Following the announcement of University President Rev. Joseph M. McShane’s, S.J., retirement in September 2021, the board of trustees made the decision to rename the newly renovated Fordham Rose Hill Campus Center as the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center in honor of his 19 years of service to the Fordham community.

The dedication ceremony took place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, with David Ushery, an anchor on NBC 4 New York, emceeing the event. The ceremony also had special guests Michael R. Bloomberg, 108th mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg L.P., and the Honorable Nathalia Fernandez of the New York State Assembly, in attendance. 

While Eric Adams, 110th mayor of New York City, was not in attendance, he released a statement — which appeared to be a speech intended to welcome the attendees — concerning the ceremony. 

In early February, the four-story addition to the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center was announced to the community as the first of a three-stage remodeling plan to combine the McGinley Campus Center, the Lombardi Center and the Ram Fit Center.

“Father McShane worked tirelessly for the benefit of the university, raising unprecedented amounts of money for the improvement of its infrastructure, and guiding Fordham through momentous change, from increases in enrollment and campus expansions in New York and London to the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Adams said. 

In early February, the four-story addition to the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center was announced to the community as the first of a three-stage remodeling plan to combine the McGinley Campus Center, the Lombardi Center and the Ram Fit Center. It included an expanded fitness center, multiple student lounges, a gallery, meeting rooms, a marketplace dining facility, a multipurpose space and the offices of the Career Center, Campus Ministry and the Center for Community Engaged Learning. 

Formerly known as the McGinley Campus Center, the building was originally named after the late Rev. Laurence J. McGinley, S.J., 26th president of Fordham University, and first opened in 1959. After McGinley stepped down in 1960, the building was dedicated to him due to his legacy, which included the initial development of Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus.

​​During his speech at the dedication ceremony for McShane, Robert Daleo, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees and Gabelli School of Business (GSB) ’72, clarified that the new dedication of the student center would not outshine McGinley’s legacy.

​​During his speech at the dedication ceremony for McShane, Robert Daleo, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees and Gabelli School of Business (GSB) ’72, clarified that the new dedication of the student center would not outshine McGinley’s legacy. 

“It is fitting that Fordham has named this campus center for Father McShane. It has been transformed into a beautiful, modern part of the university, a transformation truly representative of McShane’s tenure at Fordham,” he said. “However, the board of trustees has every intention of preserving the legacy of Lawrence J. McGinley, S.J., another visionary president of the university. We will be undertaking the consideration of alternate sites which are suitable to carry on his legacy.”

Daleo’s speech also included a letter from United States President Joe Biden addressed to McShane, in which he commended the impact McShane had on the Fordham community. 

“For nearly 19 years, you have led the University with faith, dedication, and love through unprecedented challenges in an ever-changing world” Joe Biden, president of the United States

“For nearly 19 years, you have led the University with faith, dedication, and love through unprecedented challenges in an ever-changing world,” Biden wrote in the letter. “Your strong leadership has prepared the next generation of students to succeed and inspired them to find purpose through hard work and passion. I wish you all the best in your next chapter of life. May God bless you.”

Vice chairs of the Fordham University Board of Trustees Armando Nuñez Jr., GSB ’82, and Mary Anne Sullivan, Thomas More College ’73, joined Daleo in unveiling the renovated campus center’s sign. Daleo stated that the sign would serve as the “official beacon of the building” until the cornerstone’s replacement next year. 

Following the building’s unveiling, Ushery introduced Thomas Reuter, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’22 and president of the United Student Government at Rose Hill, and Patricia Santos, FCRH ’22 and vice president of the Rose Hill Campus Commuting Student Association, to the podium. In their speeches, they spoke about the time they spent at the student center over their time at Fordham and what the newly renovated student center means to the Fordham community. 

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“As we entered, I noticed areas in need of remodeling, but what I remembered was observing a community at work. I saw a kindness between friends conversing,” Reuter said about the student center being the first building at Fordham that he visited. “I saw a genuine interest from staff members in the lives of students, and I saw engagement of all kinds, ranging from debates about the morning paper to clubs advocating for various causes in the lobby.”

Santos described her experience as a commuter and how the campus center was a place that helped her build relationships and form friendships. She also expressed the unique connection commuters have to the center, as it is their primary place to reside during their time on campus.

“To commuters, it is a place we call home,” she said about the campus center.

“His mind is always racing; his drive is always relentless; his compassion is always boundless; and his Irish wit is always on.”Michael R. Bloomberg, 108th mayor of New York City

Ushery introduced Bloomberg, who was a leading donor for the student center renovation project, as the final guest speaker at the dedication ceremony.

Bloomberg began his speech with the story of how he and McShane first met. The two have been friends since Bloomberg’s first year serving as mayor of New York City in 2002. They met through William Hill Kelly Jr., a victim of the 9/11 attacks who tragically lost his life while attending a Windows conference in Tower One of the World Trade Center. Kelly was working for Bloomberg at the time and was also a graduate of the University of Scranton, where McShane served as university president from 1998 until 2003. After working together to set up a scholarship fund in Kelly’s honor, Bloomberg and McShane remained friends for the next 20 years. 

“Over the years, we developed a friendship. I came to see what an exceptional leader Joe really is,” Bloomberg said. “His mind is always racing; his drive is always relentless; his compassion is always boundless; and his Irish wit is always on. When I realized he was brilliant and funny, I realized this is my type of priest.”

“This is about Fordham, and that’s the important thing for us all to remember.” The Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

McShane responded to his friend’s words with his own praise, stating that “Michael R. Bloomberg was not really the 108th mayor of New York. He was the greatest mayor in our history, and we all are in his debt.”

Although each speaker noted that renaming the student center after McShane was the most fitting way to honor his legacy, McShane wanted to shift the attention elsewhere.

“I want to stress something: It is not about me— it is about the university. As the board chair knows, I fought against this. The naming, the ceremony, everything about it,” he said. “This is about Fordham, and that’s the important thing for us all to remember.”

The audience in attendance was a diverse collection of alumni, current students, Jesuits and friends who came together to commend McShane’s contributions to the Fordham community and celebrate him advancing to the next chapter in his life.