CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated that Tania Tetlow, J.D., was the associate provost for international law at Tulane University. As of Feb. 15, this article has been updated to reflect the fact that Tania Tetlow, J.D., was the associate provost for international affairs at Tulane University.

After months of searching for the successor of the Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., the search committee and Board of Trustees at Fordham unanimously elected Tania Tetlow, J.D., as the 33rd president of Fordham on Feb. 10. Tetlow will be the first woman and first non-Jesuit president in Fordham’s history.

Tetlow graduated cum laude from Tulane University in 1992, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in American studies. At the same time, she received honors, including being named a Harry S. Truman scholar. In 1995, she received her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where she graduated magna cum laude. 

Tetlow has served as president of Loyola University New Orleans since August 2018, where she was also the first lay president. Prior to becoming president of Loyola, she held the positions of senior vice president and chief of staff at Tulane University from 2015 to 2018. Tetlow has also held the positions of associate provost for international affairs at Tulane University, Felder-Fayard professor of law and director of Tulane’s domestic violence clinic. 

“President Tetlow is beloved at Loyola for her compassionate and transparent leadership.” Robert D. Daleo, chair of Fordham University’s Board of Trustees and Gabelli School of Business ’72

At Loyola, Tetlow launched several new academic programs that led to increased enrollment and student retention. When she arrived, Loyola was also experiencing a challenging time financially, which Tetlow was able to reverse by growing revenue and the endowment, improving its revenue and returning the university to financial stability. 

“President Tetlow is beloved at Loyola for her compassionate and transparent leadership,” Robert D. Daleo, chair of Fordham University’s Board of Trustees and Gabelli School of Business ’72, said in the announcement email. 

Since she is the first female and first non-Jesuit president, students do not know exactly what that will mean for changes at Fordham. 

“Honestly, I have no idea what this will change,” Yev Gelman, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24, said. “I feel like I don’t understand the weight the president’s role has in my daily life. It’s cool we have a woman and a non-Jesuit as the president, but I have no idea what it will change in my daily life.”

While working at Tulane University, Tetlow worked on improving admissions, rankings, diversity, research strength and fundraising. She also led Tulane’s efforts to make progress on race and equity, as well as addressing sexual assault on campus. 

“Tania Tetlow has in abundance the qualities of leadership one needs to run a major university, among them discernment, patience, decisiveness, self-awareness, and magnanimity,” McShane said in the announcement. 

According to the announcement, the Board of Trustees, along with the search committee, were impressed by Tetlow’s deeply rooted Ignatian spirituality, and they believe she will be a strong proponent of Fordham’s Jesuit, Catholic mission and identity. Daleo said that Tetlow “has a deep understanding of and comprehensive vision for undergraduate liberal arts and sciences, the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham Law, and all of the graduate and professional schools of the University.”

Although Tetlow is not a Jesuit herself, she is a member of the Fordham community. Both of her parents graduated from Fordham University, with her late father, Louis Mulry Tetlow, receiving his Ph.D. from Fordham’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) in 1974, only four years after earning his master’s at Fordham. Tetlow’s mother, Elisabeth M. Tetlow, also graduated from GSAS, receiving master’s degrees in philosophy and theology in 1967 and 1970. Tetlow’s parents met and married at Fordham, and Tetlow was born in New York.

Both Tetlow’s father and uncle were Jesuit priests. Her uncle, Joseph Tetlow, S.J., served as head of the Secretariat for Ignatian Spirituality in Rome for eight years, along with other positions, such as president of the Jesuit School of Theology. 

Tetlow is married to Gordon Stewart and has a 9-year-old daughter, Lucy, and a stepson, Noah. 

“I’m hoping that with a non-Jesuit with prior experience, she can actually fix a lot of the bureaucratic problems at Fordham.” Sakunthala Sankar, FCLC ’24

Sakunthala Sankar, FCLC ’24, is hopeful that a layman president with former administrative experience will benefit the university.

“I’m glad the new president is a woman and relieved that she has prior experience because this school really needs it,” she said. “I’m hoping that with a non-Jesuit with prior experience, she can actually fix a lot of the bureaucratic problems at Fordham.” 

Daleo ended the announcement by asking the Fordham community to give Tetlow a warm welcome, as she represents positive changes at Fordham. 

“This is a historic and exciting moment for Fordham,” Daleo said. “As a university that seeks to transform its students’ lives, we are preparing to be transformed by bold new leadership—leadership that will build upon Father McShane’s legacy of academic achievement and institutional growth.”