Fordham University

Fordham University, a private Jesuit research university headquartered in the Bronx, New York, receives federal funding as a prime recipient of grants and contracts and as a sub-recipient on collaborative research awards across a portfolio spanning education, health sciences, and basic research. The institution operates as a non-profit educational entity and does not compete under set-aside categories; its federal engagement is exclusively full-and-open, driven by competitive merit-based research and educational grant awards from federal agencies and subgrants on research led by prime recipients at peer institutions.

Fordham's federal footprint is dominated by grant work rather than contracts. The university has received 246 prime awards (87% of its total portfolio) across grants, contracts, and IDVs, with 37 sub-awards (13%) on collaborative research projects. The top five funding agencies by award count account for 39% of awards: the National Science Foundation (31 awards), the Department of the Army (25 awards), the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (23 awards), the National Institutes of Health (21 awards), and the Naval Education and Training Command (10 awards, $1.3 million combined potential value). By dollar value, the portfolio shows significant concentration in contract tuition support from the Navy and research grants from NSF and NIH. The combined potential value across all 283 awards is $1.7 million in listed ceilings, though obligated dollars total $244.6 million, indicating that most awards carry full or near-full spending authority.

Fordham's capability portfolio spans three distinct streams. First, tuition and educational services: the university serves as a vendor for Navy personnel professional development through delivery orders on the Naval Education and Training Command contract vehicle, with awards such as a $26,141 tuition order (September 2023) and a $34,583 order (September 2022) for Navy enlisted and officer training. Second, federally funded research and development across materials science, quantum computing, cybersecurity education, and health disparities. Representative prime grants include a $393,021 NSF Materials Research collaborative award for accelerated discovery of lead-free metal halide perovskitoids using automation and AI (February 2026 through January 2029); a $690,583 NSF Computing and Communication Foundations grant for quantum computing optimization and management (November 2023 through October 2026); and a $811,316 Bureau of Justice Assistance STOP School Violence grant supporting mental health and restorative justice interventions in New York City school districts (October 2023 through September 2026). Third, low-income taxpayer clinical support: Fordham operates IRS-funded Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) enabling law students to represent low-income taxpayers in IRS disputes, with recurring awards from the Internal Revenue Service spanning 2022–2027. The university's research also emphasizes workforce development and diversity in STEM; recent awards include an NSF CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grant preparing cybersecurity professionals with data science expertise and an NSF XTRIP­ODS award advancing quantum data science education.

Activity has declined modestly in recent years, with 22 awards in 2022 declining to 4 awards in 2026 (year-to-date as of mid-July), though this reflects timing of grant cycles and federal fiscal years rather than loss of capacity. Twenty-one awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity and administrative burden. Fordham's sub-recipient footprint spans leading research institutions: the university serves as a sub-recipient on collaborative NIH grants led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine (health disparities and COVID-19 neurobehavioral effects), University of Connecticut Health Center (trauma-informed juvenile justice research), Michigan State University (discrimination and sleep health disparities), and Brigham and Women's Hospital (racial socialization and mental health). In these roles, Fordham faculty contribute subject matter expertise in educational psychology, health disparities, neuroscience, and quantitative methods; sub-award scope typically ranges from $50 thousand to $200 thousand in annual effort with multi-year terms.

Top contract vehicles include a Navy Basic Ordering Agreement (N0024418G0006) with 9 task orders ($327 thousand combined value), an Army Indefinite Delivery Contract (DAKF4079H0027) with 6 task orders, and related Army IDCs. The bulk of Fordham's federal portfolio falls under the Education/Training and Tuition/Registration/Membership Fees PSC (44 awards), reflecting its primary role as an educational vendor and research institution rather than a service contractor. The university does not hold a federal contract prime vehicle seat; instead, it competes for and receives direct awards from federal agencies as a recipient of grants and educational contracts based on institutional capacity, research merit, and faculty expertise.