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News Archive
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News Archive
Iona College Presents Inaugural Pappas Scholarship
Award
More than 50 Years of Service to Iona Celebrated in Helping New Rochelle High Graduate to Attend Mt. Sinai Medical School. New Rochelle, N.Y., August 18 - Iona College has presented the inaugural Dr. George and Margaret Pappas Scholarship to Kikelomo Otuyelu. The endowed scholarship, which was announced at the Dobbs Ferry couple's 50th wedding anniversary in 1998 and created in recognition of more than 50 years of service they have given to Iona, will be awarded annually to a worthy full-time senior pre-med student who has maintained a high academic record and high levels of character while at Iona and who has been accepted to a school of medicine. A native of Nigeria, Otuyelu graduated from New Rochelle High School and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Iona in June. She had a 3.54 grade point average and plans to attend Mt. Sinai Medical School in September. "I am very honored to be the first recipient of the Pappas Scholarship Award," Otuyelu said. "Dr. Pappas was one of my professors at Iona and his enthusiasm for science and medicine helped me excel in my studies. I have wanted to become a doctor since I was very young. My mother had a medical condition that caused her to be flown out of the country for treatment, and I was so amazed at her recovery when she returned that I decided I wanted to be a doctor and help people the same way. Since that time, my view of the role of doctor has changed from magician to helper, but my dedication to becoming a doctor has not wavered." Dr. Pappas joined the Iona faculty as a Biology professor in 1948, and over the next half century he chaired the Biology department numerous times and served as academic vice president from 1969-75. In 1971, he became acting president of Iona College, providing critical leadership after the untimely death of then-president Brother Joseph G. McKenna. Dr. Pappas also established a National Science Foundation In-Service Institute at Iona, and he represented the College as a Fulbright Exchange Professor in Cairo, Egypt. Mrs. Pappas built a 30-year career in the New York City public school system before bringing her professional expertise to Iona as a professor of science education and science and technology literacy in the 1980s. The scholarship award was established by the Pappas children - Linda Pappas Funsch, Lisa Pappas Bortz '77 BA, '81 MBA and Stephen George Pappas, MD, '76 BA. All have ties to Iona. Linda was an instructor there in Economic Geography and Middle East History, while Stephen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Lisa received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the New Rochelle school. With the ongoing support of family, Iona alumni, and corporate matching gifts, the principal of the Pappas Scholaship fund has grown to the point where disbursements can be made. "My brother, sister and I could think of no better way to honor our father's years of teaching and research and our mother's service to the College than to help motivated and deserving Iona students," Funsch said. "The announcement of the first Pappas Scholar is an assurance that our parents' legacy of integrity, scholarship and service to humanity will be preserved for future generations of students at Iona." Iona College, founded by the Christian Brothers in 1940, 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 programs. For further information, call 914 633 2005.
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