News Releases

March 15, 2007 – New Rochelle, NY – Br. James A. Liguori, president of Iona College, today announced that construction on a new entrance to Ryan Library will commence this fall, thanks to $5.5 million in cash that has been raised to date by Visions of Excellence: The Campaign for Iona’s Library. Donors’ early payments on campaign pledges have enabled Phase I of the library project to begin sooner than originally planned.

Br. Liguori said, “I’m delighted to once again witness the generosity of our alumni in meeting the needs of the College and am pleased by how quickly their donations will be transformed into brick and mortar. A renovated and expanded library is necessary to ensure that Iona will continue to meet the research and technology needs of our students and faculty well into the future.”

Publicly launched in December 2006, the goal of Visions of Excellence is to raise $10 million in order to fund a new entrance facing North Avenue (Phase I) and a two-story, 14,000 square foot addition to Ryan Library (Phase II). Once completed, the library will house an expanded print collection, a multimedia seminar room, an enlarged reading room, six group meeting rooms, increased individual study space, a technology resource center and a two-story atrium.

In conjunction with the New Rochelle Streetscape project, the library will enhance the appearance of the surrounding neighborhood, creating a “college district.” The college’s previous campaign, which closed in December 2004, funded a new student union and athletics center on campus.

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 is currently listed in the US News and World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges 2007," BusinessWeek’s listing of the “Best Undergraduate B-Schools,” The Princeton Review's Best Northeastern Colleges 2007 and Best 282 Business Schools 2007. The College 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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For questions or more information please contact:
Cecilia Donohoe
Public Relations Office
Iona College, 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
tel: (914) 633-2005 fax: (914) 637-2711
cdonohoe@iona.edu

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