | Holy Cross | Lafayette | Lehigh      Non-football members: American | Army | Navy    Football-only members: Fordham | Georgetown   Women's Lacrosse-only member: Villanova

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