. . . the newsletter of the Fordham College Alumni Association Fordham University New York, N.Y. 10023

The University celebrated its 152nd Commencement on May 17, 1997 on the grassy lawn of Edwards Parade. University President Joseph A. O'Hare, SJ. presented honorary degrees to author Mary Higgins Clark '79, the internationally acclaimed suspense novelist; world renowned opera singer Beverly Sills, who serves as chairman of the hoard of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; internationally renowned performer Lena Home; Rev. Monsignor John T. Fagan '72, executive vice-president and CEO of Little Flower Children's Service; Rev. Vincent A. Taylor, SJ., the famed teacher of English who has educated students at Xavier High School in Manhattan for the past half-century, and Edwin A. Cohen '55, the founder of Barr Laboratories, Inc., one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the world. Ms. Clark addressed the graduates and advised them that the novel of their lives was about to begin. "The plot is what you are going to do with the rest of your life. You are the protagonist." Then, after Rev. Joseph M. McShane, SJ., The College Dean, completed the awarding of diplomas to the 482 graduates of The College, they began the story of their lives.

TRADITION welcomes the Class of 1997, a class which experienced the University at a time of great transition and which responded with optimism, to the ranks of the alumni and looks forward to its participation in the alumni association.

Fr. McShane advises that Michelle Fadlalla '97, Michael Batistick '97, Paul Hazzell '97, Ann Monahan '97 and graduate student Robert Dobie '97 have won Fulbright Fellowships. Michelle will study in France; Michael will conduct field research in Eastern philosophy in Taiwan; Paul will pursue peace and justice studies in South Korea; Ann will study in Belgium, and Robert will study at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Fr. McShane further advises that Elizabeth Pinho '98 and Joseph Woodring '98 have been named Harry S. TrumanScholars. Elizabeth has also won a scholarship from Societe des Professeurs Francais et Francophones en Amerique: Quebec. Elizabeth will work in state government, and Joe will study to become a missionary doctor in a Third World country.TRADITION notes that in the past four years students at The College have won 48 prestigious fellowships and credits Dr.Harry Nasuti '71, director of the University's Committee on Prestigious Fellowships, for his work in assisting our scholars.

Supported by a Ford Foundation grant, the Fordham University Institute for Innovation in Social Policy is sponsoring a group that will develop the first annual report on the country's social health. The group of academic researchers, government officials, community leaders and members of the media will compile the report. Dr. Marc Miringoff, the director of the institute notes, "The group will look at our society in the same way we look at economics: What's getting better? What's getting worse? Could we be considered in a 'social recession' if certain indicators are worsening?" The new report will be a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary depiction of social health in America Dr. Miringoff hopes the report will eventually be adopted by government policymakers to create better social policy.

The National Civic League has named The Bronx as one of the top ten communities in America.

Americana in The Bronx? The Gavin Report, a radio trade magazine, has named WFUV its "Americana Station of the Year," in recognition of what WFUV calls its "folksy, rootsy music mix."

In an act of extraordinary generosity, Bill Walsh '51, a venture capitalist from Atherton, California and a man with a sense of commitment and an ability to say thank you, has donated $10.5 million to the University, including $10 million to the new University library and $500,000 for an athletic training center. In appreciation of Bill's gift, the University has announced that it will name the new library on the Rose Hill Campus The William D. Walsh Family Library. Bill remembers that Vince Lombardi cut him from the freshman football squad in 1947 and that Lombardi advised him, "There's plenty you do well, but football is not one of them." (Fifty years after the fact, TRAD!TJON recognizes that Vince was at least half right.) In thanking Bill, Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, SJ., the president of the University, remarked, "Bill Walsh's extraordinary career has been distinguished by strong personal commitments and the confidence to invest in future possibilities." In response to the University's announcement that it will name the library in his honor, Bill, who, for a time, worked his way through college as a theater barker, mused "students of the future will wonder who that was."

The Walsh Family Library. Although construction was delayed because granite pavers from India whom the University contracted to complete the library's entry plaza did not arrive in the United States on time, the Walsh Library opened on May 27, 1997. The official dedication will be celebrated on Friday, October 17, 1997. The state-of-the-art library will feature 18 miles of books, seating capacity for 1,500 and 500 study carrels, including 250 with facilities for faculty and 70 wired for notebook-computer connection and the University's special collections, which include rare and antique volumes such as 400 books published by Jesuit authors dating to 1500, and Incunabula--25 titles bound in 20 volumes dating from the earliest days of printing, 1450 to 1500. Patrons can access any of the library's 60 online databases from 75 computer stations scattered throughout the building. In all, the library will have in excess of 450 computer workstations. In the Electronic Information Center, students will be able to create or edit videos in a media production center. Viewing can be done in an adjacent, 25-seat screening room. A darkroom and other photographic facilities will be available. Through high-speed T1 and T3 lines students and faculty throughout the University will have most of the resources they need to access the library from their rooms or offices.

