In mid-March of 2021, former assistant dean of students and director of residential life, Alex Fischer, left Fordham. His replacement, Charles Clency, took over the position this past summer.  

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Clency completed his undergraduate education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He earned a graduate degree at Canisius College, which is located in Buffalo, another Jesuit school. 

Before coming to Fordham, Clency worked in residential life at various universities. “This is my 24th year working with a focus on housing, residence life and student affairs,” explained Clency. 

Most recently, Clency served as director of residential life at Manhattan College, where he worked for over two years. 

Although Manhattan College is not a Jesuit institution, Clency said he is familiar with the values of a Jesuit education and is excited for that aspect of Fordham. “My roots, in terms of my grad work, and my introduction to student affairs, were at Canisius College, so I have an in-depth passion and love for the Jesuit education,” he said. “[Coming to Fordham] complimented my career pursuits but more importantly, it allowed me to return back to the Jesuit education. I’m able to give back to students who are following the same path. [I’m able to] take some of the neat things I’ve learned and been exposed to and bring it into the Fordham system.”

As the director of residential life, Clency hopes to use his first year at Fordham to get to know the community better, as well as his team. “In the immediate year, it is really important to get more familiar with the student body here, and the culture of this campus, in terms of things that students are passionate about,” said Clency.

In addition to being director of residential life, Clency is also serving as assistant dean of students. “In terms of my assistant dean of students role, [I hope to] take the matters that may be most compromising for students to indulge in and make them teachable, developmental moments for students to learn and grow from,” he said.

Along with helping guide students, Clency also hopes to find opportunities for them. “[I also want to help] give students opportunities to take leadership positions on campus where they can give back to their college experience, which will naturally give them some transferable skills in whatever field they are studying,” said Clency. 

With the continuing spread of the delta variant, issues such as student quarantine and changing COVID-19 precautions are still present for the residential life staff. Clency said his experience working at another university’s residential life department during the last two years has helped him prepare for the upcoming year. 

“One of the distinctive advantages from coming over from Manhattan College is that some of the things that have [happened] on this campus [in the past year or so] are shared on that campus,” he said.“[One of those shared experiences was] being in the epicenter of the whole COVID experience and experiencing the way it hit this city and community.” 

This year, the university is encouraging students who become infected with COVID-19 to complete the isolation period at home as opposed to on campus. “If there should be a need for a quarantine or isolation circumstance, our first choice and preference is for students to go home, especially if they live within a two-hour radius,” said Clency. 

“We do have things in place to support students who may need an isolated space, but again our first choice is for them to go home,” said Clency. “Of course, for our folks coming from out of state or internationally, we can support them because we understand that they can’t necessarily go home.” 

While this school year does pose some challenges, Clency looks forward to the year ahead. 

“I’m here to serve, I want to build a [residential life] team that will continue to serve the students as best we can, providing them with the things and exposures that are going to help them in their growth and development while also complementing their academic pursuits,” he said.