Trustees Scholarship Award Gala Honors Distinguished Alumnae

Event Benefits the Women’s Legacy Fund to Provide Scholarship Support to the Next Generation of Empowered Women

June 3, 2021

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — In 1969, Iona College, a traditionally all-male institution, began welcoming female students into its full-time student body. Although the pandemic interrupted the “50 Years of Women at Iona” celebration in 2020, the College will host its annual Trustees Scholarship Award Gala on June 4, recognizing alumnae for outstanding accomplishments within their careers and communities. Proceeds from the event will establish the new Women’s Legacy Fund, which provides scholarship assistance to deserving female students who exhibit the spirit of Iona through their academic excellence, commitment to the community and demonstrated leadership.

At the event, the Legacy Award will be posthumously presented to JoAnn M. Murphy ’98H, a former Iona College trustee and co-chair of the Student Development and Mission Committee of the Board.

Among her many contributions to Iona, Mrs. Murphy received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1998 for her dedication and support of the arts and cultural events at Iona. She was chair of the Iona College Council on the Arts and a 2006 recipient of the Brother Driscoll Award for Heroic Humanitarian Service. Mrs. Murphy served as vice chair of Country Bank, the broker-owner of Ellinghouse & Stacy and a former art and antiques gallery owner. She passed away in December 2020 at the age of 78.

“The Iona College community was greatly saddened by JoAnn’s passing, but we look forward to coming together to celebrate her life and give thanks for her remarkable devotion to Iona,” said Seamus Carey, Ph.D., president of Iona. “Today, women represent just over half of our student body, and they continue to forge new paths through their scholarship, leadership and dedication to service. Recognizing this year’s incredible honorees is a wonderful reminder of how an Iona College education equips students to be leaders in all areas of life, both personally and professionally.”

Distinguished alumnae who will receive the Women of Achievement Award include:

• Linda M. Bruno ’76,’79MSED, president, Bruno Sports Enterprises at Eclaro
• Cathy L. Cogan-Kelly ’81, senior director for Global HR Operations (retired January 2021), PepsiCo
• Theresa A. Gottlieb, Esq., ’78, executive trial division chief, Bronx District Attorney’s Office
• Flory Netsch Hiatrides ’83, ’86MBA, president, TreeHouse Consulting, Inc.
• Anna Filipkowski Houlihan, MD,’77, pediatrician, Morris Heights Health Center
• Eileen Ivers ’87,’19H, Grammy Award-winning fiddler
• Rita C. Mabli ’74,’76MBA, president and CEO, United Hebrew of New Rochelle
• Catherine A. Vitali Mayus, Esq., P.C.,’72, comprehensive coaching specialist for ADNY, Catapult Learning, LLC
• Catherine R. McCabe ’85, senior managing director (retired January 2020), TIAA
• Caress A. Penelton ’87, executive director for Global Technology Infrastructure, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Ingrid N. Thompson-Sellers, Ph.D.,’95MS, president, South Georgia State College
• Margaret C. Timoney ’89, ’92MBA, CEO, Heineken USA
• Amy Torigian Parise ’03MST, director of Alumni & Special Events, Iona Preparatory School
  • On Behalf of Butterflies From Jodie, Jeanne Morris (posthumously) and Jeanne Torigian ’74 (posthumously)

The gala will feature a special virtual performance by Grammy Award winner and alumna Eileen A. Ivers ’87, ’19H. To learn more, please visit: www.ionaconnection.com/ScholarshipGala.

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.