Justin Bell serves as the current vice president for University Marketing and Communications (UMC) and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. He arrived in August 2023 ahead of the current academic year. Prior to joining Fordham University, Bell served as associate vice president for Brand Marketing at Ohio State University.
As the vice president of UMC, Bell oversees the division which is responsible for spreading awareness and advertisements about Fordham. As Bell explained, “the University Marketing and Communications (UMC) division is comprised of teams working across advertising and marketing, news and media relations, creative and multimedia and enterprise-owned channels such as social media, email marketing and web.”
Through the use of advertising, Fordham reaches target audiences including prospective students, alumni and the wider area. Currently, Bell is focusing on launching a brand platform for Fordham that highlights its unique strengths.
“As I listen to various stories about what makes Fordham different — it’s clear Fordham has a special sauce,” said Bell. “Why? We can’t tell our audiences everything about us all at once — brand is a shorthand for those things. It tells people what we aspire to, and what we value. That exercise will give us a clearer understanding of our brand strengths, and help us tell our story consistently.” As part of the platform launch, UMC will launch an audience research project to pinpoint key details about the audiences, their perceptions and reach.
UMC is open to student collaboration and feedback, particularly in social media, photography and videography and audience research. Interested students can reach out to [email protected].
John W. Buckley currently serves as the university’s vice president for Enrollment, where he oversees the university’s Enrollment Group and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. Buckley has been at Fordham since 1984, beginning initially as an admissions counselor and later serving as associate director of admissions at both Rose Hill and the Dean of Admissions before arriving at his current role.
The Enrollment Group provides resources to current and prospective undergraduate and graduate students, and has over 110 employees. It oversees an extensive list of departments, including undergraduate admission, student financial services, academic records, enrollment research, enrollment technology and enrollment operations and services.
“Core responsibilities for our undergraduate admission team include recruitment, selection and programming of/for new students,” said Buckley.
Key services available to students include Student Financial Services, which guides students through financial aid, billing and employment, and Academic Records, which oversees grading, transcripts and graduation certification. Additionally, the Enrollment Group is currently working on improvements to make the various processes more available to students.
“We are routinely involved in projects and initiatives that involve collaboration with many other staff and faculty across campus, including more recently the development of the Student Hub to provide greater ease of access to information for staff and students, the expansion of our international student recruiting efforts, the planning of new summer programming for prospective students and the explanation of ways in which AI [artificial intelligence] may allow us to be more efficient and productive,” he said.
Furthermore, the enrollment group is addressing challenges brought about by COVID-19 and the FAFSA changes. In response to COVID-19, the Enrollment Group is pursuing virtual recruitment and remote work patterns.
The Enrollment Group is open to student feedback, which can be addressed to the group’s various divisions as listed online.
Beth Fagin currently serves as the university’s interim vice president and general counsel, and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. She initially joined Fordham’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2015 and became deputy general counsel in 2019. Before coming to Fordham, Fagin worked in employment law and has experience in training and shaping workforce culture.
As interim general counsel, Fagin oversees the Office of Legal Counsel, and , in turn, all of Fordham’s legal situations. “I am focusing a lot of my time to ensure legal compliance,” she explained. “My position is interesting because I get to work collaboratively with all of Fordham’s various departments. No two days are ever the same.”
In her job, Fagin oversees contract review, negotiating collective bargaining agreements with unions, the Middle States accreditation, university committees and giving legal advice in the advent of new legal developments.
Additionally, Fagin is responsible for the drafting and revising of university policy, an important task that protects the university legally. “I have to be very precise in the language I choose and try to anticipate how various areas of the university will be impacted by a new or revised policy,” said Fagin. “I like to make sure that the policies will serve our community well and are flexible enough to address evolving legal trends. Drafting policies is an important aspect of my job because it reduces the university’s legal risks.”
Fagin recommends that students reach out via the United Student Government, the Dean of Students or through their Academic Dean. Contact information for employees of the Office of Legal Counsel can be found on their page on the Fordham website.
