Funding Initiative: Support for LGBTQ+ Students

LGBTQ Couples on Park Bench

Approximately one in six young people identify as other than heterosexual. A survey by the Higher Education Research Institute indicates that 12 to 16 percent of Fordham’s senior class identifies as LGBTQ+.  Such students as well as faculty and staff continue to confront bias, prejudice, and rejection by family, schools, and spiritual communities.

Meeting the distinctive needs of LGBTQ+ students is consonant with Fordham’s identity as a Jesuit Catholic university. Fordham has the opportunity to show every student, prospective student, parent, and alum that they will be welcomed, included, and affirmed at the University. Our commitment is to support every Fordham student as a whole person.

Areas in which Fordham seeks additional current use and endowed support to advance LGBTQ+ initiatives include:

Speakers, programs, and student conferences

  • Graduate assistantships with the Office of Multicultural Affairs
  • Stipends for LGBTQ+-related research by students and faculty
  • Community engaged learning courses in concert with organizations serving LGBTQ+ communities
  • Retreats and pastoral care for LGBTQ+ students to help them integrate their faith and gender/sexual identities Scholarships, housing, and emergency funds for students facing challenges  such as homelessness, domestic violence, and family rejection that disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ students

Give Now to Support LGBTQ+ Students

Interested in endowing funds, naming opportunities, or have other questions? Please contact Michael Boyd, senior associate vice president of development and university relations, at 212-636-6525 or mboyd7@fordham.edu.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Students at Fordham

On Valentine’s Day, Humanities Scholars Explore the Meaning of Love

On Valentine’s Day, Humanities Scholars Explore the Meaning of Love

In a special Valentine’s Day event at the Rose Hill campus, Fordham scholars in the humanities explored what it means to love—beyond traditional ideas of romance. The group—a professor, a psychologist, and three students—gathered in a classroom in Duane Library on Feb. 14, where they spoke to members of the Fordham community about how love …

Seniors Celebrate at Diversity Graduations

Seniors Celebrate at Diversity Graduations

Dozens of senior students celebrated at Diversity Graduation ceremonies in early May, toasting to their accomplishments while honoring their culture and identity. The celebrations took place from May 2–6 at the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, honoring students from the Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Seniors received colored …

New Endowment Supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts at Fordham

New Endowment Supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts at Fordham

Going to Fordham College at Rose Hill in the 1960s, the late Joseph Esposito learned a lot about theology, philosophy, his own abilities as a writer and a communicator, and the value of the liberal arts. But there was one thing about himself that was still coming into focus. “The whole concept of sexuality was …

LGBTQ Hudson Valley Retreat to Offer Fall Foliage and Spirituality

LGBTQ Hudson Valley Retreat to Offer Fall Foliage and Spirituality

Just as the leaves in the Hudson Valley are about to hit their peak, Campus Ministry is organizing a weekend retreat to Goshen, New York, for Fordham students who identify as spiritual and LGBTQ. “We want to affirm to all our students that they are loved, and they are recognized for who they authentically are,” said …

Driving Social Change: Joan Garry, Keynote Speaker at the Fifth Annual Fordham Women’s Summit

Driving Social Change: Joan Garry, Keynote Speaker at the Fifth Annual Fordham Women’s Summit

From helping launch MTV as a recent Fordham grad to becoming a precedent-setting plaintiff for LGBTQ rights and a media-savvy champion for nonprofit leaders, Joan Garry, FCRH ’79, has long been a trailblazer. Along the way, she’s learned many lessons on leadership, communication, the need for mutual support, and the power of the media—some of …

Student-Athletes Share Ideas for LGBTQ+ Inclusivity

Student-Athletes Share Ideas for LGBTQ+ Inclusivity

In celebration of Pride Month, Fordham Athletics hosted a virtual panel where five students discussed their identities as athletes in the LGBTQ+ community and how the University can support them.  “This panel is, of course, a way to close out Pride Month for Fordham Athletics,” student panel moderator Gigi Speer said to more than 40 …

Professor’s Research Finds Constant Stress Is ‘New Normal’ for College Students

Professor’s Research Finds Constant Stress Is ‘New Normal’ for College Students

For college students, 2020 was one of the most anxiety-inducing years in recent memory. New research by a Fordham psychologist shows that more than one-third of college students report being emotionally distressed by the pandemic and that LGBTQ+ students, students of color, and women experience higher levels of stress and anxiety. The findings were published …

Exclusion Happens Everywhere, Even in LGBTQ Spaces

Exclusion Happens Everywhere, Even in LGBTQ Spaces

Faced with bullying, discrimination, and other forms of exclusion because of their gender or sexual identity, people often group together for mutual support or advocacy. But what happens when exclusion arises within those very groups? A panel of Graduate School of Social Service professors grappled with that and other questions during a virtual event, Exclusion …

In Moving Testimony, Gay Catholics Reiterate Their Faith in the Church

In Moving Testimony, Gay Catholics Reiterate Their Faith in the Church

Amidst celebrations surrounding Pride month, a June 26 panel of LGBTQ+ Catholics reminded an audience of about 100 that prejudice and violence still confront their communities around the globe. The panel, sponsored by Fordham’s Department of Theology and the Church of St. Francis Xavier, honored the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising with stark reminders …

Being Out on Campus—Decades Later

Being Out on Campus—Decades Later

At this year’s Jubilee reunion, more than 40 members of Fordham’s LGBTQ alumni affinity group, the Rainbow Rams, gathered for cocktails and camaraderie on the terrace of the William D. Walsh Library. Jerold Kulik, FCRH ’93, caught wind of the get-together after a young alumnus draped a rainbow flag over the bannister. “It was like …

Law Clinic Wins Asylum for Chadian Man

Law Clinic Wins Asylum for Chadian Man

After years of research and preparation, students in Fordham Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic have helped an African man secure asylum in the United States. The man had suffered punishment for his sexual orientation and faced threat of further persecution if forced to return to his home country of Chad. The clinic’s work for the …