By Jake Shore
A Fordham alum on the Board of Trustees donated $6 million to the university last week, with most of the funds going towards a scholarship fund for students from the Boston area.
Darlene Jordan, FCRH ‘89 and a former assistant attorney general of Massachusetts, donated the money along with her husband, Gerald R. Jordan. Five million is slated for the Boston student fund, $500,000 is allotted for renovating the basketball gym at Rose Hill and the other half is split for the board’s fundraising efforts and a general undergraduate scholarship.
“This is exactly the kind of generous gift I’d expect from Darlene and Jerry. It is designed to have maximum impact on the lives of Fordham students,” said Robert Daleo, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “From our day-to-day work on the Board of Trustees, I can tell you that Darlene has a deep connection to the University and its mission.”
Jordan has given to Fordham in large amounts over the past years, including a $750,000 donation in 2016 and an $18,000 gift in the year prior, according to public documents on her husband’s foundation. Darlene Jordan is the executive director of the Gerald R. Jordan Foundation.
Jordan did not respond to a request for comment on her donation.
Most of the Gerald R. Jordan Foundation’s donations go to a number of organizations around Massachusetts, such as the state’s general hospital, local museums and Catholic education groups. The foundation’s most sizeable donation in 2016, though, went to Jordan’s alma mater, Fordham University.
After attending Fordham and working as a prosecutor in Massachusetts, Jordan has most recently worked on the inaugural committee for the Donald Trump campaign. She was also the national finance chairwoman for Mitt Romney’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
Jordan was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2012.
“[The donation] creates opportunities for talented students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, including immigrants and new Americans,” said Roger A. Milici Jr., Fordham’s vice president for development and university relations. “We are deeply grateful to Darlene and Jerry for their generosity and commitment to Fordham and its students.”