U.S. News & World Report ranks Fordham a top 50 best buy among national universities and states that it offers "exceptional education for the money." Money Magazine singles out Fordham among "elite values" nationally, and among the top 25 best values in the Northeast. The Gourman Report, which measures the academic quality of colleges and universities throughout the world, rated Fordham, Notre Dame and Georgetown the best Catholic institutions of higher education in the nation.

The Faculty. Daniel K. Mroczek, assistant professor of psychology, has received a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to conduct research on the MacArthur Survey of Americans at Mid-Life. . . . Anne G. Hoffman, professor of English, has received a grant to research Bodies and Borders: Inscriptions of Difference in 20th Century Jewish Writing.... David T. K. Chen, associate chair and associate professor of computer and information sciences, published a paper "On the Design and Implementation of Reliability Analysis Simulator for Distributed Real-Time Systems," in a special issue of the Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing. .. . Jose Pereira, professor of theology, read a paper on "Color in Bhavabhuti's Malati-madhava" at the 10th World Sanskrit Conference in Bangalore, India. . . . Ruth Ben-Ghiat, assistant professor of history, presented the paper "Modernity and Hostaliga in Fascist Italy" at the International Society for the Study of European Ideas conference in the Netherlands. . . . Robert J. Penella, professor of classics, participated in a symposium on late Ancient Panegyrics and Biography at the University of Bergen, Norway. His paper was titled "The Rhetoric of Praise in the Private Orations of Themistius.". . . Babette E. Babich, associate professor of philosophy, was invited to present the paper "On The Essence of Questioning After Technology" to a meeting of the British Society for Phenomenology at Oxford University. . . . Avery Dulles, SJ., Laurence J. McGinley professor of Religion and Society, published "Uso della Scrittura in Teologia fondamentale" in La Teologia Fondamentale: Convergenze per il Terzo Millennio... . Celia B. Fisher, professor of psychology, gave a presentation to the President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission's Special Section on Human Subjects Research on "A Relational Perspective on Ethics-in-Science Decision-Making.". . . David A. Burney, professor of biological sciences, has received a grant to research Landscape Paleocology: Integrate Site Analyses in Hawaii and Madagascar.... Donald Moore, SJ., professor of theology, presented "The Importance of Martin Buber's Religious Thought for Christianity" at the Leo Baeck Institute in December. . . . William D. Myers, professor of history, has received a grant to research Sin and Conscience in Early Modern Europe.

The Researchers. City-dwellers may believe that earthworms are harmless, but new research by Raymond Hsaio '96 shows that may not be true. Working under the guidance of Margaret Carreiro, professor of biology at Louis Calder Biological Field Station in Armonk, New York, Hsaio learned that earthworms are invasive exotics that have a fairly profound effect on their surroundings. They are responsible for significantly raising the level of nitrates in the soil in which they live. Hsaio's research revealed that earthworms are mainly urban animals and that virtually none live in rural forests. They increase the nitrogen level of urban forest soil, and nitrates then leak into the drinking water and stimulate unwanted plant and algae growth in lakes and streams.

Director of Admissions John Buckley advises that the University has received in excess of 6,125 applications for admission to the Class of 2001, a record number, with greatly increased applications from the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states. The SAT scores of the class will increase at least 10 points over the scores of the previous class. The Class of 2001 will be The College's largest ever, numbering 835.

