Iona College (New York)

Iona College
Motto Certa bonum certamen (Latin)
Motto in English
Fight the good fight
Established 1940
Type Private
Affiliation Roman Catholic (Congregation of Christian Brothers)
Endowment $100 million (as of June 30, 2014)[1]
President Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D.
Provost Mark Kiselica, Ph.D.[2]
Location New Rochelle, New York, USA
40°55′33″N 73°47′15″W / 40.92583°N 73.7875°WCoordinates: 40°55′33″N 73°47′15″W / 40.92583°N 73.7875°W
Campus Suburban, 45 acres (0.2 km2)[3]
Colors Maroon and Gold
Athletics NCAA Division IMAAC
Sports 21 varsity teams
Nickname Gaels
Mascot Killian
Affiliations ACCU
NAICU
Website iona.edu

Iona College is a Congregation of Christian Brothers-affiliated four-year college in New Rochelle, New York. Located 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan in suburban Westchester County, the college occupies 45 acres (0.18 km2) on North Ave. It also operates a Graduate Center in Pearl River Rockland County, New York.

Iona offers BA, BS, BBA, and BPS undergraduate degrees and several master's degree programs. An honors program, with special courses, seminars, mentoring, advising, and off-campus opportunities, is available to top students.

History

Before 1940, the Christian Brothers were in charge of Saint Mary's College, Halifax NS Canada. They had been invited by Archbishop Edward McCarthy in 1913 to revitalize the diocesan college. They received a contract that seemed too generous to McCarthy's successors. Archbishop John T McNally succeeded in replacing them with the Jesuits in 1940. The brothers were given a tearful send off at a great dinner held at the Nova Scotian Hotel. Brother Cornelia was one of the teachers at SMC. Peter McGuigan, The Intrigues of Archbishop John T McNally and the Rise of Saint Mary's University. Fernwood Press, 2010

Founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Iona College is a private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of American Catholic higher education. In 1989, Elizabeth Seton College of Yonkers, New York merged with Iona.[4]

Iona College opened its doors in 1940, with nine Christian Brothers and six lay faculty greeting the first class. The Christian Brothers named the College after Iona, the island monastery of St. Columba [in Irish: St. Colmcille] located off the west coast of Scotland. Columba founded the monastery in 563 AD. The Congregation of Christian Brothers was itself founded in 1802 by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice in Waterford, Ireland.

In 1940, the idea of the College's founding community of Brothers was to start a small, affordable college for the sons of New York's working class. At the time, the Christian Brothers taught in seven high schools in the Archdiocese of New York, including Iona Prep, All Hallows, Rice High School, and Power Memorial. They recognized that many of their graduates could not afford the cost of local universities, and so they started Iona.

Iona started small, and shrank further after the U.S. entered World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. For example, the fall of 1943 began with 94 students, but the spring term ended with fewer than 40. Only three members of the entering class went on to receive Bachelor of Arts degrees in August, 1944. Returning veterans, attracted by Iona's practical majors like Accounting (and their tuition underwritten by the G.I. Bill), soon stretched the College to its limits. Seventy-one men graduated in 1948 and 300 in 1950.

Guiding the College through its tenuous start and sudden growth were two gifted Presidents: Br. William Barnabas Cornelia (1885–1955) and Br. Arthur Austin Loftus (1904–1979). One a native of Dublin, the other a native New Yorker, they helped Iona expand and prosper throughout the middle of the 20th century.

In 2011, Iona College admitted that it had reported inflated figures from 20022011 about "acceptance rates, SAT scores, graduation rates, and alumni who give annually" in a bid to influence college rankings.[5][6]

Mission statement

According to its mission statement, "Iona College is a caring academic community, inspired by the legacy of Blessed Edmund Rice and the Christian Brothers, which embodies opportunity, justice, and the liberating power of education. Iona College's purpose is to foster intellectual inquiry, community engagement, and an appreciation for diversity. In the tradition of American Catholic Higher Education, Iona College commits its energies and resources to the development of graduates recognized for their ethics, creativity, and problem solving abilities; their independent and adaptable thinking; their joy in lifelong learning; and their enduring integration of mind, body, and spirit." This statement was adopted in May 2012.[7]

Academics

The university is divided into two main academic units: a school of arts and sciences, and a business school. The School of Arts & Sciences is one of the two main schools at Iona College. Iona College hired a new dean of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Sibdas Ghosh, PhD to replace interim dean, Dr. Jeanne Zaino, PhD. Many students choose to obtain degrees in mass communications, journalism, education, and psychology. Iona boasts excellent scholars and teachers among the faculty in liberal arts and sciences.

The School offers degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, business administration, finance, information systems, international business, management, and marketing. The school also has a fast track MBA program, which is geared toward people who want to gain an edge in their chosen field. The Fast Track MBA shaves 10 months off the length of traditional MBA programs by offering courses in a sequence that guarantees a speedy graduation. On the school's website its mission is stated as 'The School’s commitment to Catholic Higher Education in the Christian Brothers’ Tradition coupled with our AACSB – International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation assures that the student is at the core of everything we do.'

