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Sapientia et Doctrina Wisdom and Learning “Wisdom and learning shall be the stability of thy times.” —Adapted from Isaiah 33:6 The Fordham University Seal The Great Seal of Fordham University proclaims that Fordham has been a Jesuit university since its founder, Archbishop John Hughes, entrusted it to the care of the Society of Jesus five years after its founding in 1841. Hence, the coat of arms of the Society of Jesus stands at the center of the Great Seal of the University. The coat of arms bears the Greek letters for the name Jesus—IHS—with the cross resting in the horizontal line of the letter H, and the three nails beneath in a field framed in maroon, the color of the University, with fleurs-de-lis on the edge of the maroon frame. Around the Society’s coat of arms is a scroll with the University’s motto, Sapientia et Doctrina (Wisdom and Learning). The scroll rests on a field in which tongues of fire are displayed, recalling the outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of wisdom (sapientia) that marked the first Pentecost. A laurel wreath at the center of which are listed the names of the disciplines that are or have been taught at the University rests at the top of the seal. (The University had a medical school from 1905 to 1919 and a College of Pharmacy from 1912 to 1971.) These central heraldic devices are enclosed within a circular field fashioned as a belt and edged with beads. The field bears the University’s name (rendered in Latin) and the date of its foundation. Fordham University is one of only two institutions in the world whose seals are enclosed with a belt surround. Oxford University, the mother of the universities in the English-speaking world, is the other university whose seal is fashioned in this way. Sapientia et Doctrina Wisdom and Learning “Wisdom and learning shall be the stability of thy times.” —Adapted from Isaiah 33:6 Fordham: A Story of Transformation Fordham University began in the mind and heart of John Hughes, the Irish-born Catholic bishop who would later become the first archbishop of New York. He believed fervently in the power of education to help downtrodden Catholic immigrants advance in America, and traveled as far as Europe to raise funds for buying the plot of rustic land north of Manhattan—in what is today the Bronx—where he saw a great university taking root. Initially named St. John’s College, the school opened at Rose Hill on June 24, 1841, with just six students but big ambitions. St. John’s became a Jesuit college five years later, after Hughes sold it to the Society of Jesus. In 1907, St. John’s College was renamed Fordham University—a transformation that began two years earlier with the opening of its first graduate schools: a medical school, discontinued in 1921, and a law school that is widely regarded today as one of the best in the nation. Graduate schools of education, arts and sciences, and social service were established in 1916, and the School of Accounting—forerunner of the Gabelli School of Business—opened in 1920, housed in Manhattan’s Woolworth Building. A college of pharmacy was also established in this period, lasting until 1971. In 1944, Fordham founded what would become the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, and the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education began in 1969. The establishment of the Lincoln Center campus in the 1960s was a milestone in the University’s rise to greater prominence. In the following decades, Fordham made major strides toward becoming a national and global institution with the opening of new residence halls at both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses; the construction of the William D. Walsh Family Library at Rose Hill; the opening of the Fordham London campus; and the Lincoln Center campus redevelopment completed in 2016. As Fordham has grown from a small college into the Jesuit University of New York, it continues reaching out to its local community through service, academic partnerships, and various other initiatives such as the Higher Education Opportunity Program for students from underrepresented groups. Today, the seed planted by John Hughes has flowered into a truly global university, one that continues to transform lives and transform the world through the dedication of its faculty and the work and achievements of its alumni across all fields of endeavor. Honorary Degree Citation Michelle Howard | Doctor of Humane Letters Michelle Howard rose to the highest echelons of the U.S. Navy during a 35-year career in commands of ever-increasing size and scope, propelled by competence and character. She also broke barriers along the way—among other achievements, she became the first African American woman to command a Navy ship and the first woman to serve as a four-star Navy admiral. In so doing, she became a role model, a title she bears with the same surpassing sense of duty she brought to all of her military commands. Growing up in Colorado, she thrilled to the idea of attending a service academy, even though they were closed to women. Her mother encouraged her ambitions, though, and she enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy just two years after the exclusion of women was ended. She graduated in 1982 and later served in operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom; the peacekeeping effort in the former Republic of Yugoslavia; and tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia. In 2009, she was commander of a U.S. Navy task force that dealt with Somali pirates holding an American ship captain hostage on a life raft off the African coast, a situation later dramatized in the movie Captain Phillips. Faced with a crisis that had no playbook, she harnessed the power of diversity, bringing together people of varied backgrounds to generate the ideas that made the rescue operation a success. In the final years of her career, Admiral Howard served as vice chief of naval operations and as commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa. A graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, where she earned a master’s degree in 1998, she served on the faculty at George Washington University after retiring from the Navy in 2017. In February 2021, she was named to a congressionally mandated commission on renaming military installations whose names commemorate the Confederacy. Admiral Howard has always strived for diversity, equity, and inclusion, by helping others and by setting an example. Through her commitment to excellence, she has provided hope and possibility for others trying to overcome barriers of gender or race in pursuit of their dreams. For her extraordinary achievements and for her pathbreaking leadership in the U.S. armed forces, we, the President and Trustees of Fordham University, in solemn convocation assembled and in accord with the chartered authority bestowed on us by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, declare Michelle Howard Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. That she may enjoy all rights and privileges of this, our highest honor, we have issued these letters patent under our hand and the corporate seal of the University on this, the 22nd day of May in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-One. This degree will be presented virtually at the University Commencement ceremony on 22 May 2021. Honorary Degree Citation Hillary Rodham Clinton | Doctor of Laws Throughout her long and distinguished career in American public life, Hillary Rodham Clinton has not only made history but also made an impact on personal histories everywhere. As a lawyer, activist, speaker, senator, and diplomat, she has spent decades fighting to empower people—especially children and families—and to bring about a more just and equitable society. Her passion for social justice was ignited in her childhood when she heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak during a trip to Chicago with her youth ministry. She began her career in law and public service after graduating from Wellesley College and Yale Law School, where she met her future husband, Bill Clinton. After working as a staff attorney with the Children’s Defense Fund and as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in the House of Representatives in 1974, she moved to Arkansas with Bill. In Arkansas, she ran legal clinics serving the disenfranchised, founded one of the state’s first child advocacy groups, and championed improvements in health and educational policy during her husband’s governorship. Then, as first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, she helped to create the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provided coverage to more than 8 million children. With her election to the U.S. Senate in 2000, Clinton became the first woman to win statewide office in New York. As senator, she helped secure federal funding for rebuilding New York after the 9/11 attacks, worked to secure health care for responders at Ground Zero, and launched initiatives to help New York farms and small businesses find new markets for their products. In 2009, she moved into a new role on the international stage as secretary of state under President Barack Obama. In addition to building a coalition for sanctions that paved the way for the nuclear accord with Iran, she forcefully championed human rights and new opportunities for women and girls, people of color, LGBT people, and young people worldwide. In 2016 she became the first woman to earn a major party’s nomination for U.S. president. After the election, she founded Onward Together, an organization devoted to advancing progressive values and bringing about a fairer and more inclusive America.

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