Alumna Establishes Fund to Support Student Retreats and Get-Togethers

Fordham graduate students will have new opportunities to find community and spiritual fellowship because of a recent gift by Theresa Lim Mao, Ph.D., GSAS ’60, ’64. Her gift creates a fund for Campus Ministry dinners and retreats for graduate students, giving them “opportunities to feed their souls and bodies with nourishment,” in the words of Carol Gibney, director of solidarity and leadership in Campus Ministry.

It is the kind of thing that Theresa wished for while earning her master’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry and physical chemistry, respectively. She chose Fordham for its Catholic identity but found there were no spiritual events and retreats for graduate students. Campus life could be isolating, and she could not afford to fly home to Taiwan during breaks. When she and her fellow classmates started going out together regularly, “we got to know each other a lot better,” Theresa said. “Now I want to help today’s graduate students develop their relationships.”

The Theresa Lim Mao Graduate Student Retreat Endowed Fund was created by designating Fordham as a beneficiary of her individual retirement account. “All of us can contribute to society by doing something for other people,” said Theresa, a retired chemist, businesswoman, and philanthropist. “If all of us can do a little bit of that, that would be really wonderful.” Please consider joining Theresa in The 1841 Society by including Fordham in your estate plan.