Abigail E. Disney to be Keynote Speaker at Iona College 66th Annual Commencements

Honorary Degrees to be Conferred on Former AFL-CIO President, John J. Sweeney, and Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan

New Rochelle, NY (May 2010)- Abigail E. Disney, philanthropist and filmmaker, will be the keynote speaker at Iona College's 66th Annual Commencement, to be held at 11 AM, Sunday, May 16 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Iona College will award undergraduate and graduate diplomas to 910 students.

Iona College will confer a Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on Ms. Disney. Honorary degrees will also be conferred on John J. Sweeney, an Iona alum (class of 1955) and former President of the American Fed Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and to Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York.

A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Disney received her M.A. from Stanford and her Ph.D. from Columbia.  As founder of the Daphne Foundation, she has dedicated her time to providing progressive social change within the lower income communities of New York City. Since 1991, Disney has worked with the foundation to raise millions of dollars in grants in areas ranging from women's rights to AIDS advocacy, children's health, labor conditions, religion, and environmentalism.

A grandniece of Walt Disney, Ms. Disney is also a filmmaker. Her first film, a feature-length documentary called Pray the Devil Back to Hell - which won the 2008 Tribeca Best Documentary Award - tells the inspirational story of the women of Liberia and their efforts to bring peace to their broken nation after decades of destructive civil war. 

Sweeney graduated from Iona College with a degree in economics. As President of the AFL-CIO, he was in charge of the largest coalition of unions in the U.S. at approximately 11.5 million workers. In 2000, he was also elected president of the Trade Union Advisory Committee, an international organization that represents nearly 70 million workers in 29 different countries. Sweeny has received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Oberlin College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of Baltimore, Catholic University Law School and the University of Toledo's College of Law.

After attending Iona College for two years, Sullivan transferred to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York where he received his Masters of Divinity in 1970. To better understand and aid the growing Hispanic population in New York City, Sullivan traveled to the Dominican Republic during the 1970's and attended the Dominican Institute for Pastoral Adaptation in Muca, and the Dominican Republic and Mission Experience in Tenares. Bishop Sullivan has served on multiple committees in the past years such as Lower East Side Catholic Area Conference, It's Time Inc. Social Service Agency and Immigrant Social Service, Inc.

Founded in 1940, Iona College is a four-year private, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers and American Catholic higher education. It is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. 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 advanced certificate programs.

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For questions or more information please contact:
Dawn Insanalli
Public Relations Office
Iona College, 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
Office: (914) 637-2726
Fax: (914) 637-2711
dinsanalli@iona.edu