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News Releases, 2004 - 2005 Academic Year |
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Iona Breaks Ground for the Hynes Athletics Center
New Rochelle, NY - Iona broke ground for the Hynes Athletics Center at a ceremony on October 30 under a canopy of beautiful fall foliage. Iona Board of Trustees member James P. Hynes (Iona Class of 1969), his wife Ann Marie, twin daughters Alanna and Katie and family were honored at the event.
Hynes (pictured above with President Br. James A. Liguori), chairman and CEO of Neutral Tandem, Inc., recollected getting lost on his way home from a fishing trip in New Rochelle with his father when he was a young Bronx teenager and passing Iona's old iron gates. "Those gates and this place called Iona grabbed my attention. I'm 95% sure if my father had followed directions, I would have attended another college. I grew up at Iona, my character was forged here and, while I owe a lot of my success to many people, Iona is at the top of that list," he said. Rich Petriccione (pictured below), vice president of Advancement and External Affairs at Iona, cited Hynes's gift of over $10 million as the largest cash gift by an alumnus to any area Catholic institution. "This philanthropy sends a powerful message about our College; this is the best Iona we have seen yet," said Petriccione.
Scheduled to open in 2006, the $14 million Hynes Athletics Center will be one of the largest sports complexes in the Northeast when combined with the current Mulcahy Campus Events Center. This state-of-the-art building will offer Iona's non-athletes increased recreational and intramural opportunities and expanded facilities and services for the College's 21 NCAA Division I athletic programs. Featuring an open atrium lobby, a new Hall of Fame, three multipurpose courts, a 2,800 square foot cardiovascular center, a glass enclosed mezzanine level overlooking the courts, a conference center, a rowing tank, an aerobics and dance center, new offices for coaches and staff.
Hynes received his BA from Iona in 1969 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2001. He also holds an MBA from Adelphi University and currently manages his investment business from Connecticut. In his more than 30 years in the telecommunications and technology industries, he achieved outstanding results as an operating manager and in the venture capital business, nationally and internationally. Most notably, in 1992, he founded COLT Telecom PLC, a telecommunications competitor in Europe, and served as its CEO until the company went public in 1996, when he became chairman. He founded Neutral Tandem, Inc. in 2003 and currently serves as Chairman and CEO of that telecom services company.
Founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Iona College is a private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of American Catholic higher education. Iona offers 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 post-graduate certificate programs.
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