Iona College Provost Joins the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Having led significant HIV prevention and intervention studies, Dr. Darrell P. Wheeler has been personally selected by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

August 18, 2021

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Iona College’s Darrell P. Wheeler, Ph.D., MPH, ACSW, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, has been sworn in as a councilmember of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).

The Presidential Advisory Council provides advice, information and recommendations to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding programs, policies and research to promote effective prevention, treatment and cure of HIV disease and AIDS. The council also offers recommendations to the secretary regarding the development and implementation of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative and the HIV National Strategic Plan, both aiming to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030.

Wheeler was among eight individuals sworn in by Dr. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after being selected by the secretary for their particular expertise in, or knowledge of, matters concerning HIV and AIDS.

Among his many accolades and involvements, Wheeler currently serves on the Executive Management Committee of the HIV Prevention Trials Network and co-chairs the HIV Prevention Trial Networks HPTN Scholars Program, a model for other mentoring programs to foster career development among underrepresented minority scholars.

“Through my new position, I remain dedicated to promoting continued movement to end the AIDS epidemic and to promoting engagement of underrepresented minorities in HIV prevention sciences, care and treatment on an even larger scale.”

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.