The Verdict Is in: Make a Lifetime Impact with Your IRA

The Honorable Edward “Ed” J. De Fazio, ’74 holds his late father, Fordham, and his family's New Jersey roots close to his heart. Ed created the Hon. M. Edward De Fazio, UGE ’33 Memorial Endowed Scholarship to honor his father—a lasting influence on both his academic and professional life—and to support future undergraduates.

The son of Italian immigrants from Hoboken and the first in his family to attend Fordham, Ed's father graduated from the Undergraduate School of Education intending to teach. But the Great Depression left him unable to find work beyond part-time, non-tenured substitute teaching. He pivoted, enrolling in law school and going on to lead the Hoboken Housing Authority before serving as a part-time municipal judge for a decade. He and two of his brothers all built successful legal careers, a testament, Ed says, to their tenacity during a difficult era.

Fordham runs deep in the De Fazio family: Ed's father and uncle both attended, and Ed carried on the tradition at Rose Hill. His uncle's son, and later his father's granddaughter, also became Rams. Ed's own tuition was made possible by his father's support. He fondly recalls the friendships he built on campus, many of which he maintains to this day: "Fordham is a special place with a beautiful campus. It really is a hidden gem."

After graduating, Ed attended Seton Hall Law School and spent more than 30 years in the Hudson County prosecutor's office, the last ten as its lead prosecutor, before being appointed Hudson County Superior Court Judge, a role he held for seven years. Today Ed is retired, though he still takes on the occasional consulting project in family, criminal, and municipal law.

Ed has given back to Fordham steadily since his own student days, though for years his gifts were modest—what he could manage alongside a career and a family. Now, creating an endowed scholarship fund through his IRA's required minimum distribution (RMD) has finally allowed him to make a gift of real scale, a structure that, he says, made "economic sense," calling it "a very practical way to do charitable work."

A longtime member of Fordham's Doty Society (for donors with 20+ years of cumulative giving), Ed says what matters most to him is Fordham's relationships: "I graduated more than 50 years ago, and I'm still friendly with people I knew." His advice to future scholarship recipients: "Don't forget how fortunate you are when you're helped by your family and friends. You never know where you're going to wind up; you have to adapt and be willing to accept change."

Like Ed, you can use your RMD to fund a named scholarship or designate Fordham as a beneficiary of your IRA. Gift Planning experts from Fordham University would be pleased to work closely with you to create a plan that best allows you to meet your goals.

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