Math Educators Meet at Iona University, Share Best Practices to Advance Higher Education
New Rochelle, N.Y. - Iona University recently hosted the Mathematical Association of America’s sixth-annual Metro NExT Workshop, a professional development program for graduate students, postdocs, and early-career mathematicians in the New York City area.
Nearly 20 mathematicians representing eight universities from the tristate area shared techniques and advice about teaching mathematics in higher-education settings.
Ben Gaines, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of Iona’s Mathematics & Physics Department, helped organize the event.
“This annual workshop is a great opportunity for mathematics faculty from all over the region to share ideas, meet colleagues, and learn something new,” said Gaines, who teaches mathematics courses of all levels at Iona in addition to working with students on mathematical research.
Lauren Rose, Ph.D., of Bard College, delivered a keynote address about the incorporation of puzzles and games into the mathematics classroom.
Gaines has also researched mathematical games. In 2021, he published an article in American Mathematical Monthly about the Game of Cycles in which players take turns drawing arrows on the edges of a graph.
Iona’s mathematics programs include a traditional major and minor, a dual degree with education for aspiring middle- and high-school educators, as well as a five-year dual degree with computer science. Explore all programs here.
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.