Fordham was founded as St. John's College in 1841 by the Irish-born coadjutor bishop (later archbishop) of the Diocese of New York, the Most Reverend John J. Hughes. The college was the first Catholic institution of higher education in the northeastern United States. Fordham strives for excellence in research and teaching, and guarantees the freedom of inquiry required by rigorous thinking and the quest for truth. Fordham fosters the intellectual, moral and religious development of its students and prepares them for leadership in a global society.
