Catholic Higher Education and the Work of Hope in Uncertain Times
2nd Annual Alfred and Melissa Di Leonardo Lecture Series
Tania Tetlow
Fordham University
Date: Monday, September 15, 2025
Time: 5:30 - 7pm
Location: 426 Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center
Much of higher education as we know it was created by the Catholic Church in Europe, which founded institutions that have lasted longer than most nation-states. In this country, the Church built alternatives to elite protestant universities that did not always welcome Catholic immigrants, focusing more on opportunity than status. In the 20th century, some of those Catholic institutions turned their eyes towards greater research and rigor, becoming elite schools competing on a national scale while trying not to dilute their identity. Today, we face a new set of challenges. Our government has increasingly regulated higher education for goals ranging from consumer protection to civil rights, in ways that have been criticized as intrusive on academic and religious freedom. Yet some of those same critics have begun using those regulatory tools in unprecedented ways. How should Catholic institutions respond to this moment?
Tania Tetlow has served as the 33rd president of Fordham University since July 2022, becoming the first layperson and first woman to hold the office. A legal scholar and former assistant U.S. attorney, she is dedicated to the transformative power of Jesuit education. Under her leadership, Fordham has deepened its investment in STEM while strengthening its foundation in the humanities and professions. She oversaw the successful completion of the $350 million Cura Personalis Campaign and secured a record-breaking $100 million gift to support scienceeducation and facilities.
Previously, Tetlow was president of Loyola University New Orleans, where she led a financial turnaround, improving the university’s bond rating and expanding programs. She also served as senior vice president and chief of staff at Tulane University and spent a decade as a Tulane law professor, specializing in constitutional law, criminal procedure, and domestic violence policy.
Before her academic career, Tetlow served as an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuting violent crime and fraud cases. She clerked for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and worked in complex litigation. She holds a B.A. from Tulane University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a Harry S. Truman Fellow.
A Catholic and native of New Orleans, Tetlow comes from a family of Fordham alumni. Her late father, a former Jesuit priest and psychologist, earned his Ph.D. at Fordham, while her mother, a biblical scholar and attorney, earned multiple degrees from the university.
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On September 2, 2025, America Magazine published an article on the recent government crackdown on D.E.I. programs at universities around the country. The article centers on a federal inquiry into Georgetown Law Center’s curriculum, questioning its use of D.E.I. and threatening denial of government opportunities to graduates unless D.E.I. was eliminated. Georgetown’s response, led by Dean William Treanor, defended the university’s Catholic and Jesuit mission statement, arguing that the First Amendment’s protection of institutional autonomy and religious liberty provides a university’s right to determine its curriculum. The piece explains that Jesuit pedagogy and Catholic Social Teaching fundamentally align with D.E.I. values. The article argues that Jesuit and Catholic universities must defend their educational missions in the face of these constitutional and regulatory challenges, framing their work as a “moral and educational imperative” owed to the broader community.
Fordham University President Tania Tetlow delivers the 2nd Annual Alfred and Melissa Di Leonardo Lecture Series.
Photo credits: Christopher Soldt, Boston College
On Monday, September 15th, President Tania Tetlow of Fordham University delivered a lecture addressing the unprecedented challenges facing American Catholic higher education. She focused on three dimensions of this: historical context, present dangers, and the intersection of faith and social justice.
Tetlow began by establishing why Catholic higher education matters, highlighting that Catholic institutions historically provided opportunity for students who were excluded from elite American universities due to religious and/or ethnic discrimination. She went on to provide an extensive historical background, tracing American higher education from its Protestant origins through the founding of Catholic institutions, beginning with Georgetown in 1789. She highlighted how the G.I. Bill after World War II transformed higher education by proving that education was a public good that benefitted all, and she also discussed how the civil rights era opened previously exclusive institutions to broader populations. Tetlow noted that as elite Protestant schools began admitting more Catholic students in the 1960s, Catholic institutions adapted by recruiting non-Catholic students while maintaining their distinctive identity and mission.
Turning to present challenges, Tetlow outlined what she characterized as an existential threat to Catholic higher education because of financial and other pressures. She detailed recent federal cuts to research funding, restrictions on international student visas, and cuts to financial aid programs with discussion of much larger cuts. She also expressed her concern about ideological pressures, including Executive Orders banning “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and the demand made to Harvard for "viewpoint diversity" audits of faculty and staff.
Tetlow dedicated substantial attention to defending Catholic institutions' commitment to racial equality as Catholic doctrine. She argued that diversity reflects the Catholic belief that all humans are created in God's image, inclusion follows the biblical mandate to "welcome the stranger," and equity embodies the “preferential option for the poor” by meeting people according to their needs. While all of these issues are the subject of robust political debate, Catholic doctrine on these points is clear.
Her engaging lecture was followed by a lively Q&A session, during which Tetlow addressed various practical concerns. When asked about rebuilding trust in higher education, she acknowledged valid criticisms while warning against cynicism that discourages civic engagement and has diminished trust in institutions throughout society. She distinguished between the legal concept of unfettered political free speech and the academic freedom protected by universities, the freedom of speech necessary for learning to happen, even as we insist on academic rigor. Some who once (fairly) criticized higher education for not doing enough to protect ideological diversity now seem to be demanding the punishment for free speech. Addressing concerns about the affordability of higher education, Tetlow explained the complex financial aid system where posted tuition differs dramatically from what most students actually pay, noting that many Catholic schools serve large populations of first-generation and Pell-eligible students.
Tetlow concluded by calling for courage rooted in love rather than rage, and by emphasizing that Catholic institutions should protect their religious freedom and fundamental values. She stressed that faculty and administrators must model hope while teaching students the critical thinking skills necessary for citizenship in a complex democracy, framing the current moment as both a test of institutional integrity and an opportunity to reaffirm core Catholic values of human dignity and service to those most in need.