I just think that that this is something other people might have never thought of, and they might think, ‘That’s something I could do,’” he said. “I don’t really care about the immortalization I’m not going to be around to see it, and that’s OK. Rogers, who roomed with Kawa his first year and a half at Fordham and still talks over the phone with him daily, said it was poignant to be named in a scholarship as he himself benefited from one. “I thought, why not highlight some of the students who made Fordham what it is today?” “If you see your name five to 10 times in a row for a scholarship, it’s a little much,” Kawa said. I should have stayed on campus, and participated more. If I look back at it again, I wouldn’t have done that. “That took me out of a lot of campus activities. He worked during his junior year at the library, and in his senior year he manned gas pumps along the Major Deegan Expressway from 8 p.m. “Jack’s generosity is unique in that it honors others, and it’s also significant that he’s targeted it toward scholarships, which are essential for us to attract and retain a talented student body.”Īlthough he was close to Rogers and they stayed friends after graduation, Kawa said he didn’t have a lot of time for socializing on campus. “Scholarships provide an essential opportunity to create diversity of thought in our classroom,” she said. “I thought, why not highlight some of the students who made Fordham what it is today?”ĭonna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School, said gifts like Kawa’s are at the heart of the school’s drive to be a center for “business with purpose,” particularly as it prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2020 and as the close of University’s Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid draws near.

“Although I like to see my name in print, if you see your name five to 10 times in a row for a scholarship, it’s a little much,” he said. In creating the scholarships, Kawa, a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, who made his career as a stock analyst specializing in transportation companies, said he wanted to celebrate the lifelong friendships he witnessed and inspire others to honor their friends in the same way. In addition, the Kawa/Furfaro scholarship is in memory of Joseph Sutera, the Kawa/Ferro scholarship is in memory of Michael Collins, and the Kawa/Lauer scholarship is in memory of Rich Kelly. He’s added a twist though: These scholarships bear both his name and those of Rogers, Furfaro, Ferro, and Lauer. Kawa has lived up to his vow since the initial scholarship he created, he has funded four more for Gabelli School students. “I said, ‘I want to do one every year, for as long as God lets me live.’ And Father McShane said, I’m going to say a prayer right now that you live a very long life, Jack,’” he recalled, laughing.

Kawa in the 1965 edition of the Fordham yearbook Maroon

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