Iona Names New General Counsel to Execute Strategic Vision as College Grows, Expands
Sandy A. Curko joins leadership team as the College develops the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences on its new second campus in Bronxville, N.Y.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — As Iona College continues on its path of innovation and expansion, President Seamus Carey, Ph.D., is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandy A. Curko as general counsel effective May 9, 2022.
As a key member of the president’s leadership team, Curko will be Iona’s chief legal officer, contributing her vast experience in the areas of higher education law, civil and commercial litigation, and labor and employment law. Her appointment comes as the College continues to grow both in size and programming with the acquisition of a second campus in Bronxville, N.Y., and the development of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences.
“We are pleased to welcome Sandy Curko to the Iona College community,” Carey said. “Her experience will help to ensure that we continue to execute on our goals and strategic vision, especially as we turn the page to a new chapter at Iona College.”
Curko will provide legal services on a broad range of business, academic and statutory issues. Areas of responsibility will include labor and employment, commercial litigation, business transactions and contracts, College governance, student life, intellectual property, immigration, real estate and gifts and estates. She also will provide direct advice and counsel to the Board of Trustees.
Curko currently serves as general counsel and assistant vice president at Queens College of The City University of New York, where she is responsible for providing legal advice to the president, administration and college-affiliated entities on a wide range of legal issues. Curko has worked diligently to strengthen compliance efforts through training and other initiatives during the past three years at Queens College, fostering a collaborative environment between various constituencies and her office.
Prior to Queens College, Curko served at The City University of New York as a university hearing officer in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Labor Relations from 2015-2019, where she provided legal guidance for 25 CUNY colleges and graduate schools. Prior to that, she was a senior associate at the law firm of Deutsch, Williams, Brooks, DeRensis & Holland, P.C. in Boston from 2005-2015.
Curko received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University in 1992 and her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 1998. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association; New York State Bar Association; New York City Bar Association; Boston Bar Association; and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.
“I am truly excited to be joining Iona College, and I look forward to working with President Carey and his leadership team,” said Curko. “Iona College has a long history of excellence, and I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to its continued success.”
An avid runner and swimmer, Curko has fundraised for hospitals and nonprofit cancer organizations through various marathons that she has run, as well as Swim Across America challenges. Among other community activities, she also serves as a career mentor through the Boston University Terrier Network Mentorship Program. She is fluent in Croatian and conversational in French.
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.