Accreditations

Campus

Mazzella Field with Hynes Athletic Center in the background

Academic lecture halls at Iona College include Murphy Center, McSpedon Hall, Arrigoni Center, Doorley Hall, Cornelia Hall, Amend Hall, Ryan Library, and Hagan Hall. The most recent additions to the campus include the newly constructed Robert V. LaPenta Student Union, the expanded Hynes Athletic Center, and the new residence hall in the heart of campus, East Hall.

Hynes Athletic Center hosts training centers for the college's Division 1 teams in addition to the 2,611-seat multi-purpose arena which hosts year round activities.

Ryan Library is the major research and studying center of the campus. It was announced in 2005 that the library would go through an extensive modernization process. The renovation included an expanded print collection and larger spaces for students to study and do research. The project was completed in time for the Fall Semester of 2009. The library is a prominent symbol of Iona College along North Ave.

Iona became the first metro-New York college with a completely wireless Internet campus in September 2001.[14]

In 1998 American Campus Communities was awarded the contract to develop, build, and manage a student housing property at Iona College.[15]

View of Ryan Library and North Ave. from Conese (North) Hall

Loftus Hall

Iona offers several different housing options for students. Loftus Hall, designed to house first year students only, is a 10-floor building. Each floor has six suites of two bedrooms (a double and a triple), one handicapped room which houses two people, and the RA (resident assistant) room. Loftus features a small computer lab, a kitchen, a laundry room, a quiet meditation room, a study lounge, and a vending lounge/game room.

Conese and South Hall

Conese, formally North, and South Halls are among the newer residence halls and were built in 2005. North and South were originally designed for upperclassmen; since the recent influx of accepted freshmen, Conese Hall has become the second, "unofficial" freshman residence hall. In 2014, Conese Hall was once again made to house only upperclassmen. North and South are identical buildings, and hold fewer people than Loftus. Both buildings have six floors, with four rooms on each floor: one suite of seven and three suites of 10. Each suite has two bathrooms, a small kitchenette, and a common room/living room type arrangement. North Hall was renamed to Conese Hall at Homecoming 2008, October 4, 2008, to acknowledge a $5 million gift to the college from Anna May and Eugene P. Conese.

Rice Hall

Rice Hall, nestled in the quiet back corner of Iona's campus, is primarily a single occupant dorm, though there are rooms for two, three, or four persons. It is the oldest dormitory at Iona, and was originally used to house the Christian Brothers as well as the brothers in training. The building is four floors, with laundry services being provided in the basement. Amenities include a game room, TV lounge, kitchen, computer lab, and gym.

East Hall

East Hall is Iona's newest residence hall, located in the very center of campus on the site of the previous Walsh Hall (an academic building which housed Iona's Psychology department). East Hall, which is three stories and holds an estimated 112 residents, accommodates students in a traditional corridor-style setting. There is an elevator in the center lobby area and lounges on both the second and third floors. It has rooms for groups of three and four students with a common bathroom on each wing. Each floor is separated by gender. The first and third floors are designated for female students and the second for males. Among its amenities are wireless Internet, cable television, and telephone lines in each room. The main floor has a kitchen area, a mail room, and laundry facilities. There are three resident assistants (RAs) in the building and one campus minister.

Eastchester Apartments

Iona also holds several apartments in the Eastchester Apartment Complex, which is located down the block from the campus. Each building in Eastchester has an RA.

Clubs and organizations

There are currently more than 80 active clubs, Greek fraternities and sororities, and media organizations on Campus.[16]

Governing Bodies

  • Student Government Association (SGA)
  • Gaels Activities Board (GAB)
  • Council for Greek Governance (CGG)
  • Media Board
  • Student Athletic Advisory Committee

Media Groups

  • ICTV (TV Station)
  • The Ionian (Student Newspaper)
  • WICR (Iona Radio)
  • ICANN (The Yearbook)
  • Kaleidoscope (Literary Magazine)

Multicultural Clubs

  • Asian Student Association (ASA)
  • Black Student Union (BSU)
  • Council of Multicultural Leaders (CML)
  • Gaelic Society
  • Hispanic Organization for Latin Awareness (HOLA)
  • SOCA (Students of Caribbean Ancestry)
  • Italian Society

Club Sports

  • Gaelic Football (NCGAA Champions 2014, 2015)
  • Gael Dancers
  • Men's Rugby
  • Cheerleading

Performing Arts

  • Iona Players
  • Iona Singers
  • Pipe Band
  • Dance Ensemble
  • The Skits O'Frenicks Improv Comedy Group

