Iona University Professor Receives College Theology Society's Highest Honor
Elena G. Procario-Foley, Ph.D., takes home Presidential Award recognizing decades of leadership, scholarship and service
Throughout her career, Elena G. Procario-Foley, Ph.D., has devoted herself to advancing theological education through scholarship, teaching and service. This spring, the College Theology Society recognized that commitment with its Presidential Award, the organization's highest honor.
Presented every other year, the Presidential Award recognizes individuals whose contributions have made a lasting impact on both the Society and the broader theological community. For Procario-Foley, the recognition from colleagues she has worked alongside for much of her career was especially meaningful.
“I was really shocked, surprised and humbled,” she said. "It was something I never, in a million years, would have expected to happen."
Founded in 1954, the College Theology Society (CTS) supports excellence in theological scholarship and undergraduate education. This year’s 72nd annual conference took place at Villanova University.
Procario-Foley became involved in CTS early in her academic career and has since held several leadership positions, including serving as theology section convener, national secretary, and editor of “Horizons,” the Society's flagship academic journal.
While those roles have shaped her career, she notes that the relationships she has built through the Society have mattered just as much.
"It's a wonderful academic home," Procario-Foley said. "It's real, authentic relationships that get built up over time."
The Presidential Award marked the second major recognition of Procario-Foley's work this year, following the Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Award from the Westchester Jewish Council. Together, the honors affirmed something she said she seldom stops to consider.
"It was a way of saying, 'Your work matters,'" Procario-Foley said. "You just do your work. You do what needs to be done, and I just never expected this."
Procario-Foley credits Iona with fostering that same spirit of collaboration and mentorship. Beyond supporting faculty scholarship through professional development and engagement opportunities, she says the University has cultivated an environment where teaching and scholarship strengthen one another, allowing faculty to bring new ideas, research and professional experiences back into the classroom. She also points to the University's culture of mentorship, from department chairs and deans to provost faculty development initiatives, as instrumental in helping faculty grow as teachers, scholars and leaders.
"Iona is very much like the College Theology Society," Procario-Foley said. "A place where we want to welcome people, mentor people toward their success and help them succeed."
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 over 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 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 Nursing & Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2026, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. 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.