RAMology. Some maintain that Leo McLaughlin was the Jesuit's answer to a time of intellectual and social ferment. Others insist that he was merely his own man. While he shocked certain Jesuits, students and alumni with frequency, the Jesuits at Fordham and the entire Fordham community loved Leo as he loved them. After service as one of the most caring faculty members and as one of the most successful deans in the history of Fordham College, the University appointed Fr. McLaughlin president in 1965. As remembered by The New York Times, he was "a transforming president.... he opened up the curriculum beyond the traditional theological courses, encouraged academic experimentation, fought for higher faculty salaries . . . turn(ed) the established Jesuit faculty inside out, . . . and even wrested the university from Jesuit control." In 1969, so that Fordham would qualify for state aid, Leo restructured the board of trustees so that it no longer consisted mostly of Jesuits--for the first time a majority of the trustees were members of the laity (and some were not even Catholic!). Leo recomposed religious studies as an academic pursuit rather than as a method of doctrination and ordered icons removed from prominent areas on campus. For the first time in the history of the University, Leo applied the same criteria for tenure and promotion to both Jesuit and lay faculty, and he began to establish academic chairs for the faculty. Still later in 1969, after one of the most dynamic tenures of any president of an American university, Leo left the presidency of the University and assumed the role of chancellor, a fund raising position. Later, he left Fordham to resume his academic career at Johnson C. Smith University. During the 1970's, Leo applied for and received a release from his vows. In 1975, at the age of 61, Leo announced that he had married Sari Gombos, a writer he had met several years earlier. After the death of his wife in 1994, Leo needed full-time medical care. Aware of Leo's need, in an act of love, the very Jesuits, whom he had challenged on so many occasions, insisted that he be admitted to the Jesuit infirmary at Fordham, where he spent his last months surrounded by friends, contemporaries and classmates. Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, 5.3., the University President, Rev. Vincent T. O'Keefe, SJ., a past president of the University, and Rev. Joseph A. Novak, SJ., the rector of the Jesuit community, celebrated Leo's funeral Mass in the University Church with a large number of his Jesuit brothers.

The Sports Page. Congratulations to Coach Dan Gallagher's Ram baseball team which finished the season with a 34-19 record and to Ram outfielder Mike Marchiano '97 who obliterated the Fordham baseball record book by setting seven single-season records and four career records. Mike led the nation with a .493 batting average and was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and a first team All-America . . .. Congratulations to Coach Ted Bonanno's women's four crew team (Christine Sereni '99, Amanda Vogel '99, Samantha Smith '99 and Erica Schratzmeier '99) which won the Atlantic 10 championship and the Dad Vail regatta in Philadelphia and competed in the Women's Regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England.... Congratulations to men's soccer forward John Wolyniec '99 who tallied a team-high 17 goals and 11 assists and earned District I Academic All-America honors with a 3.75 GPA as a mathematics major.... Maurice Curtis '98, the ever-modest (and truthful) scoring and rebounding leader of the A-b men's basketball Rams, advises, "I see us getting a lot better.... If we can get more players like me." In an effort to recruit more players like Maurice, men's basketball Coach Nick Macarchuk has obtained the commitment of Corry McLaughlin, a 6-10, 240-pound forward from Andover, Massachusetts, Jason Harris, a 5-9, 165-pound guard from Frederick, Maryland, Bevon Robin, a 6-2, 185-pound point guard from The Bronx, New York and Aljandro Olivares, a 6-8, 225 pound forward from Cordoba, Argentina to enroll.

Coach Nick Quartaro advises that the Fordham football Rams will play at Rose Hill: v. Lehigh on September 13, 1997 football Alumni Day); v. Brown on October 4, 1997 family Weekend); v. Dartmouth on October 11, 1997; v. Bucknell on October 18, 1997 (Homecoming Weekend); v. Cornell on October 25, 1997, and v. Towson State on November 1, 1997 (Fan Appreciation Day).

Impact. Arthur J. Daley '26 was an accomplished athlete while an undergraduate at The College. According to the 1926 edition of The Maroon, he played baseball and basketball and, while playing end on the 1925 football team, broke an arm "battling for our cause. But, according to Red Smith, his fellow columnist at The New York Times,"... friends who knew him only later in life suspected that his greater success as an undergraduate came as a junior when he was assistant sports editor of the Fordham Ram and the next year when he was sports editor." Following his graduation from Rose Hill, Arthur's enjoyment of journalism led him to The Times where he molded him self into the preeminent sports journalist of his time. In the first 115 years of its existence, The Times had only two sports columnists. On Christmas Eve, 1942, when his predecessor left the paper, Arthur became the second. His articles appeared seven days a week under the "Sports of the Times" masthead. Arthur was a gentleman. He was dignified, reserved and friendly. Every column he wrote reflected his personality and told a story which seemed to capture the essence of his subject, addressing each subject fairly and with graciousness. His style inspired the next generation of journalists. While no Pulitzer Prize is regularly awarded for sports reporting, in 1956, the Pulitzer committee awarded Arthur the prize for "distinguished writing and commentary." He was The Times' first sports reporter to receive the award.

Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin invites all fans and friends of Fordham football to the annual Fordham Football Hall of Fame dinner at the New York Athletic Club on Thursday, October 16, 1997, which will kickoff the Homecoming Weekend. At the dinner, the Fordham Gridiron Club will present the Arthur J. Daley Award for excellence in sports communications and Wellington Mara '37 will present an award in honor of his brother, the late John Mara, posthumously to Ed Danowski '34, the great quarterback and coach of the football Rams. Contact Rich Marrin '67 of the Gridiron Club (212-2694900) or the football office (718-8174280) for additional information.

Reader Duncan W. Clark, M.D. '32 advises that he was one of only two members of his class to attend the Jubilee weekend in June and that, seizing the opportunity, he declared a forum and elected himself class president. ... Charles J. Florio '40 advises that, on the occasion of the football Rams' 1938 contest against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in Pitt Stadium, his classmate Phil Catoggio borrowed his uncle's car and travelled 375 miles with four classmates to see what would develop after three consecutive scoreless ties in the series between the two squads. The Rams lost the game 24 to 13 after leading 7 to 3 at the end of the third quarter. But, disappointment turned to fright on the return trip to Rose Hill as Charles, Phil and their classmates listened in terror to Orson Welles' account of an alien landing in New Jersey. The Ram boosters were thankful to escape "The War of the Worlds" and to return to the peace and safety of The Bronx.... Daniel J. Crimmin '65 advises that the Pershing Rifles will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their founding with a tailgate party on the Rose Hill campus at 11:00 a.m. on October 25, 1997 before the football game against Cornell University. Dan notes that founding members of the Pershing Rifles include Rev. Daniel I. Sullivan, 51. '50, a biology professor at Fordham, and Pat Harrington '50, famous for his role as Dwayne Schneider of "One Day at a Time".

The Tower. Although the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court and two New York City agencies have upheld the University's right to build a radio tower along Southern Boulevard, the Federal Communications Commission has stopped construction on the project because the tower will have an adverse effect on its immediate neighbor, the New York Botanical Garden. While TRADITION supports improvement of the radio tower facilities, it regrets the expenditures that the construction of the tower has necessitated and the stoppage that has delayed TRADITION's plan to identify and name the tower for whichever University bureaucrat conceived its construction.

RAMembrances. Cathy McGuinness '83 remembers that, thing the spring semiformal dance on Edwards Parade in 1981, on a dare, Carol Kozeracki '83 shimmied to the top of the WFUV radio antenna and kissed the red bulb then atop Keating Hall. Cathy advises that the Jesuits never discovered Carol's antics, that radio transmission was uninterrupted and that neither the Federal Communications Commission nor the Botanical Garden was in any way involved.

TRADITION congratulates the Fordham College alumni team (Lawrence Squeri '64, Debra Caruso '81 and Thomas Kavanagh '91) which earned the tournament championship and the grand prize for the University's general scholarship fund in competition against alumni representatives from other universities on MSNBC's quiz show, "Remember This?"

The same budget-conscious bureaucrats, who reduced TRADITION from four to two copies per year, have now, for reasons of cost, proposed to silence TRADITlON entirely or to incorporate it in some form into a glossy University publication. Please write to advise if you read TRADITION; like or dislike it (and why) and believe that it should or should not continue to be published. Respond by e-mail to John G. McCarthy '88 at John.McCarthy@rosshardies.com or by mail to TRADITION c/o Alumni Relations, Fordham University at Lincoln Center, New York, N.Y. 10023

BOARD OF THE FORDHAM COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: President: Raymond 0'Rourke '77; President Elect: John G. McCarthy '88; Treasurer: Christian LeBris '68; Directors: Francis Angelino '62, Leonard Baker '49, John Calvelli '84, Joseph E. Cantwell '70, Cathy Carroll '83, Thomas Cronin, Jr. '60, Bernard M. Dengler '57, Patrick S. Dunleavy '84, Patrick 3. Foye '78, Denise Gaffney '91, Catherine M. McGuinness '83, Joseph M. McShane, 51. '93, John O'Donnell '86. James Rowen '86, Lisa N. Zangara '90.

TRADITION: Minister of Propaganda: George P. McKeegan '69; Contributing Editors: William J. Healy '30. William H. Power, Jr.'33, Barrett McGurn '35, Francis X. Holbrook, Ph.D. '49, Edward 3. Buckley '81, Elizabeth B. Kane '90 and Brendan Snodgrass '99.