Iona University Names Dr. Daniel Thiery as New Honors Program Director

March 27, 2024

New Rochelle, N.Y. - Iona University is pleased to share the appointment of Daniel E. Thiery, Ph.D., as the new Honors Program director. In this role, Thiery will work strategically to implement a new Honors core curriculum, which includes organizing and co-leading workshops for honors faculty as they prepare to teach and expand many new course offerings.

“During my undergrad years, the enthusiasm, commitment and insights of the Honors Director and Honors Faculty inspired my intellectual curiosity and drive to grow wiser, not simply in my major of history, but in many fields of inquiry which contemplate and illuminate the amazing, astounding, saddening, sobering, befuddling, bemusing, beautiful and beatific in this world,” he said. “I’m honored to have this opportunity to ‘pay forward’ that experience.”

Thiery, a Professor of Medieval History and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society has taught continually in the Honors Program since his arrival at Iona in Fall 2003. As Director, he will work with the Provost’s Office to enhance recruitment, retention, student engagement and assessment at Iona. He will also coordinate with student clubs, organizations and Honors student-leaders to create and sponsor on-campus events to encourage students to “learn outside the lines” of the classroom.

Notably, Thiery will also guide the creation, implementation and refinement of the new core curriculum for the Honors Program. One distinguishing feature of the new Honors Program is its allowance for far more contributions from faculty across the University. “I hope for many developments in the Honors Program that could bolster the bonds and experience of the Iona community,” said Thiery. “One goal is the creation of a new Honors service-learning committee to help us develop the remarkable junior-year service-learning requirement. Iona providentially has many faculty and staff with a wealth of knowledge and experience in service-learning. This third-year requirement empowers students to use their knowledge and abilities to help others and harkens to the enduring legacy of empowerment through education and service of the founders of Iona.”

Thiery specializes in both scholarship and courses on Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation history as well as the history of attitudes toward violence from prehistory to the present. Since its creation in 2004, Thiery’s unique course, HST 345: The History of Violence, has attracted students from many majors beyond the Humanities. Thiery also was the founding director of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona (ITPS), as well as a member of the recent Honors Task Force and chair of the History Department. An avid runner, he also served as faculty advisor for the Iona Cross Country team from 2003-2015.

In his free time, Thiery has taken up his longstanding interest in archaeology, analyzing LiDAR and helping train AI on the initial Deep Time Project, acting as a ‘Mission Leader’ on recent Deep Time Projects, doing field-work at the early medieval monastery of Lindisfarne and completing DL courses in archaeological practice through the University of Oxford; human osteoarchaeology through the University of Leiden; and the archaeology of Hadrian’s Wall through Newcastle University.

Congratulating Thiery on his appointment, Tricia Mulligan, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said, “Dan's enthusiasm and commitment to student engagement make him an ideal choice for this role. We look forward to embarking on a collaborative journey fueled by ambition and shared purpose. Together, we aspire to empower students to pursue their passions and foster a culture of lifelong learning.”

T.J. Moretti, Ph.D., associate provost, thinks that the Honors Program holds great promise with Dr. Thiery at the helm. "Given his vision, commitment and compassion, I have no doubt that he will inspire Honors students from all backgrounds to expand their ways of thinking, to pursue excellence, and to lead with heart.”

Thiery’s office is located at 10 President Street. More information about the Honors Program can be found here.

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.