Catholic Higher Education and the Work of Hope in Uncertain Times
2nd Annual Alfred and Melissa Di Leonardo Lecture Series聽
Tania Tetlow
Fordham University聽
Date:聽Monday, September 15, 2025
Time:聽5:30 - 7pm
Location:聽426 Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center聽聽
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聽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?聽
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鈥檚 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 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鈥檚 curriculum, questioning its use of D.E.I. and threatening denial of government opportunities to graduates unless D.E.I. was eliminated. Georgetown鈥檚 response, led by Dean William Treanor, defended the university鈥檚 Catholic and Jesuit mission statement, arguing that the First Amendment鈥檚 protection of institutional autonomy and religious liberty provides a university鈥檚 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 鈥渕oral and educational imperative鈥� owed to the broader community.