Iona University Announces the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning
New Rochelle, N.Y. – Iona University President Seamus Carey, Ph.D., today unveiled plans for the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning. Envisioned as a vibrant hub for institutional innovation, faculty development and thought leadership, the Gabelli Center is made possible through the generosity of Marc Gabelli, of Gabelli Group, and his mother, Elaine Madonna Gabelli, a longtime Catholic elementary school teacher, of the EMG Madonna Foundation. The EMG Madonna Foundation is committed to supporting and strengthening Catholic education in the New York City area through grants and active student involvement.
Launching as an organic outgrowth of ongoing initiatives across campus, the Gabelli Center reinforces Iona’s core commitment to academic excellence and impact in Catholic education while sharpening its focus on talent cultivation and professional development.
AI@Iona
The Gabelli Center’s first initiative will be AI@Iona, an institutional commitment to stimulate, support and coordinate faculty and student engagement with the powerful and rapidly evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence.
“Teaching and learning are always works in progress. From the start, that mindset will inform the Gabelli Center’s mission and methods,” Carey said. “It is imperative that Iona be nimble, imaginative and collaborative in our approach to AI. At the same time, our fundamental dedication to the transformative power of teaching and learning remains paramount. The emergence of AI will not only reshape the nature of work, but also call into question long-standing assumptions about the nature and transmission of knowledge. This provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to reexamine our understanding and pursuit of teaching and learning.”
Catholic Teacher Corps
Notably, the Gabelli Center will also sponsor a new Catholic Teacher Corps program, launched to provide a pipeline of well-prepared, passionate educators who are committed to teaching in New York’s K-12 Catholic schools. Students selected for the program as Gabelli Certa Scholars will receive scholarships and tuition assistance to pursue a master’s degree in education from Iona.
"We are excited to be working with the team at Iona,” said Marc Gabelli. “Our commitment is to reinvigorate the strengths of Catholic education in the New York area and have a great alignment with the objectives of Iona.”
“This is an exciting moment,” Carey said. “With this generous gift, Iona is poised to continue and even grow our leadership in Catholic education both on campus and off. I want to thank Marc, Elaine and the EMG Madonna Foundation for their vision and support of this vital mission.”
Presidential Fellowships for Iona Faculty
The Gabelli Center will also sponsor several annual Presidential Fellowships to fund Iona faculty research and pedagogical innovation, with associated grants to additional faculty in support of these pursuits. The goal is to announce the first fellowships by Fall 2024.
“Iona faculty and staff have already been proactive in addressing the evolving landscape through workshops and pilot programs,” Carey said. “The establishment of the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning signals Iona’s institutional commitment to supporting and extending their work for the benefit of our students.”
“The Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning will serve as a nexus for faculty research, technical support and community engagement, bolstering Iona’s commitment to advancing teaching methodologies in alignment with our core mission and strategic priorities,” said Tricia Mulligan, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “A prime motivation for the founding of the Gabelli Center is the belief that through faculty-led innovation, Iona can become both a catalyst for educational progress and a thought leader as we reaffirm our commitment to the success of our students.”
The Gabelli Center will also sponsor conferences, workshops and internal and external speaker series to share its explorations and findings with other educators, including from local schools and districts serving students of all ages.
“We want to promote a culture of shared inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration,” Mulligan said. “Planning is also in progress for Iona to launch an interdisciplinary AI minor program for students this fall.”
Dedicated Space
“Even in a world of endless virtual spaces, the energy of face-to-face conversation cannot be underestimated,” Carey said. “In fact, the human element in what we do – teacher to teacher as well as teacher to student – is more important than ever.”
Accordingly, the Gabelli Center will have a dedicated physical space in a central location on campus in Ryan Library, providing access to AI tools, technical support and librarian consultation.
“Through the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning, and its launch focus on AI, Iona looks forward to providing access to as many resources as possible for faculty to engage and experiment with as they pursue their good work – and to learn from one another as they do so,” said James Mustich, senior advisor to the president.
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 2024 national list of “The Best 389 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.