Founded in 1950, the Honors Program at Fordham College Rose Hill celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2025-2026 academic year. To mark this milestone, an exhibit showcasing the program’s rich history is on display in the Special Collections Exhibit Hall of the Walsh Library from March 1 to May 31, 2026. This exhibit draws upon items from the University’s Archives and Special Collection.
Exhibition items range from Fordham University yearbooks and Fordham Ram newspaper articles to Honors Program print material and photographs, spanning the period from the early 1950s to the present day. The varied collection serves as a testament to the Honors Program’s growth within Fordham and the University’s transformation over time – preserving valuable historical items to display for all in the Fordham community to appreciate.
This exhibit was curated by Emily Caro (FCRH’ 28), Honors Program administrator, Gabriella DiMeglio, Archives and Special Collections Manager at Fordham University Library, and Olena Nikolayenko, Professor of Political Science and the FCRH Honors Program director. The Honors Program thanks Ishtiaq Iqbal, Digital Services Manager at the Walsh Library, Linda LoSchiavo, Director of Libraries, and Vivian Shen, Preservation and Conservation Librarian, for their support of this project.
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Ashlyn Abate
A booklet depicts the trajectory of Honors students’ academic journeys, detailing coursework opportunities, students’ experiences from study abroad, and Honors Program traditions from year to year.
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Ashlyn Abate
The brochure outlines the program’s previous academic structure, which was notably different from today. Instead of a four-year program, students applied to the program at the end of their sophomore years and joined the Honors program for their junior and senior years.
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Interviews were historically a requirement for entry into the Honors Program. Here a student in Alpha House answers questions from Honors professors to determine his acceptance into the program, in an interview taking place in Alpha House.
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The inscription of the first eight members of the Honors Program included a ceremonial presentation of the Golden Alphas, given to graduating seniors upon their completion of the program’s requirements.
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Local newspaper articles spotlight Honors students' accomplishments and their membership in the program.
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The booklet depicts the offerings of the Honors Program, as originally provided by the Fordham Office of Admissions.
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As the program expanded, its structure evolved with it–and students began to be offered admission before their freshman year, instead of solely once they completed some of their coursework at Fordham.
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FCRH Honors Program
Interviews were historically a requirement for entry into the Honors Program. Here a student in Alpha House answers questions from Honors professors to determine his acceptance into the program, in an interview taking place in Alpha House.
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FCRH Honors Program
A pamphlet depicts a summer travel opportunity for Fordham students, led by Rev. Joseph R. Frese, who directed the program at the time.
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FCRH Honors Program
In January 2025, Honors students participated in a GO! service-learning project in Puebla, Mexico, and learned about sustainable development, cross-cultural solidarity, and social justice in practice.
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FCRH Honors Program
First-year Honors students at an orientation with Dr. Olena Nikolayenko, the program director, in August 2025.
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FCRH Honors Program
Graduating seniors at their Three-Minute Thesis presentation in Keating Hall in May 2025.
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Fordham students at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for the 2023 annual meeting of the Honors Network of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
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Dr. Eve Keller, Honors program director (2015-2023), with the program administrator Hannah Teligades in 2023.
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Honors students writing cards for a Palentine’s Day event in February 2020.
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Honors students writing cards for a Palentine’s Day event in February 2020.
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FCRH Honors Program
Featuring the Program’s commitment to academic rigor and social justice, the booklet outlines the Honors curriculum that came in effect in 2019.
