Richard Gephardt, Former U.S. House Majority Leader, to Deliver Iona University Commencement Keynote
80th annual Commencement ceremony will take place Friday, May 17 on Iona's New Rochelle campus
Hon. Richard Gephardt
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (April 4, 2024) – Former United States Congressman and House of Representatives Majority Leader Richard (Dick) Gephardt will deliver the keynote address and be awarded an honorary degree at Iona University’s 80th annual Commencement ceremony on May 17, 2024.
“Iona University is pleased to welcome Dick Gephardt as this year’s keynote speaker,” said Iona President Seamus Carey, Ph.D. “Throughout his career in Congress and beyond, Dick has demonstrated the highest commitment to democratic citizenship and integrity. He has been an influential supporter of Iona University and I can see his address will be well-received by our students, faculty and Iona community.”
Gephardt served for 28 years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 2004, representing Missouri's 3rd Congressional District, home to his birthplace of St. Louis. He was elected to serve as House democratic leader for more than 14 years, including as majority leader from 1989 to 1995 and minority leader from 1995 to 2003.
In his leadership roles, Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party's platform and chief architect of landmark reforms ranging from health care, pensions, education, energy independence and trade policy. He also ran as a Democratic presidential candidate twice, in 1988 and 2004.
Gephardt retired from the U.S. Congress in 2005 to establish the Gephardt Group, a privately held labor relations consulting and government affairs firm.
“I am honored to be named Iona University’s keynote speaker at this institution of higher learning’s 80th commencement ceremony,” Gephardt said.
Most recently, Gephardt was a member of the Board of Directors of the Centene Corporation, the Ford Motor Company, Spirit AeroSystems, the U.S. Steel Corporation and the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars and was chair of the Board of Trustees of the Scripps Research Institute, a private, nonprofit research organization engaged in basic biomedical science.
In addition, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is the founder of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis.
Widely known for his advocacy for international human rights, Gephardt served as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization that endeavors to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts, from 2009 to 2013.
Gephardt earned his Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1962 and his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965.
Iona University will host its 80th annual Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 10 a.m. on Iona's New Rochelle campus. Media are invited but must RSVP to Diana Costello, senior director of communications, at dcostello@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.