50 Years of Women at Iona Kicks Off September 21
To commemorate 50 years of women at Iona, the College will embark on a year-long celebration beginning with a kick-off event on September 21 in New Rochelle.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Fifty years ago this fall, Iona College began welcoming female students into the full-time student body. The historic moment in 1969 triggered a sweeping change at the traditionally male institution. To commemorate 50 years of women at Iona, the College will embark on a celebration beginning in September 2019 and culminating in May 2020.
Iona will host a kick-off celebration on September 21 on beginning at 3 p.m. The day features campus tours highlighting changes that have occurred over the years. A Walk Down Memory Lane reception takes place at 4 p.m. where alumni can meet new president, Seamus Carey, Ph.D., and his wife, Noreen, along with current female students from some of the clubs and organizations. The complimentary event features a wine tasting with Vintage Wine Estates and Anne Marie Harrison '80, and food stations featuring favorite blasts from the past. A special recognition of Iona’s trailblazer alumnae from the classes of 1973-1978. Register now for the kick-off event!
The year-long campus-wide celebration includes lectures, exhibitions and special events hosted by the LaPenta School of Business, the School of Arts & Science and various campus organizations. Programs will highlight women and their contributions to the College and the larger society.
A calendar with event listings is currently being developed. The alumni office is available for any questions, information or ideas at alumni@iona.edu.
Everyone is invited to participate by attending special events, visiting the Share A Story page, and providing photos to events@iona.edu.
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.