Iona Celebrates 75th Commencement Ceremonies
More than 1,000 students earning bachelor's and master's degrees participated in Iona College's 75th Annual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 18, in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
NEW YORK - More than 1,000 students earning bachelor's and master's degrees participated in Iona University's 75th Annual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 18, in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Alfred F. Kelly Jr. ’80, ’81MBA, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa, Inc., gave keynote remarks for the morning undergraduate ceremony that included 685 baccalaureate degree candidates and a full house of family and friends.
Among the student speakers at the morning ceremonies were Justin Henry '19 who welcomed the Class of 2019 and Amelia Motz '19 who served as respondent to the undergraduate commencement speaker.
A list of baccalaureate degree recipients can be found on iona.edu.
Afternoon speakers included new master's degree recipients Joshua Gitter '19MS and Eric Torruella '19MSE. Eileen Ivers ’87, a Grammy Award-winning violinist, was the keynote speaker in the afternoon ceremony.
Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D., congratulated the graduating students and shared thoughts in his last commencement activities as the eighth President of Iona University.
Kelly, Ivers and board of trustee member Andrew J. Dolce ’57, founder and chairman emeritus of Dolce Hotels and Resorts, Inc., received honorary doctorate degrees.
![The 2019 commencement marquee at Madison Square Garden.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape/public/2020-05/primary-images/2019-commencement-marquee-twitter.jpg?itok=R3NpfCTL)
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.