Fordham hiring a lay person as President

Father McShane addressed that decline when introducing Ms. Tetlow on Thursday.

“The demographic realities that are ours are harsh,” he said. “They demand we rise to the challenge and embrace a new way of doing things.”

When Father McShane entered the Jesuit order in 1967, there were 1,460 Jesuits in New York, he said, adding that today there are 2,086 Jesuits left nationwide, and the average age is over 70.

Only 34 men entered Jesuit training in the country last year, Father McShane said. And at Fordham, only 14 Jesuits still teach students, out of 747 full-time instructors, according to a university spokesman.