U.S. News & World Report Ranks Iona College as Top 20 Most Innovative School
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Iona College President Seamus Carey, Ph.D., was unequivocal when he took the helm in July 2019: Iona must innovate to overcome the headwinds facing the higher education industry.
Today, guided by that mindset and the Iona mission, the Catholic liberal arts institution just north of New York City is not only enjoying an astonishing 32 percent spike in enrollment over the past two years, but it is also celebrating its emergence at the #20 spot in U.S. News & World Report’s list of “Most Innovative Schools” in the north region.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the most innovative institutions in higher education,” Carey said. “The success Iona is experiencing is due to the hard work of our faculty, staff and Board of Trustees – as well as the character and perseverance of our students. It feels as though we’re only just getting started.”
Despite being on the front lines of COVID-19 when the pandemic first hit New Rochelle in March 2020, Iona pushed ahead on its path of innovation. The College added new academic degrees such as nursing and entrepreneurship; incentivized faculty to reexamine and reinvent the curriculum; expanded student opportunities in performing arts, club sports and service; and launched a new logo, website and brand promise to “Learn Outside the Lines.”
The push is paying off. Building on the College’s momentum and demand, Iona this year acquired the 28-acre campus of Concordia College in nearby Bronxville, N.Y., and announced the creation of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences to offer a new vision for collaborative health care education, modern workforce development and community care. Roughly 25 percent of Iona’s new freshman class is expected to pursue health sciences.
“Despite the fact that national enrollments are declining, Iona has emerged as an anomaly in higher education, and we truly are grateful for the opportunity to serve our students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college,” Carey said. “We are focused on our mission of service here at Iona as well as our commitment to justice, opportunity and the liberating power of education.”
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.