General Interest Clubs

  • Accounting Club
  • Admirers of Illustrated Literature
  • Advertising Club
  • Animal Rights Coalition
  • Biology Club
  • Chemical Society
  • Commuter Student Association (CSA)
  • Computer Science Club
  • Criminal Justice Club
  • Democracy Matters
  • Economics Club
  • Education Club
  • Edmund Rice Society
  • Finance Club
  • History Society
  • IC Green Club
  • IC Management Club
  • International Business
  • Inter-Residence Council
  • Iona College Math Society (ICMS)
  • Iona Spirituality Institute
  • Marketing Club
  • Mock Trial
  • Model United Nations
  • National Student Speech and Hearing/Language Association
  • New Politics Club
  • Pre-Law
  • Psychology Club
  • Public Relations Student Society of America
  • Social Work Club
  • Society of Professional Journalists
  • Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
  • Students for Africa
  • Students Uniting for Veterans (SUV)
  • Tara Knights Society

Greek Life

Iona College is home to four local sororities and one national sorority. Additionally, Greek Life at Iona also includes one international fraternity, one national fraternity, and one local fraternity.

Sororities

  • Delta Theta Beta (ΔΘΒ)
  • Gamma Lambda Rho (ΓΛΡ)
  • Phi Gamma Chi (ΦΓX)
  • Phi Sigma Sigma (ΦΣΣ)
  • Psi Kappa Theta (ΨΚΘ)

Fraternities

Athletics

Main article: Iona Gaels

The Iona College Gaels are part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and participate in seventeen NCAA Division I programs. Other members of the MAAC include Canisius College, Fairfield University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's College, and Siena College.

Alumni

Iona has approximately 40,000 living alumni worldwide. In the fields of arts & entertainment, Iona College graduates include: Bud Cort, actor starring in "Harold and Maude" and "MASH"; Terry Finn, Broadway and Hollywood actress; Don McLean; singer/songwriter of renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent" also attended Iona Prep; Terence Winch, Irish-American poet and musician; Antonio Broccoli Porto, Italian-Puerto Rican artist, visual artist and sculptor; and Donald Spoto, best-selling celebrity biographer.

In the field of business, Iona College graduates include: Linda Bruno, Commissioner of the Skyline Conference; Thomas E. Hales, former CEO and Chairman of U.S.B. Holding Co., Inc.; Vincent A. Gierer, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of UST Inc.; Andy Dolce, Founder, Chairman & Managing Partner of Dolce Hotels and Resorts; Laurence Boschetto, President & CEO of Draftfcb; Ronald DeFeo, Chairman & CEO of Terex; Randy Falco, President and CEO of Univision Communications Inc.; Robert Greifeld current President & CEO of NASDAQ; James P. Hynes, founder of COLT Telecom Group; Alfred Kelly, former President of American Express; Catherine R. Kinney, former President of the New York Stock Exchange; Brian A. Markison, Chairman, President & CEO of King Pharmaceuticals; and Peter R. Scanlon, former Chairman & CEO of Coopers & Lybrand

In the fields of law and government, Iona College graduates include: Robert J. Corcoran, former Arizona Supreme Court Justice; Timothy C. Idoni, Westchester County Clerk, former mayor of New Rochelle, New York; Anthony T. Kane, former New York Supreme Court Justice; Robert J. McGuire, former New York City Police Commissioner & CEO of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency; Kevin Sullivan, former White House Communications Director; and John Sweeney (labor leader), Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

In the field of sports, Iona College graduates include: Richie Guerin, six time NBA All-Star, NBA Coach of the Year and Hall of Famer; Jason Motte, 2011 MLB World Champion and Game 7 saving pitcher; and Jeff Ruland, NBA All-Star.

References

  1. Report by Iona College President Joseph E. Nyre |[url=http://www.iona.edu/About/Office-of-the-President/About-the-President-Biographical-Statement/Remarks-from-Convocation-2014.aspx]
  2. http://www.iona.edu/About/News-Events/News/Announcement-of-New-Provost-and-Senior-Vice-Presid.aspx
  3. http://www.iona.edu/About/Fast-Facts.aspx
  4. "Iona Merges With Elizabeth Seton College". The New York Times. February 19, 1989. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. Audit Report Letter, Iona College. November 8, 2011.
  6. Gaming The College Rankings, The New York Times. January 31, 2012.
  7. Info724 Ltd. "Middle States Commission on Higher Education". Msche.org. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  8. "ACEJMC-accredited programs". .ku.edu. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  9. "AACSB DataDirect - General". Datadirect.aacsb.edu. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  10. 11.0 11.1 "Iona College - Accreditation & Awards". Iona.edu. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  11. http://www.iona.edu/About/Accreditation-Awards.aspx
  12. Iona.edu
  13. "COMPANY NEWS." Austin American-Statesman. June 27, 1998. D6. Retrieved on October 5, 2011. "American Campus Communities has been awarded projects totaling $52.5 million to develop, build and manage three student housing projects at Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University and Iona College."

External links

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