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2021 a Remarkable Year for Iona College

Students Walking on Campus on Path in front of Statues

New Rochelle, N.Y. (December 2021) — From acquiring a new campus and launching the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences to rediscovering a lost Baroque painting hidden in plain sight for decades, Iona College celebrated dozens of newsworthy accomplishments in 2021.

Guided by the leadership of President Seamus Carey, Ph.D., Iona’s forward-thinking strategies have helped this Catholic liberal arts college emerge as an anomaly in higher education, with new student enrollment spiking 32 percent in the past two years.

“Despite the headwinds facing higher education, 2021 was a remarkable year for Iona College,” said Carey. “Iona is a school on the rise, and I believe the momentum will continue to build as many of our plans are still coming to fruition. Thank you to the Iona community for heeding the call to innovate. Together, we continue to ‘Fight the Good Fight’ and lead by example.”

Iona’s top 10 accomplishments in 2021 include:

  1. NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences: Supported by a $20 million gift from NewYork-Presbyterian, the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences offers a new vision for collaborative health care education, modern workforce development and community care in collaboration with New York’s #1 hospital, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals. The NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences will be housed on Iona’s newly acquired campus in Bronxville, N.Y. Classes are expected to begin at Iona Bronxville by January 2023.
  2. Bronxville campus acquisition: Iona College closed on its new Bronxville campus on December 7, 2021. The new health sciences campus also creates opportunities for expanded student programming in the performing arts, varsity and club athletics and other extracurricular activities.
  3. Enrollment surge: Fueled by the addition of new academic programs as well as expanded student opportunities all across campus, Iona’s enrollment grew by 32% from 2019 to 2021.
  4. Men’s basketball undefeated at home: Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino and the Gaels kicked off the fall season undefeated at home in 2021. In November, the Gaels became the first team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's history to beat an AP top-10 team after upsetting No. 10 Alabama 72-68.
  5. Rediscovered masterpiece: Visual arts professor Thomas Ruggio knew that a painting of the Holy Family with the infant St. John was a 17th-century Italian Baroque work when he visited the Church of the Holy Family. Yet after conferring with fellow scholars in Italy and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cesare Dandini was identified as the artist – and news of the rediscovered masterpiece went viral.
  6. Murphy Green: A new green space in the heart of campus will transform a parking circle into a lively outdoor landscape thanks to a generous gift from Joseph M. Murphy ’59, ’83H and his late wife, JoAnn M. Murphy ’98H, a longtime Iona trustee. The Murphy Green is expected to open by spring 2022.
  7. Gaels Go Further Mentoring: Iona launched a new mentoring program this fall, focused on advancing students’ personal and professional goals while giving alumni an impactful new way to support the next generation. With the growth of this strategic new initiative, mentoring is poised to become a cornerstone of the Iona experience.
  8. Innovation leader: U.S. News and World Report ranked Iona College in its top 20 list of the nation’s most innovative schools.
  9. $10,000 stipend surprise: Up to 112 graduate students pursuing degrees in Marriage & Family Therapy or School Psychology could receive a $10,000 check in their final year thanks to a $1.9 million federal grant to support the training of skilled professionals.
  10. $154 million campaign completed: Launched in 2015, the Iona Forever fundraising campaign supported affordability through scholarships; attracted and developed world-class faculty; enhanced support for academic centers; and responsibly developed campus infrastructure to improve learning and living environments. Iona Forever was the biggest campaign in Iona’s history and was completed a year ahead of schedule, demonstrating the enthusiasm for Iona among alumni, partners and supporters.

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.