If you look back on your university days fondly, you might occasionally get together with former house or classmates and attend a reunion. You might also involve yourself with charities associated with the university. In Denzel Washington's case, his connection to Fordham runs a lot deeper than that. In 2011, he gave his former university two million pounds to establish the Denzel Washington Chair in Theater, along with a $250,000 scholarship for disadvantaged students.
It's easy to understand why he cares so much. He was at Fordham when he experienced a crisis of confidence about which course to major in, having studied journalism and acting. Lecturers at Fordham nudged him towards acting, offering him starring roles in 'Othello' and 'The Emperor Jones', and he finally felt he had a direction in life. Fordham loves him just as much as he loves them - they gave him an honorary doctorate in 1991.